Finally, a little redemption at the New Belgium STXC race. Last time I tried this was after a 14 hour travel day from Germany. This time, I have had plenty of saddle time leading up to the event. Event got a short 1.5 hour interval session in this AM to open up the high end system.The "A" race was at 6:30 PM, so I arrived around 5:45 and got in a few laps to get a feel for the loop this week. As with the last time I raced, it was dry and dusty. The course was a total power riders course with 3 short power climbs sure to be the make or break sections. The "A" race is broken into 2 categories. The first group goes off and 6:30. One minute later the "fast guys" take off and chase them down. For me, I figured chase the rabbit instead of being the rabbit....so, I took the 1 minute penalty. 20 or so riders started in front of us. Then about 1 minute later 10 of us took off. I was about 3rd into the hole shot. Things went great until about 200 yards into the course. Between races, the race organizer decided to water....err.....flood one of the dry 180 degree turns. Sure enough, the front tire washed out and down I went. I went from 3rd in the 2nd group to dang near tail end of the entire freak'n race. So, it was time to play catch up. So, for the next 29 minutes, I chased. I managed to work my way up to the top 15 or so riders....I think. I just did my thing...light and snappy up the climbs, and power on the flats. Legs felt light and snappy and was able to spin high RPM out of the sharp corners. Made up a lot of time here and saved some precious energy.
Overall I am happy with tonights ride. I averaged a 175 bpm for the 30 minute trip down into the pain cave. Next week is the final race. Hope I can get through it without any minor mistakes. One mistake, and you are chasing for the rest of the race. I hate to chase.