Tough start to a great season; SERC #1
South Eastern Regional Championship #1
The first race of the season turned out to be one of the hardest races I have raced. The semi-pro / pro field was stacked with some of the best mountain bikers on the East coast including Andy Mills (Southeast Trek/VW), Andy Johnson (KHS), Ryan Woodall (Powerbar), and Robert Marion (Kenda/Titus). Among them were many other strong riders from Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. It was the perfect stage to see where I was at earl in the season.
The course was smothered with short explosive climbs mixed into tight, windy singletrack. Temperatures were in the mid to high 80’s. After building a very solid base this year, I was confident that I could compete with the best of the best in the South East. This race was the first race to see exactly where I stood early in the year.
The start of the race was brutal. It was an all out open sprint running straight into three fast and short singletrack climbs where technical skills were a must. I started very well settling in at 5th position for the first lap out of five total. Unfortunately, I was on the edge at that point and was forced to drop the pace and “settle in” or blow up. Being smart, I settled in as the four leaders (Matt Kinsley, Ryan Woodall, Victor Alber, and Andy Johnson) slowly pulled away. Within the next five miles I was passed by two others(Robert Marion and a Cannondale rider), but began to feel stronger from then on. I pushed the pace hard and then even harder. Every time I had a chance I pushed it. But I made little to no ground to the closest riders about a minute ahead(3 total). I was anxious, and gave it all I had, but little came out of it. The final lap I was hurting bad. The short explosive climbs had taken it all out of me and I struggled with near cramping situations throughout the rest of the race. To make things even tougher, the 8th rider caught me with about two miles left to go. I pushed and pushed, but he stayed on my wheel. Every chance I knew he had to pass, I accelerated to the best of my ability and kept him behind me. We were back to back until the last section where we cut into singletrack before the sprint. There he attempted to make a pass on my inside, and I, being defensive and the front rider, cut him off. His decision not to slow down put him right into the bushes only 5 feet away. A close call to what would have been a disappointing ending. But as it turned out I ended up on the high side of that situation and came crawling to the finish line in 7th place.
7th place……not exactly where I wanted to be, but a solid finish this early in the season against both semi-pro and pro racers. The six racers in front of me consisted of all pro racers besides a sensational semi-pro rider named Victor Alber. Victor has come a long way and showed his excellent ability to compete on the bike with a 2nd overall finish. I was happy with my result and feel very confident that when the more important races (NMBS #2 and Sea Otter Classic) come around that I will be in great race shape. The next few weeks are going to consist of some serious high intensity training that will hopefully bring my fitness level right to where I need it for those races. Hope to see many of you there and good luck with your racing!