1st place finish; feeling and performing great pri...
This weekend I set off to the first Georgia State Series race in Macon, Georgia. I packed my small Mazda 3 Hatchback with four Florida racers and we headed off to what was one of my best races yet. The weather was very decent hovering at around 55 degrees, which is what I consider almost perfect. It is cool enough to keep me from sweating, but warm enough so my legs don’t freeze. The course was filled with short 2-3 minute climbs and a good amount of solid and fun singletrack. There was a decent turnout of 17 riders in our Pro/Semi-Pro/19-29 class. After two solid weeks of long interval work focusing on raising my lactate threshold, I came into the race confident and anxious to win.
I took a commanding lead of 1 minute off the second rider(Michael Cummings) and 1:30 off a strong 3rd rider for Sobe Cannondale(Shey Linder) in the first lap. My legs felt great and I pushed a strong pace. I slowly kept gaining to where I was about 3 minutes off Cummings coming into the 3rd lap. I pushed the climbs hard, and played it smart on the downhills. The Scott Spark I rode was set up perfectly weighing in at only 21.8 pounds. The 1.9 Larsen TT tires added to the low weight and low rolling resistance and sent me into the climbs confident and flying. I continued to lengthen my lead and pulled away with a solid win just under 4 minutes ahead of Cummings and 5 minutes ahead of 3rd place(Shey Linder).
This coming Thursday I will be off to the NMBS #2 in Fountain Hills, AZ. This race has given me the confidence I will need to have a great finish there in the Semi-Pro Cross Country and Short Track races. In addition to that I am going to have some fun and race my first Super-D race. From what I have heard the Arizona course is very similar to the conditions and courses I am used to. I am very “pumped” up and excited about the race and hope to pull off another stellar finish.