After a solid season of several top 3 finishes and upgrading from expert to semi-pro, I finally found myself at the event of the year; the NMBS finals in Snowmass, CO.  Being a “Florida boy” I had almost no race experience with long steady climbs like I found at this race. In addition to this, it was my first race where 40+ riders showed up to the line at the start. The race was, to say the least, very tough.

The course had two endless (20-30 min.) climbs that tested your fitness level to the max. Along with this was the 9,000-10,000 foot mountain that you started and ended on. This was a race to put in the books and to be remembered.

I started off the line in a solid 8^th place and paced myself with the front group with intentions on finishing in the top 10. All went well until about half way up the first 30 minute climb where I found myself gasping for air. Apparently my fitness level was not as high as I had hoped at that elevation and grade of climb. I was passed by almost the entire field and found myself in pain and struggling to maintain an upright position on the 8-10% grade climb. By the feed zone, about six miles into the race, I was already six minutes behind the leaders. I knew what I had to do; I needed to get into a rhythm and finish the race strong. I was only a third of the way through the race and needed to put my legs into gear.

After the 2^nd endless climb, my gears were set and I was recovered after the blow up at the beginning.  The next 12 miles consisted of passing, passing, and more passing.  A great feeling after having the exact same thing happen to me only 30 minutes prior.  The race was on and by the final descent I found myself in 21^st place with 2 riders only 30 seconds in front of me. I screamed on the downhill and caught them within a mile of the finish.  However, passing on this downhill was nearly impossible with speeds around 30-40 mph. 

I finished the race still in 21^st, but very happy with what I had done.  I now know what I need to do to get to the top; get up those long steady climbs faster!  The next year is going to be set on doing just that. Being stuck in Florida will not make it easy, but nothing ever is when you are competing against the best athletes in the nation.

This race was a good starting point to the next steps in my career. It is always said that you learn the most by losing; I can vouch for that! This race has set the stones in place for what will hopefully be a long and solid career of mountain biking at the professional level.

I wish all good luck with the remainder of the season, or wherever you are at the time, and I hope to see some of you at the Florida State Series coming this fall. Check it out at goneriding.com for more details. Thanks,

Drew Edsall