Vail Lake;Socal League Race #2
This race definitely put a lot of pressure onto myself. At the last race, I was only one spot off of my goal and I wasn't going to let anything stop me from achieving my goal of top ten in this race. Vail Lake is my home course so naturally I have an advantage over many of the guys in my category and I know this course like the back of my hand so I knew that I could make no excuses come race day.
On the day before the race I did only one thing: I chilled. I sat and chilled. The day absolutely moved like mollasses. Since we didn't do a preride that morning because of the rain, I had nothing to break up the ever so slow progression of time. However, I did hang out with the rest of my team and got to read Harry Potter so the day wasn't all bad. At dinner I made sure to consume as much garlic bread as possible for maximum race efficiency (I clocked out at 6 I think), and next thing I knew, it was race day.
3, 2, 1, the race starts. Right off the bat, the top 30 guys were battling to get into the single track first. I think I got into it at around 15th place, which wasn't bad because my first lap is never my best lap. I knew that I could gain from this spot. And so I sat it out, I stuck myself behind someone's wheel for the whole first lap. By the end of the first lap, I was in the front of a pack of nearly 8 guys, sitting in 10th place. I knew that if I wanted to be in contention for top ten, I was gonna have to drop some of these guys. But now was not the time. On the third lap, me and three other guys continually attacked and we ended up dropping a few guys and catching a few more. On the ambulance climb, two guys broke off so I tried to catch them. I was unsuccessful. I dropped back with the group and we continued to attempt to catch up. The fourth lap was by far the most crucial part of my race. I got into the high school single track first and I broke off from the group. I was determined to catch the two guys who broke off. I was in eighth place and I felt like dying but I knew that everyone else was in the same boat as I was. I caught up to one of the breakaways on ambulance and we worked together to further distance ourselves from the chasing pack. I definitely knew that I could beat this guy going down tunnel of love but he beat me into the trail opening too I was stuck behind him. On the final single track before the climb to the dual slalom, I noticed that the pack had almost caught up to me. Luckily, I just got past a JV guy before the downhill, so I was able to give myself a comforting gap for the remainder of the race. I finished in eighth place with 3 seconds gap on either side. I knew that I had put out as much effort as I could muster and I am so happy with my results.
I would like to thank all of my sponsors for all the gear I could ever need to race my best. My Ellsworth bike ran smoothly, my Rudy Project gear was comfortable, the Kenda Tires were perfect for the condition of the dirt, and as always my Scicon bag made everything much less stressful on race day.
On the day before the race I did only one thing: I chilled. I sat and chilled. The day absolutely moved like mollasses. Since we didn't do a preride that morning because of the rain, I had nothing to break up the ever so slow progression of time. However, I did hang out with the rest of my team and got to read Harry Potter so the day wasn't all bad. At dinner I made sure to consume as much garlic bread as possible for maximum race efficiency (I clocked out at 6 I think), and next thing I knew, it was race day.
3, 2, 1, the race starts. Right off the bat, the top 30 guys were battling to get into the single track first. I think I got into it at around 15th place, which wasn't bad because my first lap is never my best lap. I knew that I could gain from this spot. And so I sat it out, I stuck myself behind someone's wheel for the whole first lap. By the end of the first lap, I was in the front of a pack of nearly 8 guys, sitting in 10th place. I knew that if I wanted to be in contention for top ten, I was gonna have to drop some of these guys. But now was not the time. On the third lap, me and three other guys continually attacked and we ended up dropping a few guys and catching a few more. On the ambulance climb, two guys broke off so I tried to catch them. I was unsuccessful. I dropped back with the group and we continued to attempt to catch up. The fourth lap was by far the most crucial part of my race. I got into the high school single track first and I broke off from the group. I was determined to catch the two guys who broke off. I was in eighth place and I felt like dying but I knew that everyone else was in the same boat as I was. I caught up to one of the breakaways on ambulance and we worked together to further distance ourselves from the chasing pack. I definitely knew that I could beat this guy going down tunnel of love but he beat me into the trail opening too I was stuck behind him. On the final single track before the climb to the dual slalom, I noticed that the pack had almost caught up to me. Luckily, I just got past a JV guy before the downhill, so I was able to give myself a comforting gap for the remainder of the race. I finished in eighth place with 3 seconds gap on either side. I knew that I had put out as much effort as I could muster and I am so happy with my results.
I would like to thank all of my sponsors for all the gear I could ever need to race my best. My Ellsworth bike ran smoothly, my Rudy Project gear was comfortable, the Kenda Tires were perfect for the condition of the dirt, and as always my Scicon bag made everything much less stressful on race day.
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