I woke up late Sunday morning and packed my stuff and prepped my bike. I warmed up with my team mate Brian Matter and went to the start line. I snuck up to the third row, happy to not be confined to the back of the chute as the juniors are. In these big fields of 60 plus riders the starts are vital because of the large amount of single track and how difficult it is to pass. Don did the count down and we took off. We charged up the hill and I moved from the middle to the far left and moved through the pack. I was about 20th as we went into the first single track section. Some other riders and I made some aggressive passes to get by slower riders who were holding us up in the single track. Unfortunately there was one rider between me and the guy in my category who lives in Cambridge and rides these trails multiple times a week who ended up 10th overall. He got away and I drilled the rest of the first lap in 15th place. Right before the start hill going into the second lap I dropped my chain and lost some time to the pack of riders chasing me, including my team mate Jason. They caught up and I hopped on Jason's wheel who pulled me through the climbs and the two track. I took the lead into the single track and slowly began to pull away. In 15th place I opened up the gap to about thirty seconds but two thirds through that second lap I dropped my chain twice in a row and that group of 5 caught me while I was fixing it. I jumped on their group and started to work my way up. Going into the third lap I was on Jason's wheel but I couldn't quite hold it, so him and another guy got way. I chased as hard as I could but couldn't catch up. Another 19-23 rider and I rode the rest of that lap together, only dropping my chain once.
The other rider and I hammered the final lap together duking it out for the final podium spot with me leading. Three fourths through the final lap I dropped my chain for the 5th time this race. He took off and I lost 15 seconds on him while I fixed my mechanical. I chased him down through the single track and sat on his wheel to recover. Each lap I had noticed that he was faster up the first winding two track part of the climb but I always passed him easily once we got back onto the open hill, which was where the finish was. Knowing he would attack on the first part I recovered on his wheel biding my time. Like I predicted, he hit gas and I stuck to his wheel like glue. He blew up a a couple hundred yards before we got onto the open climb. I powered past him and gave it everything I had on the last part of the climb and through the finishing straight.
I am extremely pleased to have gotten a glimpse of what I can really do. Finishing 17th in the pro field out of 65 riders in the biggest MTB series in the country against some of the top riders in the country has left me feeling very accomplished and finishing third in the 19-23 age group against some super strong riders is also fantastic. My goal was top 15 but after dropping my chain five times and having to ride carefully to avoid more issues I am still pleased. I plan to crack the top 15 at the next race and my new goal is to crack the top 10 before the season is over. My team mate Brian Matter won the pro race which was fantastic. My other teammate Jason Balden finished 13th. One of these days I'll get him! Rachel Jensen also did a great job in the pro women with a 7th place!
I have established a relationship with Wolf Tooth Components who are the makers of the patent pending drop-stop tooth profile chain rings, which are miles and miles better then the Shimano chain rings and are a necessity for running 1x11. They will be supporting me for this season and the future! I can't wait to ride their components and put a stop to mechanicals so I can ride to the best of my ability! I can't wait for the rest of the season and what it has in store!
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