As I had been caught in a hail storm during the pre-ride the day before...I expected the course to be pretty muddy...but it was really nice outside and the course usually dries up pretty fast so I wasn't too worried about the course conditions. What really worried me, were the guys I was going to be racing against. All these guys had done several of the ABA XC races and all of them had shown huge gains over last year. Major threats for me were the usual culprits, Ken, Mark and Sam. I had yet to beat Ken in a race and I knew that he is riding really strong this year (and I called him out at the end of the season last year...haha). Mark is an awesome technical rider and always does well in technical dowhill courses. Sam and I have always finished really close in results last year and he looked to be riding really well this year.
Needless to say, I was a lot more nervous then I may have let on at the start of the race, although I do find myself a little more relaxed at starts then I used to be...but I was surrounded by all these fast guys...so I seeded myself right up at the front in the hopes of being able to keep up.
Don't let the smile fool you - I'm getting ready to SUFFER!
The race started and I went out hard...but tried to reel it in a bit as I knew that the first climb was relentless and a major risk on this course is going out too hard and then blowing up on the climb. I found Ken's wheel pretty quickly and kept him in my sights to keep a good pace. I gained a few spots on the initial climb where I was able to pass Sam and Sheldon. We did a descent into a pool of mud and because I couldn't remember the line (and coming out the race clean with a clean bike was pretty much done with), I decided to plow straight throught to gain a couple spots. My front wheel pretty much disappeared into the mud and so I had to put my foot down to try and get my bike out. My leg went straight down into the mud and I was in knee deep mud struggling to push my bike out. Luckily the pool of mud was before the creek crossing which was pretty deep too...so I was able to wash off a lot of the mud from my bike (and shoes). Now came the first big climb...and I was now starting to pass guys that had blown up or didn't have the legs ready for the climb. I knew I had made my way into the top 5 and could see the race leaders in front of me. I had passed both Ken and Mark who both told me to keep givin' er which really helped me to keep pushing.
After grabbing onto a wheel, I winded through the single track climb (my favorite part of the course) and then sped along the connector to the second big climb. I power up the climb and was hanging onto the wheel of another rider (which turned out to be the guy in third place). I stayed with him until the first switchback descent which is where he, despite my best efforts, gapped me almost instantly. I rode within myself as I know that crashing can pretty much kill your race if you aren't confident in taking the decents fast. I couldn't hear any riders behind me so I just kept my own pace. There was one big climb remaining where I figured I could make up lost time.
Sulpher Spring Descent
Near the end of the switchback descents, my front wheel got caught in a rut and I bailed into the grass...the exact same place where I had bailed yesterday during the pre-ride. I was a pretty soft landing but the rider in 5th gained a place on me. I got up and pushed hard to close the gap before the first climb. During the one of the power climbs, I ended up passing him as he had dropped his chain. Then it was time for the 3rd and hardest climb.
Because of the rain the day before the climb was tackier then usual which made the first part of the climb a little bit easier. I zig-zagged my way up but took a bad line tat the steepest part and ended up having to dismount and run the last little bit. The rider who had passed me had caught up but I was slowly opening the gap on the climb. I could once again see the rider in 3rd so I tried to climb in a harder gear to try and close in on him but he got away from me again on the descent.
As I went down the final descent the rider behind me once again caught up and passed me...now I was just hoping to try and hold onto my position. After the descent it was time for the long flat single track to the finish line. I popped my chain into the big ring and hammered for the finish. I checked behind me and couldn't see a rider but that didn't mean I would let up. I crossed the finish line and was pretty happy about how the race went.
Result: 5th
My best rsult in a race so far. It seems that on a fitness level, I'm really feeling much stronger in races then last year and finally starting to feel all my hours of training come through. It was also a great day for my teammates as well with Mark, Ken and I all finishing up in the top 8.
Lyndon finishing up a true mountain bike race
Photo Credits: Carthy Chan, Earl Nolan, Ken Hurd
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment