The Psycho 48 in Bayboro, North Carolina, organized by my RRT4G teammate Carol Beliveau and her husband, is one of my favorite races. At this event in 2022, I broke my own personal mileage record and finished with 250 miles. The World Ultracycling Association has named the race the North American Championship event for the 12h and 24h disciplines, a testament to its outstanding quality. Only thirty of us attended the inaugural event, so it was amazing to see more than 100 riders in the morning.

My two local cycling sisters, Misha and Andrea, were back. Remarkably, not only did Andrea show up to help, but she also won the 100-mile race, besting every other female competitor. Misha won the 48-hour race and smashed the previous female record with 607 miles (despite losing an hour to mechanical). With 458! miles, Marshall finished 4th in the 24 hours, just a few miles outside of the top 3.

I was thrilled to experience the welcoming atmosphere of this event and to see my RRT4G teammates. My aim was to establish an effective group that could draft and accumulate substantial mileage.

The morning was cold as usual but I was prepared. At least we don’t have to race through the night like the 24 & 48 racers, why complain?

Most of the competitors were well-known. I was informed to be on the lookout for a couple riders I was unfamiliar with, since they were motivated to beat me. I definitely have a bullseye on my back because everyone thought I was the favorite when I tied for third place and completed 250 miles with a father-son duo in not so spectacular finish line sprint in 2022. I still have to do all of the work, though, and demonstrate that my previous result was not a fluke. In reality, everything is not as simple as it appears from the outside. Being the underdog is preferable to me, but I don’t mind being the favorite either. Having raced for a long time, I’m not under as much pressure or stress.

Once the gun went off, we formed a big peloton of about thirty racers. The powerful crosswinds soon split the group in two. We created a gap together with around ten racers, and soon thereafter, it  was just seven of us. I thought there would be a larger group and that everyone would stay together longer, but apparently not today.

I was leading the pack together with Dan Rocco and Marc Poland, who was competing in the 100-mile event. The two hopefuls plus John Long were right behind. And finally, Larry, who was on a recumbent. John finished pretty high last year, and won his age group, so I had to keep an eye on him.

I am not sure if anyone heard me but I yelled that we should go for few strong pulls in attempt to drop few of those contenders in the crosswinds. Some of those riders were taking it easy and that wasn’t helping the group.

After strong pulls from Dan and Marc , I went hard as well and we dropped everyone but Larry. He was just sitting behind us. I believe this was right after the first loop (35 miles). The last one to hang onto our wheels dropped and tried to chase. However, in the crosswinds , he had no chance and I am sure it was mentally tough as well. He made the right choice by backing off and doing his own tempo. Who knows how strong the gusts were, but the wind was consistently blowing between 15 and 25 mph.

With no one near to challenge his 100-mile overall victory, Marc was with us, and we enjoyed the opportunity to cross the finish line as a group. What a wonderful moment to share.

Now it was only Dan and me, and ultimately, Larry pulled away. He rode a recumbent, so he was less affected by the wind.

Our collaboration was excellent, resulting in a very smooth and efficient paceline. Though I could have continued, I let Dan stop for two bottles, and I did the same. All I needed to do was make one stop because I had two Camelbacks and food in water bottle containers. However, it was crucial that we stick together because we were saving energy.

After 6.5 hours and a few more stops, he told me to continue forward so that he wouldn’t slow me down. I thought that we might make it up by drafting, but who knows? I moved forward by myself. He told me he’d heard that a group of three or four riders were chasing and that they might catch us. However, we were not aware of the exact gap.

It would have been extremely disappointing if I had burned through all of my matches on a solo breakaway and was eventually caught. Seeing how disorganized they were earlier, I liked my chances and continued. On the second to last lap, I picked up the pace after a few good laps at a slower pace. Can I hold them down ?

As I hit the gas on my final lap, I noticed that no one was around the long, straight sections of the road. By that time, it was getting dark as well.

It appeared that I would be getting close to 250 miles once more, and I was excited. All I had to do after my last loop was bike more than a mile as they round to the next mile marker. I finished with a very respectable 249 miles (400.7 km ),  just shy of 250 miles.

Dan finished only five miles behind me after an incredible race. Larry went the furthest and raced 10 more miles than me but I was closing the gap towards the end.

It was an honor to win the standard bike North American Champion title and earn the right to wear the stars and stripes jersey. Congratulations to Dan for becoming the age group Champion and 3rd Overall .