MSC #2 Race Report: Day Two

This post is all about the second day of racing in Nathrop, CO. To read about the cross country race, go here.

Day two for us endurance-type racers meant... short track. Let me spend a couple minutes explaining short track racing, since many people aren't familiar this discipline. Short track started out as a way to let crowds actually see cross country racers. Usually, watching a cross country race consists of cheering at the start, waiting around an hour, watching racers trickle through on lap, and another hour later (if you are really determined and actually stuck around) watching exhausted riders finish. to sum up: XC races are crap to watch, though fun to ride. So race organizers decided to take all the XC folks, put 'em on a really short course (about a half mile or so), and let 'em duke it out for a little while. Races are usually somewhere between twenty and thirty minutes long, though it feels like an eternity if you're the one on the bike. From a spectator's perspective, it's great; All the action is right in front of you. All of the tactics and riding happens within view, instead of out in the woods somewhere.

That being said, short track is hard. It's full-on, no breaks for the entirety. The courses rarely have any singletrack because there are so many riders in such little space. As a result, they tend to become fitness fests. Yuck.

But this was pretty cool as short tracks go. Why? Because they routed us through the mountain cross course. Yeah, that's right, dirt jumps in an endurance race. Sweet! Mike West in the Pro Men's category was airing out the step-up in typical Mike West fashion, while in my own field, I saw a couple girls EAT IT HARD. Ha. (Not very much pity from me. For once the cross country weenies who ripped on me for going to the dirt jumps ate their words.) Sorry, I'm a big believer in building technical skills, and going to the jumps is a sweet way to do it. And meet cool bike riders who don't live in spandex :)

Anyways, I was still having troubles breathing (I'm still kicking this cold as I type now, a week later). I missed my chance to move up two spots on the second to last lap, hoping to run some sweet tactics. Backfired, but next time I'll know to take my opening when I get it. All told, I took 19th in the Women's Open field. In a repeat of the previous day, Jennifer Smith took the field, with Kelli Emmett in second. Though Mike West gets style points for the day, his field was led by Jay Henry and Brian Fuentes. And big props to Mitchell Hoke, a Colorado College rider, for his third place finish.

And the dual slalom wrap-up: Aaron Gwin and Rich Houseman one-two'ed the Pro Men, and Joanna Petterson and Lisa Myklak led the ladies.

Up next on the MSC calendar? Angel Fire in two weeks...and it's a UCI Gravity Race! I'm gonna see some big names rocking the gravity events. Stoked!