It's been a bit of a roller coaster of a year; I spent the first part just trying to find my form competing against those who had been down south training all winter, missed some bottle feeds on hot days, then there was the three weeks in bed with sciatic nerve problems, a big trip to Quebec for some big races in which I floundered after the back thing, then a flat tire in the last Ontario Cup! Needless to say, I felt like I would never really get to show the strength that I had built and rebuilt this year. In my last couple of weeks of training I've felt unstoppable - sprinting my bike up to 64km/h, training huge hours at high power outputs day after day, sleeping early and eating right. I came into provincials thinking that it would take something pretty bad to keep me outside of the top 10.
Lots of nights spent rolling into town late after big rides
I loved the course, except for when I got stung the day before by a wasp! It turns out that I'm quite allergic to wasps now - and I got stung by a yellow jacket riding the course the day before. This time of year they're out of whack, I swear. The rotten fruit falling off trees is fermenting, and they're getting drunk on the juices - and wasps are just mean drunks. That's the only logical explanation for 7 stings in the last 2 weeks right?
does anyone know how to get rid of swelling? Benadryl doesn't work for me
The closest that I'll ever get to looking like Popeye, it's still swelling two days later
Apart from that my day was pretty great, and I got to stay on course in a farm house with a bunch great friends and a great dinner. What could go wrong tomorrow, right?
I got a good warmup before the race, even though I got stung again on the chest (seriously, why do bugs hate me?), I stayed focussed and the race start went according to plan, and I was probably 7th or 8th place going into the first piece of singletrack, and I came through the first lap just outside of the top 10. I wasn't too fluid through the trails, I was pretty stop and go and guys were catching up to me in the trails that I'd usually use to distance myself from those behind me.
Check out my arm here, all of that fluid stuck in my swollen forearm makes me like Popeye!
Thanks Mary Lynch for the photo and the support over the weekend
Going into the second lap I was still riding strong, but by mid way through the lap I was starting to cramp up in my legs. For some reason my quads were seizing and calves felt like there were being charlie-horsed. No problem, this is why I pack space food, right? I slurped back a CLIF electrolyte gel, and avoided standing and pedaling until it kicked in (usually about 15 minutes, so 2/3 of a lap). By the time I got to the same spot the next lap I was still sitting and spinning my pedals fairly easily though the trails and up the hills. I had chugged all of my drink mix (a special potion of caffeine, electrolyte powder and sometimes beta-alanine), and I was still seizing up - so I slugged back another gel and kept putting in the effort - staying seated and spinning up the hills.
Staying seated through some pretty rocky business, thanks Marta Kocemba for taking the photos! It's been great to have you at the last few races.
By about my fourth lap (out of five), I had some flow mojo going in the trails and was getting down the big hill quickly enough to drop some guys. I came to the feed zone at the start of the fifth lap with high hopes of "picking off the zombies", and catching the guys who were really slowing down in their last lap until something happened that made me panic a bit.
Thanks Mary Lynch for getting a photo that shows my late race determination (or desperation).
As I came into the feed zone for my final lap (fighting persistent and increasingly painful cramps), there was a mixup, and my feeder wasn't there. I went into my last lap with nothing to drink, on a pretty humid day.
All sweaty but still somehow smiling on my fourth lap. Thanks Hannah Clarke for taking these pictures all season long!
As I came through a steep uphill near the start/finish there were spectators everywhere and I saw Simon (the rock in our team always helping us and keeping us together at the race), I yelled for some water, which turned out to be a pretty bad idea.
The drink that had a lot of repercussions after the race (thanks Marta again)
I survived my final lap without getting passed (or doing any passing unfortunately), and rode into 14th place (my best result at an Ontario cup, and this was provincials). I sat on the ground because my legs were not in the mood to hold me up anymore and was passed some more water which drank and cooled off my swollen arm a bit.
Funny finish line face, confused about what just happened and how I just finished the race I think (Marta Kocemba photo)
Just happy to cool off my arm a bit. (Marta Kocemba photo)
As I was sitting down nursing my wounds I was approached by the commissaire.
