2nd Place Beginner Women - Sonya Gagnon
Team/Sponsors: Design Physics Racing Powered by Rowletts

Bike:VooDoo "Bokor" model, 1999

2008 Cat: Beginner Women - 2009 Cat, if changed:Sport

Favorite Race Style (XC, Enduro, Endurance) and why? I’m not sure how to answer this, I know it’s not endurance. It is the usual mountain bike races I do like Hilbert, poor farm...is that considered XC? Anyway reason- I like to go fast and hard, I don’t think I have the stamina to do endurance racing.


Favorite Race:Of all the races I did in 2008, I would say that Tidewater Challenge was my favorite course. Although in the top 2 as far as difficulty for me, I liked it because there were some really fast downhills, so fast that they pop you over the next uphill, so that was kind of fun.

How did your favorite race play out?
Although above I said Tidewater Challenge was my favorite course, my favorite race was the Twisted Tire Poor Farm Fall Cup. Reason being is I worked SO hard for that second place. Deborah Kahrs came in first. Almost the whole race, she was visibly in front of me, I worked so hard to get ground on her but she was always in front. I crashed a couple times as usual, and each time I would lose sight of her then slowly regain sight again. It was exciting seeing her the whole time, and chasing her as hard as I could. I thought maybe I could get her in the final sprint in the field, but right before the field we came to that big log pile and she had the ability to go over it where I had to go around so I lost time there. I did gain ground on her in the sprint, but she still finished 5 seconds in front of me. Although I didn’t come in first it was my favorite race because it really pushed me hard and the 2nd place was so much sweeter because I worked my tail off to get it.

How often do you ride and at what pace per ride?
Well in the winter I’m lucky if I get out once a week, maybe on average about twice a month. In the summer it really varies as I focus more on road racing, but maybe in the summer on average once a week. My non-race pace is usually in the 7-8mph range. Race pace I’m not sure, I think 8-9. I don’t think I’ve averaged above 9 yet over at least 7 miles.

Do you think riding everyday is over training?
For me, yes. My body does better in a race if I don’t ride the day before. And, although I love racing, I don’t let it consume my life as there are other things important to me as well.

Do you switch between road ride, mountain biking and running?
No running for me, my knees don’t like it, but yes I do a lot of road riding, probably in the summer about 4 times a week.

Do you wear a heartrate monitor and train based upon heart rate numbers?
No. I am anal/compulsive. If I had a heartrate monitor I would worry that I would focus too much on it and the numbers, and not enough on just plain riding.

What (if any) supplements do you take during a race?
In 2008 since I was just a beginner woman and the course for that category is usually only about 7 miles, so I didn’t take any supplements. I will probably reconsider that during the 2009 season racing Sport (cat 2).

What type of (if any) supplements do you take after a hard ride?
I don’t take a supplement but just usually bring a lunch and eat it after.

What got you into mountain biking and then what got you into racing?
I got into mountain biking when I lived in New Hampshire, but mostly used the mountain bike on the road and just for exercise. I did some trails but not a lot, and didn’t have any friends that mountain biked. When I moved to Virginia, I got my first road bike and got heavily into RABA (Richmond Area Bicycling Association) and came to love road riding. I was encouraged to race by some fellow riders in RABA and decided to try it. When I made the decision to try road racing, I decided at the same time to try mountain bike racing, just to experience both and see if I liked it. I got hooked to both.

Would you consider this a hobby, sport, lifestyle, or occupation? Why do you feel that way?
I consider this a sport for me. I wasn’t very active in sports growing up but now I am really enjoying it. I love the adrenaline rush during a race, and pushing myself to extremes

What do you like to do with your time away from your race/training calendar?
My favorite things are gardening (perennials and vegatables), landscaping (anything involving working with the land), and attracting birds to the yard.



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