World Cup 1

As the 2026 world cup season kicks off i traveled to Thailand for World Cup #1. The event was hosted in Chaing Mai where the temperatures would be in the 90’s and the course would prove to be a challenging one. While this world cup had a lack of numbers in the categories it was not short of high level competition. Heading to Thailand i had high hopes of a podium performance in at least the time trial but those hopes were cut slightly short. While I was able to get a 4th place in the time trial, being only 13 seconds off of 3rd Place made that 4th place feel even worse. There were some positives that came out of the race. This hilly course in years past would have almost guaranteed that I would not be in contention for a good results. However, losing almost 10 pounds coming into this season, seen a better result on a course that was best suited for those with a climbing advantage. I saw similar improvements in the road race which was on the same course. The road race was a 50 kilometer course with nearly 2500 feet of elevation gain. I was able to have a strong showing until I made a crucial mistake on an attack. Ending the road race with a 5th place finish was not the best result i could have asked for but was the perfect race to figure out areas for improvement. While my individual races went well bit not quite as planned, the relay race i competed in with team USA had great results. Our team of 3 was able to secure a gold medal and take the world cup lead in the relay category. The relay races are on short circuits but tend to be very intense as it is an all out effort for each competitor on the team. I was thrilled to sit on the top step of the podium not only representing Team USA but also Team PossAbilities. Its now time to take what ive learned from these few races and continue to improve and get ready for World cups 2 and 3 at the end of April.