TBF Mountain Bike Madness 3/2/14
This race
was the last of 4 early season MTB races and we got a nice break in the weather
on race day. I had placed 2nd, 3rd, and 5th in
the previous races and my goal was to achieve one more podium spot in this last
race. I knew it was going to be wet and muddy so I decided I would carry my
spare Smith Optics Pivlock V2 glasses in addition to my main Smith Optics
Pivlock Overdrive glasses. Being able to switch glasses when they become coated
in mud speckles mid race is an advantage because you can continue to see
clearly. In addition to the extra glasses in my back pocket I brought along
three Honey Stinger Gels and a Waffle to keep me fueled during the race. On the
hydration side I had my bottles filled with Skratch Labs orange hydration mix
which I have found to get rid of cramping late in a race.
Other race
strategies would include doing a manual through puddles if there wasn’t a go
around because this would reduce water and mud flying up off of the front tire.
Lastly I planned on getting to the start line after warming up a bit earlier
since it is a mass category start, but this never seems to work out and I am
always starting about the fourth row back. The second the race started I was
standing and pedaling hard to fight for position in the long chain of riders
and then set in for the flats to recover a bit. Someone fell down at the bottle
neck after the long road parking lot and caused a traffic jam, so I was off the
bike and ran up the short hill along with many others. The few cyclocross races
I did prepared me for these types of situations. After getting back on the bike
the pro pack was long gone so I set in with a few riders and drafted until the
first major climb. The climbs on this course a very short and I find that it is
much faster to stand and climb then to sit, because I always seem to gain a few
positions by standing. The first lap is always a sprint to gain position but
the key is to make sure you save some power for the rest of the race.
Finishing
lap one I was passed by a Folsom rider who had four other riders drafting
behind him so I quickly joined in and paced of this guy for the flat sections
where he was strong and once we made it to the single track I was able to pass
him back. At the very end of the second lap I was again caught by the same
group that seemed to be working together so I hoped on again through the flats
at the beginning of the third lap. After the second climb of this lap I was
able to make my way to the front of their group and carried on making my way
passed beginner and sport riders on course. After passing the through the
timing gate onto my fourth lap I was caught by a rider I knew was in my class.
He thought we were only doing three laps then seen me continue on after he had
passed through the start/finish a few seconds earlier. I let him lead through
the flats and noticed he was looking tired so I passed him on the climb and
never seen him again. My fourth lap after I made the pass I was going as hard
as I could so that no one would catch me and maybe I could catch anyone who was
ahead of me and was slowing. I was able to pass two expert riders, but they
didn’t look to be in my age group.
After
finishing I went for a short cool down loop and met up with the rest of my
teammates and see how they had done. We had secured a few podiums and were
still waiting for them to post the results for the expert class. They finally
posted the results and my name was at the top of the list, I was pretty stoked.
Apparently the faster guy in a Reno
kit who had taken first at previous races had a DNF and the guy who thought we
were only doing three laps was in first when I passed him. My finish time was 2
hours 20 minutes which was 6 minutes faster then the guy who made the mistake
of only thinking we were doing three laps, which leads me to believe I would
have caught and past him on the last lap anyways. Overall it was a great day of
racing; our team received enough cumulative finish and podium points to be in
3rd place which secured a sweet trophy for the shop. I am happy with my 1rst
place plaque and I ready for the month I have to train for the bigger mountain
bike events coming up this season. I would recommend these TBF races to riders
of all skill levels because the course is fairly easy and fun. Although I wish
the entry fee was cheaper and they served better post race food, they are very
well organized and use a very proven race timing system.
.JPG) |
| Kurtis' hard work paying off on top of podium |
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