I am currently sitting in a small town next to Lake Michigan reflecting on everything from Nationals at the beginning of the year until now, the National Road Series mid-season break. The year has certainly had highs and lows but thankfully many more highs over the last six months which has made it one of the most enjoyable periods both on and of the bike.

The Australian summer was hot and fast. Filled with racing, we had Australian Road Nationals, Santos Women’s Tour, and Cadel’s. The outlook for the remainder of the NRS calendar saw large gaps in racing and knowing this I decided to find racing options overseas. This lead to me planning a block of racing in the States.

I had originally intended to race Mersey Valley Tour with the High5 Dream Team which I was really looking forward to. Although the Mersey Valley Tour is renowned for being wet and cold I like Tasmania and its scenery and it is always a well-run event. Unfortunately, I had to pull out of the tour when I had to have nasal surgery that week. This also put my future plans of racing in the States on delay however with a few weeks off to recover I was good to go again breathing better than ever.

The first few races here I spent finding some race legs and intensity after having had forced time off. More recently I have had two wins, including a solo breakaway on Day 3 of Tour of America’s Dairyland, and a sprint finish against last year’s High 5 Dream Team teammate Kimberley Wells at the Poco GP which was part of BC Super Week in Vancouver. Along with this I took half a dozen podiums and enjoyed a fantastic adventure that has taken me from the west coast of America to the east and eventually back again.

I am now looking forward to my final few weeks here before returning for the Tour of King Valley and seeing all my High 5 Dream Team teammates again.

Hopefully, the weather decides to warm up before then, I can’t say I have missed the Melbourne winter…

Kendelle