YASMIN BOAKYE HAD JUST FINISHED THE 2024 Mid South Gravel race in Stillwater, Oklahoma, when she heard about a unique opportunity with Bicycling With three years of gravel and triathlon experience, the 33-year-old Baltimore resident was fired up and looking for a new challenge. We were offering an exclusive chance for a Bicycling member to train with us for our hometown race, the Easton Twilight Criterium. Each Memorial Day weekend, the race attracts the best riders in the country to Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley. The course is a short, technical, and relatively flat 0.71-mile circuit with six turns. Thousands of spectators line the route, and many watch from the city's downtown bars and restaurants.
Signing up for any race, especially if it's your first time, can feel intimidating. But with the right preparation, training, and gear, racing your bike can be a rewarding chance to challenge yourself. That's why Boakye didn't hesitate to submit an application. And when she found out she'd been selected, she couldn't wait to get started.
"Getting to train in a really focused way was very exciting to me," she says. "I figured I can figure out the racing part." We set her up with one-on-one access to Bicycling editors who ensured she had everything she needed for success, including a personal coach-21-time national champion and Pan American gold medalist Daniel Holloway-who designed an 8-week individualized crit training plan for her to follow.
Legendary Italian bike manufacturer Pinarello donated a brand-new $6,000 Pinarello F5 105 Di2 to ensure Boakye had the right bike and the best riding experience while training and racing.
With her coach, Bicycling staff support, and new road bike, Boakye was more than ready to take on her first criterium. Here is how it went--and why she would do it again in a heartbeat.
5 BIG TRAINING REVELATIONS
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Esta historia es de la edición Winter 2024 de Bicycling US.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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GETTING A FLAT CAN MAKE YOUR RIDE BETTER
ON A BEAUTIFUL LATE-SUMMER RIDE UNDER a cerulean blue sky, I got my second flat in three days.
THERE ARE WAY TOO MANY BIKES TO CHOOSE FROM
\"PERFECTION IS ACHIEVED, NOT WHEN there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.\"
THE CASE AGAINST STRAVA
I'LL BEGIN BY SINGING SOME PRAISES: Without Strava, I'm not sure I'd have re-engaged with cycling at the level I did. Coming from just occasionally messing around on mountain bikes as a teenager to trying my best to race at an elite level, Strava has played a role in pushing me to PR, hunt KOMS, and ride faster and harder than ever before.
LOOKING FOR CYCLING'S CAITLIN CLARK
WOMEN'S PRO CYCLING MUST FOSTER A COMMUNITY THAT WILL FEEL INVESTED IN THE SPORT FOR YEARS TO COME.
THE UPSIDE OF GETTING YOUR CAR STOLEN
AFTER I PARKED AT THE LAFAYETTE COLLEGE track for my workout, I did what I always do: I put my phone and wallet in the center console of my car and took the car key off the ring so I could fit it into the tiny pocket inside my running shorts.
UNLOCK THE SECRETS OF CYCLING'S SUPER AGERS
MEET THE SWEDISH SENIORS WHO PROVE YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD TO RIDE HARD.
BIKE PACKING AMERICA'S LONGEST MULTIUSE TRAIL NETWORK
Even the slightest rain can sound thunderous inside a tent--and this was not slight rain. It came down in buckets, just as my partner Maggie and I were settling into our sleeping bags.
TWICE AS GOOD
WHY A DISCO-BALLINSPIRED DOUBLE UNICYCLE MIGHT BE ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT BIKES OF THE YEAR
THE ALCHE MISTS
They led a cycling revolution in Afghanistan where women were forbidden to ride. When the Taliban returned to power, their only hope was a harrowing escape to an uncertain future.
COUNTDOWN - TO YOUR FIRST CRIT
ONE INTREPID MEMBER, ONE WORLDCLASS COACH, ONE INCREDIBLE BIKE-THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME.
