The race is over and I am fairly happy with the result. I knew the jump from sport to expert would be difficult and I did not have expectations of running in the lead group.
The start was fairly ridiculous. Not only do the experts get a very quick jump off the line, but unlike sport the speed continues to build and build.
I found myself at the back of the pack before we got to the water tower and I was trying to get the speed to pass a few people during the prologue. I think I managed to pass two or three people before entering the single track. During the first tight section of single track I felt as if I was getting a little hung up and would have liked to have been further up in the field. Part way through the first lap I made another pass and tried to bridge the gap between a group of two riders in front of me. After lap one I passed another rider on the walkway and made good time through the school fields and past the start/finish line. My legs started to feel good on lap two and I was gaining on the group in front of me, but I could not seem to catch them. I felt alone out there and it was mentally very hard to push at that pace without someone to race with. That changed when the lead comp riders finally bridged the 2 minute gap just the start of lap 4. I held off the lead group of two for a little while and then allowed them to pass, not wanting to hold them up. I held their wheel for next half a lap and was going faster with them than riding alone. The little while later the leading comp rider slid out in a turn and the second place guy got by but I wasn't able to. The first place rider was able to gradually pull away and I was slowed slightly.
I found myself at the back of the pack before we got to the water tower and I was trying to get the speed to pass a few people during the prologue. I think I managed to pass two or three people before entering the single track. During the first tight section of single track I felt as if I was getting a little hung up and would have liked to have been further up in the field. Part way through the first lap I made another pass and tried to bridge the gap between a group of two riders in front of me. After lap one I passed another rider on the walkway and made good time through the school fields and past the start/finish line. My legs started to feel good on lap two and I was gaining on the group in front of me, but I could not seem to catch them. I felt alone out there and it was mentally very hard to push at that pace without someone to race with. That changed when the lead comp riders finally bridged the 2 minute gap just the start of lap 4. I held off the lead group of two for a little while and then allowed them to pass, not wanting to hold them up. I held their wheel for next half a lap and was going faster with them than riding alone. The little while later the leading comp rider slid out in a turn and the second place guy got by but I wasn't able to. The first place rider was able to gradually pull away and I was slowed slightly.
By the middle of lap 4 I could tell that my pace had slowed a bit but I was still feeling pretty good. All in all I think two more comp riders passed me by the end of the race, but the expert riders I had passed were no where to be found. I came through the finish line with a good sprint and finished 28 out of 35 riders less than 9 minutes behind the leader.
Andrea's First Sport Race, Well Done!
Well all the training paid off!!! After hours upon hours and miles upon miles of training since November in preparation for my jump from citizen to sport and the first race of the MNSCS season, I had a respectable finish. I finished 3rd out of 7 for my age group and 6 out of 13 for women in the sport category. The race was fast and twisty and technical, usually I would shy back, but I started right in the front and had a pretty good start. I stayed right in the middle of the pack of the women, and for awhile we all stayed together. After a bit the lead women started to pull away, this is where I made a mistake. I was following closely behind another female rider and I should have passed her, but I hesitated too long and when I finally passed her I had to work hard to catch up to the next female rider ahead of me. I finally caught her and stayed close to her wheel the rest of the second lap, as soon as we headed out of the singletrack I put it in the big chainring and gunned it. I passed her and stayed ahead until I noticed my front wheel was shaking, I looked down and my wheel had loosened up I rode for a short time until I knew I needed to stop and tighten it up, I did a quick fix, and got on my bike before she caught up. But I should have spent a little longer tightening it up because a short time later it came loose again and I needed to stop again, this time she passed me and I stayed as close as I could. The rest of the third lap we passed a few people and this is what allowed her to get too far ahead for me to catch up. I still had enough energy at the end of the race I tried to catch her but ended up finishing close behind (the results say 1 minute and 9 seconds I think it was closer than that). All in all I am happy with everything about the race.
Jordan's jump from kids comp to citizen also went very well!!
Jordan finished 2nd out of 7 in the 10-18 women's category and 7 out of 15 for all the citizen women. She started with a bang. She was lined up right in the front row of a huge wave (all women, men 40 and over, clydesdales, and single speeders) right after the start the girl next to her got pushed and fell over right into Jordan and then she fell over. She quickly got back on her bike and was looking good. After her prolouge lap and lap 1 she looked deteremined, and she looked great. She said the race went well. She is ready to go for the next race.
Taylor jumped into the kids comp category and did great! Matt rode with her to give her pointers and encouragement. She had a great race and only fell over once. It was a bit cold on Sunday and she was wearing gloves and had a hard time shifting into her middle chain ring so she was a bit frustrated by the time she came in. She finished 3rd out of 3 for her age group and 15 out of 18 overall. She is ready to race the next race. Good Job Taylor!!
1 comment:
Matt, look what I found for ya...
http://pics.smarp.us/main.php?g2_itemId=21558
Good job.
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