So the first race of the season is done. Its a great way to start off the year with one of my favorite courses. McDowell Regional park is amazing, not only are the competitive tracks top notch, but there is hundreds of miles of great trail all over the park.
The race started early, which I really like. I would rather just get it done with, even if it was 46 degrees outside. The race was just over thirty miles, consisting of three ten mile laps which blended the sport, tech, and long competitive tracks together. Even though the race was pretty long I got in a solid warm up because I knew it would start fast. This year they combined the Pro and Cat 1, 45 and under starts so I started with 45 other guys, I got to the line early and was stoked to get on the front line. Its good to practice starting with a bunch of other guys to prepare for the bigger races. The start was fast and I rolled into the single track in 4th. TJ went to the front and started drilling the pace early. In a matter of ten minutes it was down to 5 guys; TJ, Mimo, Zach, Ty and I. Everyone was riding pretty well and we worked well as a group. After the 1st lap it was down to 4 guys, unfortunately Ty flatter towards the end of lap 1. Lap two went really smooth as well. Everyone stayed together and was riding really fast. Our second lap ended up being a couple of minutes faster then our first.
Coming through the feed zone, going into our third lap, the men's beginner field started. Seeing this the four of us sprinted to the entrance of the lap. Unfortunately we didn't make it in time and ended up behind 40 beginner riders. The first ten minutes of that lap was the most hectic racing I have ever experienced, even more hectic than a World Cup! We were passing a couple of guys at a time but it seemed like we never made any progress because one of us would get caught up in a crash every couple of minutes. Unfortunately two guys went down in front of me and I was forced to get off my bike and run around them. At this point a gap had formed between myself and the other guys. I was able to close it down, but at the expense of a lot of energy. As I got on the tail end of the group we hit another group of beginners and I fell off the back. I still finished off the lap strong and ended up about 1 minute behind the Pro Winner TJ Woodruff. I would have liked to battle it out with the other guys but the strongest guy definitely won. TJ was killing it in our group all day. He was at the front drilling it every lap.
The race was perfect to get back in the swing of riding fast. I felt good for this time of the year and look forward to building on where I am at. I finished off the weekend with an epic shred with Chris Grove on Sunday. We went over Windgate pass, dropping us into Scottsdale and then climbed back up to Tom's Thumb. Chris displayed his amazing skills on the way back up the mountain. He rode some sections that straight up amazed me. 25+ years of riding experience on full display! The ride was also the first time I really could enjoy my new bike. I picked up my 2012 Trek Superfly Pro on Friday before the race. I did some quick adjustments before the race but didn't really have time to dial in the new SID 29 fork or my position. I loved last years bike but they found a way to make this one even better. Super stoked to be racing on a Superfly again for 2012!
No comments:
Post a Comment