"Did you take some water outside of the feed zone?"
He explained to me that I was disqualified for doing so, and that as an elite racer "I didn't know" or "I wasn't thinking" is not a good enough excuse. I told him that I just wanted to finish the race, and that I was cramping, but at my level of cycling there are rules and we have to stick to them. I tried to find the penalties for breaking these rules when I got home but I couldn't..
Great. DQ'd. It's not allowed for me to receive help outside of the designated feed/tech zone. I went to the commissaires about 15 minutes later to appeal to them, and they informed me that they were wrong. Because it is a provincial championship, it falls under the regulations of any pro championship race, and I would actually be fined $200. For taking a drink less than one minute after I passed through the feed zone. After a bit more talking, they decided to drop my fine to just a warning - for that I really thanked them. But now there is a black mark on my international cycling record that says I like to accept help in the wrong spots I guess. Could be worse, right?
Apparently all of the cramping wasn't a big surprise at all either, with all of my body fluid stuck in my arm there's less to move around to my muscles. I thought that it was pretty weird to cramp like that over nothing, and I'm happy to know that there may be a reason that was outside of my control that caused it. Stupid drunk wasps.
I've still got a couple of chances to keep it together for a great result! The Ontario Marathon Championships and Canadian Marathon Championships are this weekend and the next in Kingston and Horseshoe Valley, respectively. Then it's University Cup races and the Redbull Race the Place race coming up. Still training hard, eating right, stretching, and strengthening with as much motivation as ever!
The first Canada cup of the year always happens on the May
24 long weekend, and it’s generally an awesome time to see everyone again, live
in condos for the weekend, and catch up after a long winter. I had the pleasure
of road tripping up with a cray half Canadian half New-Hampshirese person (not
to be confused with the shire, New Hampshire is VERY different). Catherine was
her name and it was her first race back after doing some serious damage to her spine
in a bike race in Tennessee. It was awesome to be around someone who while
being nervous, was confident and well collected – especially since she raced
both the Canada Cup Cross Country and Downhill events. We had a great crew
living in the (tightly packed) condo, and the course was pretty different than
in previous years. There was one big change for the race as well – I was on a
different bike. Rob from Mountain Bike Kingston lent me his sweet Pivot Mach
429SL. This is a very coveted front and rear suspension bike, though it’s not
the lightest, raciest bike out there it certainly is a really fun ride,
especially on the down portions of the Canada Cup course.
A seriously fun bike! Thanks Rob for the trust and support!
This course went up a gravel access road up the mountain,
then essentially rode through really rocky tight trails down the mountain, and
then straight back up again. 6 times. The field was elite pretty deep, with a
range of riders from around Canada, and even US Olympian Sam Shultz who I met
and joked around with on the start line without even knowing who he was,
mountain biking seems to attract some great down to earth people! Unfortunately
I ended up starting as the last guy (I guess that I wasn’t pushy enough in the
corral), which is a dangerous place to be. Everything is magnified the further
back you are, if a guy further up the field touches his brake a little bit, and
you’re 10 guys back you’re slamming on your brakes. This causes unpredictable
riding to happen around you, and of course crashes and bottlenecks.
I stayed calm and rode assertively though the first few very
bunched up minutes of the race, but by the time that I could really set my pace
and go fast up the hill, the leaders already were a minute up the road or so.
Additionally, no matter how hard I tried to go, I found myself gasping for a
very slow speed up the hill – this was not the pace that I thought I could set.
The race was a 6 lap race, with around 60 starters and the 80% rule in effect;
those who did not come within 80% of the leader’s time (keep in mind that there
are Olympians racing in my category), would be pulled off the course. No
questions asked. I had a great time riding the downhill on the new full
suspension bike, taking crazy and aggressive lines that I wouldn’t have
otherwise been comfortable with on my hardtail, but in retrospect I don’t think
that this was in my favour. Instead of taking the fastest lines down the trail
I was taking the crazy lines, which though they were fast – they weren’t the
fastest. Lesson learned. I was pulled after 3 laps, but had a great time
watching the rest of the race – it’s almost surreal that I get to compete at
this level, so when I’m pulled out of the race I can still at least watch my
friends compete in a crazy course.
