I haven't updated this space in a while. This was both deliberate and circumstantial; I wanted to place less emphasis on pretend race results, but maybe that's because those results were inconsequential and/or the races were boring. For the last month or so I've been racing with an open mind and not blogging about everything.
I've been focusing on the State Championships and the GP Zac Daab, the race following States at the same venue the next day. The fact that these are the last MN races on the calendar is the biggest reason I focus on them. I need all the time I can get to get into shape. They are also great events with great turnout and atmosphere. They also tend to attract the best kind of weather, known as "real CX weather."
This season was very dry and mostly mild. This can mean me not doing well in races since there is nothing to slow the fast guys down. They jaunt merrily off the front with their "road fitness" and crabon bikes while I flounder at the back mumbling about "grass crits." Last year's State weekend was officially almost epic (nothing is ever truly epic), so on the morning of 2010 GP Zac Daab I woke up ready to destroy the field with my bike turning skills, which I sort of did except for one guy. I remember that race fondly because up to that day I didn't consider myself a "mudder" but proved I could handle it. I've since embraced that mentality so I was excited when snow was forecast for this weekend.
Unfortunately, it's my destiny to suck at the actual state championship race. I started poorly and finished that way, but managed to beat more people than usual so that's alright. It was sleeting and snowing ice balls and was windy. The course was fast and frozen so it wasn't tricky to ride. Moving on to Sunday...
I woke up this morning to 13°F and about 1-2" of powdery snow. No wind or clouds, however, so really it wasn't bad. Still, a challenging race to prepare for. I arrived at the venue and went for a preride. It was chilly but the course was great; lots of packed snow and a few slippery off-cambers. It was not muddy at all but the sun was starting to melt some snow so it was a bit wet here and there.
I had a decent start to the race for once. I think I was top ten going into the actual course after the prologue. I was pretty happy with this and it was almost like old times. Naturally, people starting passing me, and soon my ridiculously-strong teammate Martin came ridin' on by all casual-like. Then my other teammate and mustachioed strongman Ryan rode by. For most of the year these guys are destroying me, but today I was uplifted by the conditions and stuck with them. For his part, Martin had already raced and was tired so was not up front as he usually is.
For the next few laps the three of us rode as a group, trading pulls on the front when the leader seemed to slow down. We got a lot of comments from spectators and the announcer, my favorite being "We've got a kit sandwhich going: the new LGR kit sandwhiched by two old kits." Martin and I were wearing the red and black kits while Ryan had the new purple kit.
On the last lap, Martin and Ryan seemed to fade a bit so I decided to keep pushing forward and trying to catch more people. I was feeling pretty strong, and was loving the conditions. It wasn't really challenging out there, but the snow kept you honest. In the sand pit before the finish line I passed one more guy and rolled in for 15th, close to cracking the top half.
This is not where I figured I'd be at this point but it's good to get that reality check. Physically I am stronger than I was last year (or ever for that matter) but it's not enough. That is comforting in many ways. If it was easy it wouldn't be any fun.
Today's race was the first time I've had fun in a CX race all year. The conditions, racing hard with awesome teammates, and embracing the race for the first time in a long time made the day for me.
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