This being my last race of the season I decided I was not going to hold anything back. I'm going 100% from the gun and I'll have no regrets over the off season that I could have done better.
I had extra motivation too. This was my first big race in the 1/2 ranks. As an average cat 3 crosser, if I didn't want to get embarrassed by these guys I would have to really bring it so they don't drop me at the start. In addition to that I actually had a contingent of fans out along the course cheering for me. I have to have a good race and show them that I haven't been wasting my time training all year long.
I could tell this race was going to be different because I had butterflies in my stomach. Over the years I've become so numb to the excitement of racing that it has been a long time since i had the butterflies before the start of a race.
Tristan Schouten lines up next to me and I know I'm in trouble.
Off the line I went hard to the pavement section and surprisingly I was in fifth place. From that point on I was redlining it for the next hour just trying to hang with anybody who inevitably passed me. I would lose time on the run ups and the straightaways, but could catch back up in the slippery turns.
There wasn't anyplace on the course for me to recover. I blew up about halfway through the race for riding at a pace over my head, but since everyone came to watch I kept pushing through to the end battling to catch the guys ahead of me. I don't think I caught any, but I tried.
When it was all said and done I held on for 10th place.
Afterwards, my chakra was completely drained from my body and I was utterly exhausted for the next day and half. This is how racing used to feel like and even though my result wasn't so great, I was glad to see I could still push myself to the limit.
Chris from Turin designed a short but challenging course. I liked it a lot. Thanks to everyone who came out to the race and was cheering me on. I really needed it.
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