Q and A with Ruby West: Successes and slipping (lots of slipping) at Cincy

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Following Ruby West’s weekend of racing in Cincinnati, I caught up with the under-23 national cyclocross champion to discuss one of her biggest races to date and the muddy slide-fest on on the Pan American championships course.

You followed your success in Winnipeg (under-23 women’s champ and seventh at the GP) with a trip to Cincinnati. What were your expectations for Cincy?

I was super excited to be heading to Cincinnati because I’d heard so many good things about both courses. The fact that it was the Pan American championships made it even more exciting. With it being the biggest race I’d ever participated in, I was nervous and didn’t really know what to expect. For Day 1 at Kings CX, I knew it would be a tough race and I wouldn’t be battling for a podium position with so many elite riders there. I used the race as experience. I tried to fight for every position within the race and do as well as possible. Crossresults.com had predicted that for Day 2 at Devou Park that I would finish sixth in the under-23 women’s championship race. That was pretty cool because I’d never really seen any sort of predictions before, but I thought I was up for the challenge. I think my goal for sure for Day 2 was top five. I knew that was a lofty goal, but having not raced many of the other riders there I thought I might as well aim high.

>>> Audio interview with Ruby West following her national championship win

How was Kings CX? How would you characterize the race?

Kings CX was crazy fast. Right off the gun it was go time, as expected with such a stacked field. The race was strung out right away, which made passing fairly manageable if you had the legs to do so. The course was pretty flowy but felt kind of sluggish with tons of bogged-down false-flat/uphill sections. I felt like I might have gone out a little too hard in this race, as I faded pretty hard, losing a couple positions in the last few laps.

How do you feel about your result (21st)?

At the time, I think I was a little frustrated with 21st, as earlier in the race I had been riding well inside the top 20. I also just kind of felt like my legs weren’t really there during the race, like no matter how hard my brain said to go, they wouldn’t listen. After the race I remembered that that this was a C1 race, so everyone was there for the big UCI points. This was actually my best result to date in a C1 race with some crazy tough competition.

Those were some pretty world-class racers you faced (Compton, Miller, Gould, Mani)? What do you gain when racing against such riders?

I have done a couple races with riders of this calibre before, but never one this big. Since it was C1, pretty much the best of the best came out. There were some heavy hitters there this weekend. I think it’s an amazing opportunity racing such strong riders. I was pushed by every rider around me and had to fight for every position, which really makes me a more aggressive rider and helps to bring my racing to a higher level. It also prepares me for international races like World Cups where the field can be double the size.

Is that you in that slip-and-side-fest at the Pan Am champs that Geoff Kabush shot? Tell me what’s going on there?

Yep, I’m the fourth rider that comes onto the screen in the red-and-white jersey. Geoff showed me the video after my race and it totally affirmed how I felt during that section in the first lap. The commissaire told us on the start line that we would be doing that section, which was not included in the course during our pre-ride, so no one had tried it yet. You can see race officials in the video pulling the fencing back so we could advance. The section was a very steep off-camber, which was just a slip-and-slide after the rain the previous night. It was funny, after the fact, to see that every single rider in the race was falling. At the time, it was pretty demoralizing that every time I got back up off the ground, I either fell down again or someone landed on me as she fell. I would get up quickly then go right back down. I got stepped on, whacked and grabbed by riders who had fallen and got pinned under the fencing. There was just no traction, even for the riders wearing toe spikes.

How did you approach that section in subsequent laps?

I decided to take the high line against the fencing for the following laps. After the first lap’s craziness, everyone was more spread out, giving each rider more room to take the line she wanted. I figured out that running up high with the fence to hold onto was my best bet, since the lower line at the bottom fence was completely destroyed from riders sliding all over it. If you tried to run down there, your feet would slide out from under you and you would end up under the fencing.

You got fourth. How does that feel?

I am really, really happy with fourth. As I said, I came into the race with kind of weird expectations, hoping for a top five but not really knowing if that would be possible. Obviously, the podium would have been super cool, but the gap between me and the third-place rider was too big for me to close. The only down side of the race was my great friend Emma White crashed hard in front of me on the nastiest descent and was taken off the course on a spine board by ambulance with one lap to go. I was so glad to see her back at the park once she was cleared the hospital.

I hear you have a chainring stamp on your forearm. Any ideas how that got there?

Yep, that is true! I’m honestly not too sure where that came from, since it’s on the underside of my forearm. My best bet would be from the pileup on the first lap, as I know I got tangled up with a bunch of bikes then. Ellen Noble, who won the race, took a picture of my chainringed forearm.  It was kind of cool.

What lies ahead for you? Travel to Europe? If so, what do you hope to gain from a trip abroad?

I have a few days of rest now then a lot more ‘cross. While the winter season is off-season for most, cyclocross keeps me going into the winter. I’ll continue to train with my coach Kevin Simms, race some local races and race some UCI races in the States.  Mid-January, I will be heading off to Europe for some prep before competing for Team Canada at the World Cup in Hoogerheide Netherlands and then the world championships at Zolder in Belgium. I hope to gain experience more than anything with that trip. I hope to build on the races I’ve done here in Canada and in the U.S. and get a feel for racing in Europe with the under-23 women that I will be competing against for the next couple years. It will be huge for me!

What about track? You do that too. How are you juggling track and CX?

Right now, track, for me, has wound down, but I will be using the track for training all winter. I hope to do some Ontario track training camps during the winter as well. The training I do on the boards really helps build the power you need in ‘cross so it has been really key for me. My next big track race will be junior nationals, which are to take place at the Pan Am velodrome in Milton sometime in April 2016.