Hannah Clarke is becoming my unofficial blog photo supplier, thanks!
The rest of the weekend was spent eating, hiking, and celebrating
with friends, though the race didn’t go so well, I was a step closer to feeling
my legs under me and sure that Ontario Cup number 2 at Kelso in a week’s time.
See you next time Catherine!
Kelso would be a bittersweet day; the last ride my sweet
sweet Trek Superfly (affectionately named My Sherona). It would be a great course
to send her off on too, hilly and smooth – or so I thought. The course was
awesome, fast and flowy, but with some pretty insane rocky features in the
elite course. I was extra delicate on these because I had super thin tires on
(with very little grip), but at least that means that I was less likely to hurt
myself too! It was a beautiful, windy, but very hot day, and the course had
some sections that were exposed to big headwinds, as well as sunny sections
(notably the climb up the escarpment!), but I was feeling confident and fairly
well rested. Big shout out to the Lynch family for hosting me and giving me a
place nearby to crash before the race, it was pretty sweet to be able to hot
tub and relax Saturday night!
I'll miss my her, but she's being well taken care of now
I started dead last in the corral as usual (I swear that I’m
going to get there earlier next time), but made some progress through the pack
throughout the first lap; it was a fast course and riding in groups was
advantageous in order to hide from the wind, so I was quite happy to ride with
these guys and see how the race unfolded. Unfortunately for me, my second lap
pretty much decided the rest of my race, as I went through the feed zone
looking for the wrong guy, and then didn’t have anything to drink for the next
lap. I think had my chain drop and got passed by like 6 guys, though I normally
could have gone and caught them back, I was trying to preserve my energy
because a lap at that heat with nothing to drink is something that you pay for
later in the race.
Hans solo took this one of me shooting the quick line
I rode a solid tempo for a lap and a half and then ramped it
up a bit more for my last two laps. I was fighting off cramps a bit, but all
things considered I paced pretty well (this is not to be confused with pLacing
well). Apart from the one mishap with my bottle feed, support for the race was
amazing! I had friends from university in the crowd which was nice, Matt F as event MC, and the
Progressive Nutrition girls were set up giving out snacks and electrolyte drinks
– I love it!
I live for Simon's race support
So I’ve pushed through another two races, each time feeling
a little bit stronger, and now I’m ready for the upcoming two weekends of
Canada Cup racing at Horseshoe Valley and Hardwood Hills respectively. I’ve got
a new bike, ready for a mid-season fresh start! Thanks Muskoka Outfitters http://www.muskokaoutfitters.com/for the support with the new ride!
Big thigs! A sweet full suspension, race ready out of the box. Love my new Felt Edict 1
This year in Canada (especially in Kingston - why did I move here?) we've had a drawn out and cold winter. I managed to get down south for some road bike races with the Queen's road cycling team (not really a focus of mine, but nice to get onto moving bikes outside), followed by an amazing race called the Uxbridge Icebreaker which was the first real mountain bike ride of the season for me!
The weather down south wasn't much better (this is Boston) -Philippe Tremblay photo
The trip to Vermont was amazing, thanks UVM for hosting me!
Second mountain bike ride of the year - Uxbridge Icebreaker - Hannah Clarke photo
There are a few reasons that I didn't cover these races on my blog - school (I've been working so much here that I ended up growing a "paper beard" that I wouldn't let myself shave until I finished a paper)
A quick selfie in my office at Queen's - what do you think of the beard?
And because I wanted to give some coverage of the exciting new team that I get to be a part of; Team Progressive powered by Superfly/Maverix Racing! Small bits of info and teasers have been coming at me all winter from Jay, our main man/team manager and it all came together for me when last week I was invited to a nutrition seminar at the Progressive Nutrition headquarters. I met half of the team there (some of them for the first time), and was greeted in the parking lot by Jay, who had some important things for me. Firstly, he had a burrito, the Jay E. (he's kind of like Jay-Z) special from Mucho Burrito (you can ask for it anywhere in the country, I like mine with a little extra spice), next he had some fresh kits (what bikers call uniforms), and finally he had some AWESOME swag fro POC.
