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!
This weekend I was racing in another Canada Cup, this one being arguably a bit more high profile; it takes place on the Pan American Games course at Hardwood Hills (Pan Ams is in less than a month now!). This brought athletes from all over North and South America to the venue (not to mention the cyclists from all around Canada), which is a neat opportunity for guys like me!
The dude from Columbia was very strong, and apparently a good starter Thanks Hannah Clarke for always getting photos of our race
There's another reason that this race was very high profile for me; last year I broke my ribs there - I'll admit it, I was very afraid of riding that course again, and I didn't want to have to ride the chicken lines around the obstacles (what I mean by this is that any technical feature on the course had an alternate loop around it, but those took more time and weren't as cool). I borrowed a super light set of wheels with wide tires to help me boost my confidence, and got to the course early on Saturday to practice the course.
I can always count on teammates for help and support!
I got down to business with the goal of conquering every single obstacle on the course with the exception of "endo rock" where I broke my ribs last year. I figured that it wasn't worth the risk of me having a flashback and pressing the brake too much or something. I got my mojo quickly, and aced through the Disera Drop section (which scared me a lot).
Next was a crazy lineup of features, the first of which was a big rock drop (not unlike the one that I had broken my ribs on the prior year), followed by a massive hop over two stacked logs, then a downhill rock garden feature called boneshaker. I was working up the courage to hit the big rock line when team USA showed up. Normally I'd let them through so that I could continue to grow my bravery until such a time that I wasn't scared and would launch myself off of it, but my friend told team USA to wait, and then I really had to step up. I guess I work well under pressure, because I sent it right over the rock, hopped the logs, and that was it. I do admit though, that I was practicing my hops this week in preparation.
Once I got over that hurdle, everything felt easy, I had my flow and mojo, I helped friends and other riders to learn other sections of the course, and my bike was in perfect tune. I really just needed to get my mind around a few things and then I was fine. The weather was supposed to be nice, and I would have the race that I've been working towards, right?
This is us when we though that we'd have a sunny race
The race day was one of those days where it might rain, but it wasn't forecasted to, and everything goes the opposite of plan. I felt like the entire race was underneath a waterfall, which made the trails pretty greasy - kind of like someone had spread a few inches of peanut butter across the entire course. I was grateful to be using my friend's really nice carbon wheels, and also knew that I couldn't afford to fix them if I broke them, so I pumped my tires about 25% higher than I would normally ride with - just to be safe.
The race start was chaotic as usual, and not even 10 seconds into the race I found myself skidding sideways to avoid crashing into someone - if someone 5 guys up touches his brake, the resulting accordion effect is dangerous. I lost a lot of positions, but I kept upright and fought my way into a better position by the time we hit the singletrack. As usual, I couldn't ride my own speed because of how congested the trail was with riders, but I avoided crashes and kept the rubber side down, slowly gaining confidence on the slippery tires over the muddy terrain.
By midway through the second lap I was still pushing and making passes, hadn't fallen, and was shooting through all of the technical lines. My tires weren't doing me much of a favor in terms of grip (especially the rear), but I was riding with guys that I hadn't before, moving way up the field compared to the other two Canada Cup races that I'd done this year. I was feeling confident too, because in any section that I could actually pedal hard and use my fitness, I was gaining ground.
Thanks Eric Batty for cheering me on and taking such great photos, it means a lot to have someone that's been so influential in my cycling cheering me on.
By the third and fourth laps, enough people had been through the rainy course that it was totally loosened up and I couldn't ride up any of the hills, hike-a-bike time. I kept positive and rode my best, but I just couldn't keep up with guys who had made better tire choices, or were used to the tires that they were riding.
I was pulled due to the 80% rule (if you are not within 80% of the leader's time you are pulled off course in elite national races), but I had a lot of people come up to me after the race, saying that I looked stronger than I have before, and even my competitors passed on compliments. Things are looking good for me, I've got the perfect bike (with my own set of carbon wheels being built now), and though it may have taken me a bit longer than the other guys who spent time down south this winter, I am coming into form and there are more national series races in 4 weeks - just enough time to train and re focus for some great road trips, results, and races!
I would also like to thank my mom for coming out to the race this weekend! Love you mom!
Before my disastrous attempt at the first Ontario Cup of the season and the following flu, I had committed to an 8 hour race the next weekend. 8 hour races are more like festivals really than races; teams of 1, 2, 4, or 6 can be entered and they are raced as relay races. Because there are so many people allowed on each team, you end up with a whole lot of people at the course, all set up with tents, coolers, bikes, and music. Sure there are serious guys and serious teams, but it really just like a festival. Team Progressive/Superfly/Maverix was set up in true style with the Progressive Nutrition girls handing out electrolyte drinks and recovery shakes.
