MSC #5 Race report

The fifth installment of the Mountain States Cup went down in Telluride a couple weekends ago. Briefly, the cross country race started mid-morning, under mostly cloudy skies. The shade was welcome on the open cat track climbs, but these were fairly minimal. The course featured a fair amount of singletrack climbing, infinitely preferable to the dirt road climbs that Colorado natives seem to think are great (Ick! Ick! Ick!) . The past week of rain had slicked up the course, making every uphill stroke more strenuous. After the first lap, I was somewhere behind the podium, but as the second climb proceeded, I caught a couple girls to get into fifth. One of my competitors put the chase on pretty hard. I kept my podium spot, but I came across the line close to exhausted.
That didn't put me in good condition for the upcoming Super D. The race organizers scheduled the Super D to follow the XC with just a couple hours break. As the skies opened up and started pouring, I was even less stoked to get back on my bike. It was cold and wet outside, and since we were camping, I had no dry room or warm shower to look forward to. On top of that the lightening had closed the lifts, and it was questionable whether we were going to have the race, let alone get a pre-ride in. But I cheered up once they opened the lifts for a practice run; I knew that I'd warm up riding the course. I squeezed in a practice and sprinted back to the top of the mountain for the start of the race. Looking around, I discovered that half my competitors had despaired even more of the rain, and hadn't shown up for the start. The LeMans start favored me, and as I ran along side my bike and hopped on, I grabbed the hole shot and never looked back. The course was sloppy as hell, with wheel eating mud. Perfect. I crossed the line first, with a 1:15 lead. My first definitive win since Collegiate Nationals.

Next up: I need to fill you in on the Breckenridge 63 (yes, a 63 mile race), and I'm currently packing to go to the NORBA finals at Snowmass. I'll let you know how it goes.