A hood full of awesome new things (good thing for THULE to make my car an SUV right?)
The nutrition seminar was great, but at the end I had to ask "So how big is my shopping list if I want to get all of these things?", apparently everything I need except DHA and EPA fats (which I can get in fish oil) come with 1 shake per day of VegEssentials - not bad. I'm pretty excited to be working with Progressive Nutrition because for a guy like me who's always busy and doesn't exactly have tons of time for shopping and cooking, it's nice to just have a shake and worry less.
Missing tons half of the team here unfortunately
We got all set up on the Saturday of the weekend with a new tent/expo area to hang out under, and it was great to have such support at the race. Saturday a few of us Maverix guys took groups out riding on the course to build confidence on the trails, and I was really enjoying the beautiful day - I really didn't want to leave (and spent a bit too much time in the sun).
Riding with these guys was a treat, So great to see their improvements after just one lap!
On Sunday, I showed up with a perfect bike, but 5 minutes after I got there I had a flat tire, and then a brake issue. I put my bike into the stand under the tent to get to work on it and I was almost pushed out of the way by our MVP this weekend Simon, who fixed and cleaned my bike.
On the start line I was calm and ready, I had trained harder than ever this winter, and some some pretty great fit things - time to reap the benefits. The race start was fast, but not out of control fast until we reached the first steep climb of the lap, and that was when it started to really hurt. I told myself that I would settle in, and that I could do these efforts, so I pushed it hard to keep my position in the pack. I was gasping for air and definitely not going as fast as I thought I should - but I pushed, thinking that the efforts would feel more reasonable once I had raced a bit longer.
I really couldn't manage a smile - not feeling good at all (Thanks Elissa for the photo)
By the second lap I had been passed by more and more riders, and I knew that I wasn't feeling good. My back seized up, and I really contemplated dropping out of the race. What was the point of all the work that I had done if I was even slower than last year? I started to think about all of my goals for the year and how they were all so unlikely now, and really got down on myself. I knew that I was racing for dead last, and it was painful that that became obvious to me in the second lap of a five lap race, but I stuck it out. I thought that maybe all that I needed was to train at the super high heart rates that a mountain bike race brings on, so at least I would be "racing into fitness" (using races to get performance gains). Besides, I'd rather finish DFL (Dead eFfing Last) than have a DNF (Did Not Finish) beside my name, at least I'd finish with my integrity.
Even my hoverbike didn't help me that day (Thanks Elissa for the photo)
Maybe a smile would have made me ride faster? Probably.
I tried not to show how unhappy I was and be a good sport, but all of the pictures of me in that race I have this same dumb unimpressed look, sorry guys.
This is what grouchy Chris sprinting on to a lonely sprint finish looks like:
I'm convinced that I will be racing a lot faster in the future, and that this is an isolated incident (I was in bed for the day 3 days later with the flu). Thanks Mom too for coming to watch me race and hand out water bottles, love you! I'm planning to be back on top of my game for the 8 hour race on Saturday at Mansfield. It's my birthday and 8 hour races are almost like bike festivals for the day, so I invite anyone to come out and race a few laps! Mostly it's a great social event to get out, try a race course, and meet lots of people.
PS throw my new team some "likes" on Facebook and Instagram, we've got some great media and love to see the support!
Much has been happening this summer, life is a little
different now, during my first summer as a grad student at Queen’s (taking a
two year master’s program in Civil Engineering). Of course I’m finding the time
still to train on my bike, and this year I’m training with a power meter every
day, which helped me to train this winter and get the speed that I had found in
my legs for the first O-Cup. The downside however of being a super motivated
guy with a few good results in the bank is that I was pretty sure that I knew
everything: I knew that I was fast, I knew how to train really hard, and I knew
that I was invincible. Looking back on my training I’m not sure how I did do so
well in the first Ontario Cup of the season, but with my boosted confidence I
began to train like a madman, pushing myself to my max sometimes four days in a
row watching my power output and designing workouts to push myself. I adopted
the attitude that if I wasn’t getting to the power I needed, I simply needed to
push harder through the pain and keep training, I was on the cusp of racing at
pro speed after all, right?
