Oh we are all very tired. Great race today. I hope everyone enjoyed the course and the event. Thanks to the entire Team for all their work making it happen. Special thanks are due to Jim McNeely for doing so much to make it an awesome event.
Thanks to our Sponsors, Ommegang and Duvel, Contes, among others.
Also deserving of too many thanks to mention is Loren, for putting up with our shenanigins (Like being gone all day yesterday to set up the course, or disappearing every weekend).
I'm too tired to give a full report right now, so here's a summary.
Early morning before the Cat 4 race (it was cold) Bill Scheiken of In the Crosshairs was rocking the Mic
The venue early
In the Cat 4 race (111 starters), Jake lined up with David Battan and Jon Burns
Cody and Micah on the front row
Jake got a super start, shooting past my video camera in like 6th at the start (you have to pause in the first second as he zipped by).
He hung in there, but says he crashed once on the first lap. He was in the top 20 or 30 on the first lap
Cody Alverez was off the front and won
Micah was in the small group behind and finished 3rd.
At the end of the second lap, Jake was still in the top 40, but I think the fast start and the long power sections were starting to hurt him, but he was hanging in there
Unfortunately on the 3rd Lap Jake was slipping back and took a hard crash hopping over the logs. That shook him up and twisted his brake levers a bit. (you can see it in this photo by Jay Westcott taken immediately after). He rode a lap with messed up brakes. He yelled he needed to pit. We made a bike change and he rode my bike for 1/2 a lap while I got his bike fixed. He finished 69th, which is still respectable, particularly with the tough crashes and mechanicals. He was pretty beat afterward and didn't really want to race the junior race later.
My warm up wasn't great, particularly with Jake moping in the car. My back has been very stiff. I got a good start, shooting into the top 10. I lost touch with the front 10 on the first lap but was just off the back of the top 15 or so when everything went weird. I'm chasing out of the woods towards the long stretch heading toward the long gravel climb. I have a decent gap on the group behind me and am pretty much in no man's land. I looked up and there was a horse standing outside the course with a saddle but no rider. Ok, I just figured it was tied to the tree. I wasn't really thinking about it. I go down the grass drag and turn onto the gravel, but hear a commotion behind me. I turn around and there is the horse running off the gravel into the field to the left. Um, OK. I keep racing up the hill (which is hard) make my way around, still racing hard, but then whistles start blowing and when I come out of the field, the ref is blowing his whistle and pulling us off the course. Oh joy, they're going to re-start us. Ugh. They tell us we're going to race for 3 more laps. They let the front 3-5 go first because they were off the front, then a few more then everyone. I had a good start but really struggled. I finished 30th, 9th or 10th among 45+. Really not satisfying. I just couldn't produce sustained power and speed.
Steve and Susan Goodwin had graciously agreed to bring Liam to the race after Sunday school. I had left his stuff with Jake before my race.
(photo by Steve Goodwin)
A big juniors field Like I said, Jake was pretty down and beat up, with a sore knee from his Cat 4 crash, but I'm proud of him for lining up. Staying with Tanner Brown would be the challenge. Jake slotted in with Tanner at the start, with Liam, Charlie Schiavo, and Dustin toward the back.
Jake was right on Tanner the first lap. Nolan Yeager was with them at first. Dustin Pulled away from Liam and Charlie early on the first big climb. He's strong.
Jake was with Tanner until the logs on the first lap. Jake's crash in the Cat 4 left him skittish and he ran them, and Tanner created the gap that he extended the second lap.
Jake had second no problem, and finished with some class, hoping the lops to overcome the demon.
The logs were more of challenge for Liam.
On lap 2 Liam was catching up with another boy. It became a battle Liam was close on the barriers.
But his slow barrier work opened a gap. Liam clawed back and was close again by the logs.
It looked like the boy had Liam beat, but I yelled for Liam to put it in a hard gear and sprint down the hill to the finishing pavement. He did. The other boy had eased off, thinking Liam was gone, and Liam caught and passed him on the pavement in the last 50 meters. Awesome. Liam was 13th. He was thrilled and said he had a great time. This was a tough course, with some serious drop-ins, and Liam did great.
Some great photos that Steve Goodwin took
We had some lunch (and I had a beer) then watched the elite men's race. Incredible show. Joe Dombroski was still warming up on the course and missed the start. He started probably 2.5 minutes behind the others. So for the next 40 minutes we watched as he caught and passed .... all of them. He was in first and still accelerating with 2 laps to go. Absolutely incredible. Here's what it looks like when a kid who raced cross in Belgium last winter and has a pro contract with Trek Livestrong for next year goes over the logs. Just slightly faster than when I did it.
As we left, the had the Tandem race start. Incredible 19 teams, including Ken and Jean Woodrow, oh and un-born baby Woodrow (Jean is many months pregnant).
Seriously great event.
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