After a nice month off from racing, this past weekend marked the beginning of the 2nd half of the season. I took some time off of the bike and enjoyed a few fun rides with friends. I also got all my repairs taken care of (Fork, wheel bearings) as well as mounting some new tires to finish off the season. I finally got my new bike dialed in and it's feeling incredible. I was feeling good about this race.
I'm just going to get into it. Some new riders showed up to this event and the turnout seemed surprisingly high compared to last year. This is great for the sport. The race started and I tried to get an early lead, but my legs weren't on the same page. Usually I can come out of the gate attacking, but not today. I turned the jets down a bit and settled into a moderate pace trying to keep up with the leaders. This wasn't happening and could see myself drifting backwards in the pack. I was probably sitting in 5th or 6th place and wasn't making much ground. The first climb seemed to keep going and the legs were still feeling weak. As I started to crest the climb I was able to get a little break and recover. I turned the big gear to gain some ground on the others and my legs felt alive finally. I was trading places with another guy quite a few times. The blur absolutely punished my competitors on the single tracks...that could just be my mad skills too. ;-). I was able to make up time on the first single track. Unfortunate for me, there wasn't much of it and the course again catered to those that ride fire roads mainly. I consider myself a pretty fast climber, but I don't know why it seems I'm going backwards. Anyways, more than halfway through the race I get passed by a guy I have never lost to. Now I'm in trouble. What was the problem? I didn't feel horrible at all. I felt pretty good. Is everyone else improving and getting faster? I thought I was improving. I kept him and another guy in my sights for awhile until we crested the final climb but I could no longer see them on the final fire road decent before the last single track. As soon as I got to the single track, I could see one guy in front of me. I attacked hard as there was some climbing still to do before the fun began. I passed this one rider and started making ground on the next guy. I was moshing through the technical and rocky parts as now I was flying down the single track. I passed another guy in my class and kept going. I then see another racer in my class not too far ahead and I'm making ground. I had no idea what place I was in, but I just made up 2 places. I attacked more and passed him on a short little climb and then bombed down looking to make up more time. I remember even passing a Pro rider on the Pirates or Fall Line single tracks. That's got to be demoralizing for a CAT2 rider to pass a Pro. I see another guy in front now and I kept gaining ground on him. I knew the end was only a few hundred feet away or so. I got right behind him but couldn't pass him on the final turn of the day and that was the difference in the race. I need about another 100 feet or so. Turns out I lost out on 3rd by 1 second! This was definitely the closest race I have been in. In the final half mile I could have given up and settled for 7th or 8th place. That would have been my worst finish if I did that. I don't know what's wrong, but I need to step up my game if I want to retain my overall lead. The 2nd place guy overall, finished 1st today which means he made up alot ground on my overall lead. I believe I'm only 6 points ahead which really is the difference between 1st and 2nd place. It's that close right now.
I'm just going to get into it. Some new riders showed up to this event and the turnout seemed surprisingly high compared to last year. This is great for the sport. The race started and I tried to get an early lead, but my legs weren't on the same page. Usually I can come out of the gate attacking, but not today. I turned the jets down a bit and settled into a moderate pace trying to keep up with the leaders. This wasn't happening and could see myself drifting backwards in the pack. I was probably sitting in 5th or 6th place and wasn't making much ground. The first climb seemed to keep going and the legs were still feeling weak. As I started to crest the climb I was able to get a little break and recover. I turned the big gear to gain some ground on the others and my legs felt alive finally. I was trading places with another guy quite a few times. The blur absolutely punished my competitors on the single tracks...that could just be my mad skills too. ;-). I was able to make up time on the first single track. Unfortunate for me, there wasn't much of it and the course again catered to those that ride fire roads mainly. I consider myself a pretty fast climber, but I don't know why it seems I'm going backwards. Anyways, more than halfway through the race I get passed by a guy I have never lost to. Now I'm in trouble. What was the problem? I didn't feel horrible at all. I felt pretty good. Is everyone else improving and getting faster? I thought I was improving. I kept him and another guy in my sights for awhile until we crested the final climb but I could no longer see them on the final fire road decent before the last single track. As soon as I got to the single track, I could see one guy in front of me. I attacked hard as there was some climbing still to do before the fun began. I passed this one rider and started making ground on the next guy. I was moshing through the technical and rocky parts as now I was flying down the single track. I passed another guy in my class and kept going. I then see another racer in my class not too far ahead and I'm making ground. I had no idea what place I was in, but I just made up 2 places. I attacked more and passed him on a short little climb and then bombed down looking to make up more time. I remember even passing a Pro rider on the Pirates or Fall Line single tracks. That's got to be demoralizing for a CAT2 rider to pass a Pro. I see another guy in front now and I kept gaining ground on him. I knew the end was only a few hundred feet away or so. I got right behind him but couldn't pass him on the final turn of the day and that was the difference in the race. I need about another 100 feet or so. Turns out I lost out on 3rd by 1 second! This was definitely the closest race I have been in. In the final half mile I could have given up and settled for 7th or 8th place. That would have been my worst finish if I did that. I don't know what's wrong, but I need to step up my game if I want to retain my overall lead. The 2nd place guy overall, finished 1st today which means he made up alot ground on my overall lead. I believe I'm only 6 points ahead which really is the difference between 1st and 2nd place. It's that close right now.
The final turn where I lost by a second. Dissapointment on my face.
I've worked so hard this year, but looks like I'm going to have to work harder. Next weekend is the Santa Barbara race and I'm hoping this will favor more to my style. It's 80% single track and very fast. Lots of quick ups and downs so I hope to really take advantage of the terrain.
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