Finally!!! My first cross race of the season has come and gone and again it was at Manions. I think I like this venue but also hate it...I think the hate comes from being the first race of the season and suffering on a higher level at a place that isn't conducive for my big ass to "do well"...I guess I shouldn't say "do well"...I did manage a 6th out of 18 loonies today in classic CX conditions....you know...wind, rain and MUD!!!!!
On to the race...The rain started early today which meant the mud tires I put on yesterday would be spot on and the worked well for the most part...anyway...The rain eased to a light variety and I set off to do my warm up. My traditional warm up was tossed out the window today due to conditions but I did do 2 recon laps and then headed to the road to get ready.
Sufficiently warmed up I head to the start line to keep my NO DFL rule intact...I was golden and got a spot on the front row!! When it was finally go time my new starting technique helped me grab the holeshot! I was totally not expecting that, it was a good thing though, because the first really technical turn became a bottle neck and the gaps started to open to those who were in the first 7 or 8 positions.
I think I led about 2/3rds of the first lap it was then the eventual winner rolled by me and set sail. A short time later Roger Williams comes rolling by on a freakin single speed only to ride away...oh well...I'm in 3rd and not blind yet. I stayed in 3rd for the next 3 laps I think it was then I started to suffer...and this eventually cost me 2 spots...back to 5th.
Still in 5th with 2 to go Josh Taylor was slowly closing the gap to me and just before we started the last lap he got by me. I was good with it at this point because the majority of the next few long sections were headwind and I was gonna sit on and hide. The ultimate plan was to sprint Josh for the position but that didn't happen...
We were wheel to wheel for about the first 1/3 of the track, then I bobbled, had to dismount to get gong again and kinda gassed myself a little do this but I did get back to his wheel. Shortly after that there was a super greasy off camber turn that I had been riding all day and this time I had all kinds of problems...Josh ran it and gapped me...this led to a downhill that I hadn't had a problem all day until now....I put a little more effort in to closing the gap on this section and was rewarded with being bucked sideways at speed and having to do a mach speed power slide to the tape to keep from wadding myself up and taking a mud sample...this was were it was over.
Would I have done anything different? Probably not. Am I happy with the result? Yeah because last year I had waaaaay better fitness going in to this season and finished 7th on a dry fast course. At this point I'm not sure if I will line up on Sunday...My bike is clean and I suppose I'm ready to go if the urge hits me...we shall see.
E
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