Pretty soon I'll be simulating rivers in this flume!
Tremblant Canada Cup
This attitude led me to some rough racing. There was the
Tremblant Canada Cup, a mudslide of an event – and the race to end all bikes.
The weekend was fantastic; I rented 3 condos for all of my buddies and I and we
had a great long weekend. My nervousness/sore legs showed the night before the
race as I was doing an ice bath, I didn’t ride a fast lap (which I always do
the day before any race), and I wanted to go to bed early.
I wanted some company in the bathroom to keep my mind off the cold water, then this happened. Good thing I'm the best man at his weeding, right?
On race morning I
pushed myself and stayed in the race for two laps, but my fork was totally
seized (I was riding an incredibly technical and demanding course with no
suspension), making my bike hard and dangerous to race, and I didn’t see the
point in racing the whole race because I was damaging my bike, I was letting
people pass me in any technical section because it wasn’t fair to slow them
down, and one simply can’t race properly if they’re only treating 1/3 of each
lap like it’s a race. I dropped out after 2 of 4 laps, and didn’t think much of
it. I did however write in my training diary “Not on point” and that was all.
"Racing" up through the village, sometimes a facial expression speaks volumes! Thanks Joe Bailey for the photo
Check this video my buddy Kelsey put together of the Tremblant descent last year (imagine this with more mud and no suspension)
Mansfield Ontario Cup
The following weekend was the Mansfield Ontario Cup.
Historically this has been a fast course for me (it was my top result last year
– 18th place with two flat tires), and I had 4th call up
(meaning that of the racers at this O-Cup only 3 had beaten me in the first
one). I had a great day with my buddies the day before, and was very sure of
myself in my ability to handle the course at speed. I had a freshly rebuilt
fork (thanks Trek Toronto), and loved being called the 4th fastest
guy of the day (before the race). The race begins with a long hill, which I
made sure that by the top of I was 4th, and by the time we came
through for a spectator section of tough drops and turns, I was sitting in 3rd
position – ready for my time in the spotlight. I was racing one of my favorite
sets of tires, the Bontrager XR0 tires – they have minimal tread but work well
and roll fast if you know what you’re doing with them even though my friends
thought that it was a bit bold to use them on the sandy course. Anyway, after
making it though the intimidating drops and smiling for the cameras, I totally
slid out on the corner right afterwards (still in the middle of spectators),
and lost 4-5 positions just like that.
Droppin like it's hot (thanks Hannah Clarke for this one)
I got back on my bike and tried to bridge the gap back to
the leaders, and just couldn’t gain any momentum. I watched my power as I was
pushing hard, and even my best efforts up the big hills were about 30% below
where I should be. I was pretty disheartened the next lap, and even considered
dropping out of the race as people kept passing me who I knew I could beat. By
third lap I knew I wouldn’t drop out (rather Dead F****g Last than Did Not
Finish show up on the results), and in the 4th lap I began to have
fun again, and found my pace for the day. Ironically a spectator can tell my
mood during a race by how done up my jersey zipper is. I rode into a 16th
place finish, a far cry from my 4th place expectations, but still a
very good result.
Undone jersey, unimpressed look on my face (Scotty Toucanlife photo)
After I pulled myself together and deciding that I'd better look presentable (Scotty Toucanlife photo)
There was this beautiful surprise though, and she even took
me out to dinner with her race winnings!
That's my girl in 2nd place!
Sir Sam's Ontario Cup and Eliminator
Fast forward a few weeks, I’ve had bloodwork done, I’ve been
on my own in Kingston (Tori had been at conferences in Halfiax and Portland,
Oregon), I’ve been not training much (but also not sleeping much without Tori),
and was hopefully fresh ready to race again. I had even practiced the course,
on a special weekend training camp with the Mansfield Ontario Cup champion
Kelsey Krushel, shredding the course and camping and swimming.
