Winter Park Double Race Report

I'm keeping it short today, folks. Lots of racing going on, and Mountain Bike Nationals is just around the corner (this weekend!), with Paralympic Road Nationals less than two weeks later. So, here's the skinny: Last weekend I went back up to Winter Park for another two installments of their excellent race series. Saturday was the Valley Point-to-Point cross country race. I knew going in that the course would suite me; Twenty-four miles with only 2,600 feet of climbing. So I pushed hard on every climb I ran into, trusting that none of the climbs could be that long. It worked, because even with a stop to fix a loose saddle (yah, not comfy), I was able to win my category. But I'm not gonna get too cocky about it--I was creamed by some of the 30-39 age group ladies.
The next morning was Super-D, and I had a great race. Michelle Rivera, the pro downhiller, was kind enough to pre-ride with me, giving me a much better sense of how fast different obstacles could be ridden. Back on the lift for the start of the race. I sprinted for all I was worth in the starting uphill straightaway, ending up with Michelle and Sage Wilderman, both pro gravity girls. Surprisingly, I was able to keep them in sight for most of the race, loosing time on the wide-open speed sections, gaining time in the sprints, and staying even through the quasi-tech rocks. I finished 50 seconds behind Sage, and 10 seconds behind Michelle....in just over 22 minutes. What an epic Super-D!
Sweet course, Winter Park, way to go!