I decided to not try make the first race and do the second race.
I ended up in Cornwall at 9:18 and unbeknownst too me the race hadn't started and would not start til almost 9:40. I could have raced the B race after all!
So starting the A race in my current condition I knew I would be fighting for that DFL spot. I wasn't sure if I should start at the back or try for a good start near the front. In the end I decided to try get up close to the front and have a good start as I figured this would be the highlight of my race.
3,2,1, Go! ! ! I was off and jumped into a pretty good spot. I managed to hold my position on the freight train for a few minutes and then my heart rate near maxed out and I started going backward.
I had a couple of team mates that are close to my level so I figured we would have a good fight for the race. I wasn't disappointed and did have a good battle all race long.
I was racing against Pat and Adam and because of my start I was ahead of them. I took a few glances back and saw them coming and by now I had recovered enough from my shotgun start that I was hoping that I could hold them off for a lap or two.
Near the end of the first lap I had my chain come off on the inside of the front ring and jam there. Normally I can switch to the big ring and pedal and keep going without stopping but it was not the case this time. Pat and Adam both went by me while I was calmly trying to un-jam my chain. The chase was on !
In about half a lap I caught back up to Adam but Pat had pulled a gap. Adam and I traded places a couple times a lap for the next 3 laps, once when I didn't turn in time and went off course about 75 feet.
I would see Pat about the exact same spot every lap. It was a bit frustrating to not to gain any ground but it was fun to yell at Pat every lap to slow down :)
In the mean time Adam would pass me on the two run ups and one set of barriers and I would jump past him on an inside line on a technical spot. I teased him that if would could gel as one we would be able to catch Pat.
Near the end of the second last lap I decide to make my move to get away from Adam and I jumped the rear wheel of a couple guys who passed me and held on as long as I could. I also did extra hard efforts on the 2 run ups and 1 barrier where Adam was normally eating back a chunk of time on me. I think I broke him a bit on the first run up when I think I got up and over faster than him, and there was a bit of technical sections leading up to the barriers that I think I went through fasted of the race so far.
At this point shortly after starting the last lap and giving a big dig only to see that Pat was probably outta reach and I had a good lead on Adam I decided to ease up ever so slightly.
Its too bad I dropped my chain as it would have been interesting to have been closer to Pat. It was a windy day and there were a few spots that drafting was definitely helpful and being small I get a better draft than I give :)
In a nutshell I had o be happy with the race. It was fun battling it out and pushing hard. My sugar control turned out god and I had fun talking to a lot of people. It was such a nice day that I didn't have to wash my bike. All it needed was a chain lube.
There were a few locals out wondering about the race and I think I explained the whole cross thing to about 5 groups of people.
Another race in the books,
Cheers,
Paul
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