• Race Report: MSC #6, Sol Vista & CO State XC Championships

    MSC, Sol Vista
    This weekends race up at Sol Vista also served as the Colorado State XC Championships. Warm weather greeted us at the start, but after 1 lap, the skies turned dark and let loose with cold rain, hail, and dangerous lightening. I was climbing with Thane Wright on the start of lap 2 and we damn near got struck! Thane replied, "That is the closest I have ever been, DAMN!" Too close for comfort for me as well....as my HR spiked to over 180 bpm. As I came in from lap 2 of the 4 lap race, the event was called off due to the lightening. This left me with a 7th place finish in the semi-pro race.

    My legs felt light and powerful, and brings in some confidence for the Leadville 100 next weekend. The race was pretty mellow from the gun.....or else, I had good legs which made it seem easy. I am going to bet on the later. There were about 30 guys in the race...and I hit lap one in about 10th place. As we rolled up the multiple switch back opening climb, I kept and light and high speed cadence....which got me around numerous guys. The lead group of riders pulled away...but I let them do their thing...while I did mine. I soon found myself in a group with 2 other guys. We rolled through lap 1 with no issues on the dry and dust course.

    On lap 2, I stopped to grab a new bottle and was passed by 2 guys. I would eventually roll up the opening climb again and catch 1 of them. The further I went up the climb, the skies got darker...and the rain began to fall lightly. I was soon joined by Thane Wright. We continued to climb and I sucked his wheel and pace. As we climbed....the lightening got super close. A bit too close in our minds! We kept on going and I stayed with Thane. As we got later into the lap the rain let loose....along with some hail. The trail got muddy and was causing some minor shifting issues. As we rolled out to the final road section I pegged it with the idea that the race might me called off due to the lightening. I got a gap on Thane and another rider. As I dropped into the venue, we had to drop off a wooden bridge. That bridge was super slick and I hit it sideways. I about rolled off my rear tire. By the time I got the bike under control, a Boulder Cycle Sports rider passed me. I was unable to make up the distance in all the short series of switchbacks.

    When I crossed the line on lap 2 of 4, they called the race. This solidified my 7th place.

    Full results are posted here
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    Need to de-mud
    Time to clean up and focus all weekly energy on the Leadville 100 on Saturday.