I had to go way back to find this. I slacked on the last 2 races.
Radsport Recap
1st!
My breakfast was 4 pancakes with raspberries and blueberries and syrup. Krusteaz for life. 2 cups of coffee.
I had a caffeinated Maurten gel 10 minutes before.
2 bottles with 90g and a nuun tablet in each. I had one to start and the grabbed one on the beginning of the 3rd lap.
During warmups my hr stayed pretty low so I wasn’t sure how I was actually feeling. But I was putting out good power and felt pretty strong.
My goal was to stay in the lead pack and keep a podium position as long as I could hold on. After 2 races where I let the leaders get away immediately, I was very motivated to stay at the front or pop trying.
I went into the single track 3rd. Some dude took the inside on me but I passed him right back. The guy I was following got a flat a mile into the race. After I got around him, I was right on the leader’s rear wheel. I felt strong and had no problem keeping up. We already had a gap on the rest of the field and I started thinking this guy didn’t want to keep the current pace. As soon as we entered into a field with enough room, I passed him. This was 10 minutes into the race. Not long after that I passed
@JDurk, and then the 19-39 group. I tried to ride like I was getting caught even though I was pretty sure I wasn’t. The course looped back on itself so I saw the guys in my category chasing me, but I couldn’t tell if they were gaining or losing time. I kept passing and trying to put more traffic between me and them.
Being in first place I had the luxury of a clear course for the most part. I took conservative lines and focused on keeping the power to the pedals, being smooth, and keeping momentum. The course was slick in spots and a little chunky, but nothing was too challenging. There were also plenty of flow sections that was all hero dirt.
I won by 2:30
I haven’t won an XC race since 2021 and there were like 4 people in that race if I remember correctly. Before that I don’t even remember. I’ve realized that these don’t come around too often, so I made sure to appreciate it.