It was a great
course at Sir Sam’s in Haliburton, and though I knew I wouldn’t be close to
riding my fastest yet, I was ready for a weekend of fun, camping and swimming,
and maybe some racing, including the eliminator.
Good times on the beach with the crew, next OCA calendar cover photo for sure!
Eliminator racing is a short course and it’s a knockout
style of race: 4 go into each heat, and two move on until there is one final
heat and one final champion. There’s a qualifying round where everyone rides
the course (about 2 minutes long) and then we are assigned our heats
accordingly. I was somehow ranked 5th after the qualifier (which
surprised me because I didn’t go quite as fast as I could), and was in a great
heat with my nemesis for the year Scott L., good buddy from Guelph Will C. and
the up-and-coming Theo (who is about 10 years old and half my size).
Qualifier over the rocks Jim Cassel photo
The
eliminator course started in a small straight section then turned 3 times into
a pump-track with rocks, then led us out and back in some fast open trail.
Unfortunately for me, I didn’t quite get my shoe clipped into my pedal quick
enough, and Theo got the holeshot on me! I could have bowled him over to get
into the race with the other guys, but really, I’m not about to ruin some kid’s
first ever race with some big fast guys. I bided my time and waited until it
was safe (by which point the other guys had close to a 100m lead on me (in a
900m course), and called a pass to Theo once the course straightened out. I
shot off with an acceleration that even surprised me, and actually caught the
other guys pretty quickly. The problem is that I used my “race winning effort”
at the start of the race, where Scott and Will both had some gas left in the
tank, and handily beat me when it came to the point that mattered; the finish.
I had a great time regardless watching the heats go by and I gave Theo a high
five, told him good job, and even stuck around to watch his race and podium the
next day. Is there any point in being good at a sport if you can’t be a good
sport? I don’t really think so.
Bringing up the caboose in the eliminator Jim Cassel photo
The race started with a bit of a mess, and I was not in good
position to climb the hill (well all look like ants climbing up it). The hill
is about a 5 minute ordeal of zig-zagging up, which was a good opportunity for
me to do some hard work and make my way up toward the front of the pack. I had
a great first lap jamming with long-time friend Alex Lefebvre (you really
impressed me on the downhill buddy!), and bridged away from him up to the next
group on lap 2. Lap 3 I spent my time riding with Robin W. and it took me most
of the hill on lap 4 to pull far enough
away from him, but then I rode most of the lap on my own. By midway through lap
4 I was beginning to feel the heat, and I was completely aware that I had not
had enough to drink (shivers mid-race is usually a great indicator of
dehydration/heat exhaustion), but I had no idea what was how bad this was going
to get. By the end of the climb on my 5th lap I figured that I had a
good distance on the next guy back, and as long as I rode clean and safe and
didn’t fall I’d have 16th position in the race secured for another
week.
It can be a lonely ride up sometimes! (Hannah Clarke photo)
On the technical descent however, I realized what dehydration on such a
technical course could mean. The backs of my arms were seizing somehow, along
with my quads. Ever get a footcramp? Picture that in your triceps and quads in
the middle of a technical race – I’ve had more fun on a bike that’s for sure!
At the end of the downhill I was shocked to see that Mike
H., the Norco XC/Downhill rider had ridden like a bat out of hell to catch me,
and that I wasn’t so guaranteed that nice 16th position after all. I
had two notable sections to keep him away; a few minutes of technical twisting
uphill section, and then the long downhill into the finish area. I picked up my
pace as fast as I could through the uphill, and kept him at bay, but once we
had gone down a bit of downhill, he was right on my tail again. I shut the door
on him a bunch of times, being as wide as I could in the trail so he couldn’t get
by, and right before the last technical downhill by the finish I yelled
“NOTHING STUPID, OKAY? WE’LL SPRINT THIS OUT.”
Signifying that passing me on the downhill would get us both
hurt and that we had enough flat space down at the bottom to sprint to the
finish though the crowds.
No shennanigans on this hill, thanks Hannah Clarke for making my legs look so great in this photo!
Just as I was about to lay down all my force on my
pedals to sprint the finish, my chain popped off. It was as simple as that, no
sprint for me. I yelled “awwwwwww!” Mike yelled “awwww!” clearly he was looking
forward to the sprint finish too, but not enough to wait for me.
