AS I PACK my bags ready to hit the road once again, the oh so familiar nerves start to kick in.<\/p>\n
I enjoyed spending some time at home in Tasmania over the holidays, but it\u2019s always short and sweet these days.<\/p>\n
After a busy Christmas period it\u2019s time to step out of my comfort zone once again and head to my first races of the 2018 road season, which also double as my first races with Wiggle High5 \u2013 the Tour Down Under followed by the Deakin University Elite Women\u2019s Race at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.<\/p>\n
While I prepare for my first professional races in over two years, I reminisce on when I initially raced as a professional cyclist at just 18 years old and what a roller-coaster three years it has been since.<\/p>\n
Following a very involved and successful career as a junior I was able to hit acceleration mode on the Australian development pathway and jump straight on a plane to Europe, into the deep end of women\u2019s cycling.<\/p>\n
In 2014, my first year as a pro, I won a Track World Cup title, travelled to 14 different countries, was selected for my first Senior Road World Championships, had several crashes including a brain injury and attended a camp for the Rio Olympics, all of which subsequently drove me to have my first ever break from cycling: it was all too much.<\/p>\n
During my break I learnt a lot about Macey the \u201cperson\u201d, rather than Macey the \u201cathlete\u201d and finally experienced what it was like to live a \u201cnormal\u201d life. In 2016 the significant turning point of my life came with my biggest adversity yet: losing my father to cancer.<\/p>\n
Dad helped me realise that life was not waiting for me to be ready; it is way too short to have regrets about what could have been.<\/p>\n
So here I am two years later, mentally and physically much stronger and ready to give professional cycling another crack.<\/p>\n
As much as I still feel like a development rider with a lot to learn, I know it is time for me to step up and work at being the best professional athlete I can be.<\/p>\n
Macey 2.0 is ready to soak up her first Tour Down Under and then it\u2019s onto the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. Wish me luck!<\/p>\n