A Perfect Return: Unbeaten at the T-Town C2s

There’s a certain feeling you get returning to a place you used to call home. For four years, the Valley Preferred Cycling Center was my office, my training ground, and my community. This past June, I flew back for two weeks to race the UCI Class 2 events on June 13th and 20th, and it felt like a homecoming.

The mission of the trip was twofold: bank some crucial UCI points for the upcoming World Cup qualification season, and sharpen my race instincts for the LA Summer Slam series in July. But beneath the strategic goals, there was a thick layer of nerves. It’s hard to believe, but it had been nearly two years since I’d been able to race at full health, and the uncertainty was weighing on me. Was the work I’d been putting in LA paying off? How would I stack up against the East Coast competition that had, frankly, obliterated me last year?

Despite the nerves, I was confident. I trusted my training and felt a sense of excitement to be back in the place that shaped me as a rider. I have to give a massive shout-out to Edge Cycling and my coach of six years, Andrew Harris, whose guidance was invaluable in getting me to this level in the first place.

Then, the racing started.

Keirin at TTown

From the first Keirin round, something just clicked. The nervousness vanished, replaced by a calm, focused aggression. The tactics felt sharp, the legs felt powerful, and the results followed. Over the two weeks, I went perfect in the Keirin, winning every single round I raced by a significant margin.

It was a profoundly validating experience. To go from being beaten down the year before to being completely dominant was the exact confidence booster I needed. The feeling of racing in front of the loud, passionate T-Town crowds again, this time as a returning hometown favorite, was incredible. It’s an atmosphere you just can’t replicate anywhere else.

The second week was made even more special by having my family drive down from New York to watch me compete. To be able to perform like that with them in the stands was the perfect ending to a perfect trip.

This wasn't just about winning a few races; it was about proving to myself that I'm back. The points are in the bank, the race mindset is locked in, and my confidence is higher than ever. The road to LA 2028 is long, but this was a powerful and necessary step in the right direction.

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