Running her through, bike held high and proudly! Jim Cassel photo
Well it’s finally happened! It seems to be *summer* in that
the race season has started! Sure there are no leaves on the trees, it was
pretty cold and rainy the day before the race, but it was really great to see
my friends and get back onto the Ontario mountain bike scene! I can’t even
explain how happy I was to see my buds with their revamped Wolfpak racing
squad, or just to heckle back and forth with people I haven’t seen in 6 months,
tell them it looks like they got their new bikes at the ladies bike store, or
that I didn’t know Canadian Tire was sponsoring people etc. etc. The weekend
started Friday for me after finalizing my conference presentation (Oh yeah, I’m
a grad student now at Queen’s), Tori and I headed out for the race and pre
riding the course.
A bike selfie, the lightest sweetest bike at any race no doubt! I wouldn't ride anything else even if it was offered to me!
I was excited and smiling ear to ear, the way that biking
makes me when I got to the course, got the bikes out and did a slow lap,
working with tori over all of the obstacles and working on skills to boost
confidence and get all set up for the race. I had a great second lap with local
cycling legend, University of Guelph student, and world cup winner Peter
Disera, oh and the (now injured) up and coming Braedyn Kozman. It sure was
awesome to be riding quick in a group of guys in the trails, dipping and
hopping through the trails, chatting, and acting as one quick caterpillar
snaking through the forest. Saturday I was back to the course and reunited with
the Pack, the Wolfpak. I was stoked to see the boys all out with their new
kits, new bikes, and rejuvenated love for cycling. I got 4 laps in Saturday,
which may have been a few too many - but that didn’t matter because I was back
on the bike! Saturday night was the familiar feast (I only ride to eat really),
then up to bed. I was a bit nervous about how much my legs hurt just walking up
stairs and about an awful injury below the belt that I can’t discuss the
particulars of in a public forum, so I filled up an ice bath and sat in there
for 8 minutes. No more, no less!
Wet pre riding on course
This was the World Cup of Ontario Cups, and Quebec
brought their best riders too (in addition to other racers from all around
Canada). I was amazed to see that some guys who really haven’t raced at Ontario
Cup races in years (too busy travelling Europe racing, I assume), and I was
pretty amazed by the speed and smoothness of the race start too!
Canadian mountain bike celebrities at the front of the race start
(Thanks to Mr&Mrs Bailey for always posting such great race photos online)
As the gun went off the whole group (44 of us) sped forward,
trying to get into a good position before the singletrack. I was actually
surprised when the course kicked up in a steep hill and I was passing people,
making my way up the field to secure a good position into the first piece of
singletrack. I focussed on riding smooth and being powerful where it counted,
and found myself riding with a different group of people; guys who had always
been able to beat me by a fair amount of time. Coming through for lap 2 I was
more or less in the mix of the fastest non-world cup racers. It was exciting to
be playing a dominant role in the race, right up in the mix.
Focus (another taken from Mr&Mrs Bailey's album)
Lap 2 was a bit of a turning point in the race because we
began lapping other racers midway through the lap. This is because my poor
buddy Braedyn went down (needing 36 stitches) at the start of his race,
delaying the other starts. The late starts introduced a whole new type of
tactics to the race: get ahead of the other riders and use them to block
people. Unfortunately it didn’t favor me, because I would rather coach someone
through the trail so that they can ride it faster themselves than make a
dangerous and selfish pass. I continued to race my hardest and make fast passes
any time that the course opened up, and pass only when I felt that it was safe
to do so in the singletrack. I still managed to race a good race, and though a
few guys got away from me in all of the lap traffic, I’m happy to say that I
finished 21st! I managed to beat guys by more than 5 minutes who had
beaten me by more than 5 minutes at the same race last year. At first I was
disappointed by the number 21, but putting it into perspective (on a regular
Ontario Cup last year I may have even made the top 10), I’m proud! All the work
over the winter has paid off, and next race I'll be even faster, with less lapping to happen!