I still didn't really have a stomach that could eat much, but I tried and had an egg and a couple bites of oatmeal, and we got on our way. I was set up to tag team the race with Jasiu Kocemba (also known as Junior), a wicked fast junior racer. We did 2 laps at a time each, alternating while doing the 200+m of climbing. Maverix Racing also had Ryan and Lindsay racing the tag team mixed category, and some guys on a 4 person team, plus Matt and Kelsey testing their legs on the course solo (8 gnarly hours in 30+ degrees!).
Start line stories
The race start was a bit chaotic, I did have a front line position, but I was basically starting in a sandbox and got crashed into by two other people before I could properly clip into my bike and get moving in a straight line. I got pretty flusetered after that and by the time that we had climbed up the first major climb, I was sitting pretty in 4th place - I knew this was pretty aggressive for a tag team rider, but my ego needed it after last weekend. Here I was cruising in the top 10 riders and hear some familiar joking coming from beind me, Kelsey and Matt had made it onto the back of my wheel - for bettter or for worse. I reminded them that their goal was to finish all 8 hours of the race on their own, but I guess we got a bit caught up in the moment. By the last quarter of my first lap I was starting to feel like throwing up and it was a long day after that. I slowed down and let Matt and Kelsey ride away from me, which is never an easy thing to do, but I benefitted in the long run from putting my ego aside and pace more moderately. I still came in from my first two laps in good standing, and Junior was a perfect partner for the race.
Smooth handoffs of the timing chip and safe storage (up my shorts) is important!
I had trouble putting back any food, but between the laps I would eat a half of a CLIF bar and some of the phytoberry and vegegreens product from Progressive nutrition. This small amount of sustenance was enough to keep me motoring as one of the fastest riders all day. Being teammates with Jasiu meant that I was treated like royalty and taken care of by his dad Simon Kocemba, who made sure I always had cold towels after my laps, that we knew when to get the timing chip, and that my bike was always in order. By the end of the day, Jasiu and I managed a collective 15 laps, lapping second place!
A gold medal on my birthday!
The Maverix 4 man team did quite well, with another solid 1st place finish, but I can't say the same for our poor boys out riding on a solo mission. Matt unfortunately had a big crash which resulted in a broken bike and staples to put his knee back together (he has made an unbelievably fast recovery since then), and Kelsey paid for those early sprints with some serious cramping. At one point in the race I passed by Kelsey on the side of the trail bent over his bike all seized up, I wanted to help him but he told me to keep riding. About 10 seconds later my leg seized up too. Real bros have sypathy cramps for eachother.
Happy team going home with lots of hardware, I missed the picture though..
It all started with a crazy run to a crazy event on a
morning that I felt pretty rough, but it was beautiful day, so why not? After
an unlucky snowshoe loss near the end of the race, I was left just off the
podium. The next week I had a chance to snowshoe race in Gatineau at a pretty
big event, and was rewarded with a silver medal (the participation medal looked
pretty great too). Now was my chance to get a good sleep, not eat fast food
that would cause me to wake up in the morning and get out of bed, and to win.
For the third week in a row, there was a snowshoe race!
I was thinking of trying to run to the race, I knew that I
had seen the “Odessa” sign not too far from Kingston whenever I’m driving but,
but upon checking the real distance it was 40 something km, and the race
started at 10am. No way. I managed to hitch
a ride with this awesome man named Jack Judge; a true northern guy. The man was
63 years old and had just completed his first 100 MILE race in the fall. These
winter multisport athletes are a pretty impressive bunch. Anyway, we got out to
pretty much nowhere in particular when I saw a big red barn and a bunch of cars
parked nearby. A very Canadian venue for a very Canadian sport.
Mark Robinson photo
There were a lot of people at the event, it was great to see some people that I had raced with and who train in obstacle course racing at the Alpha gym, as well as a lot of people from around Ontario. This snowshoe racing is such a great community with an awesome draw, with a friendly atmosphere and great organizers it's a great challenge for anyone from an elite athlete to a person who just wants a challenge, and I appreciate the mix!
The race was essentially a 6 and a bit km course shaped like the letter q; with about 2km out, a 2km loop, and 2km back. Right from the gun I ran with intent to win and led for the first km or so, until just before the course got into some tighter forest trail, where Charley Murphy (who knew the course and has been winning these things for years apparently) took his opportunity and flew by me. I figured that he was just going to blow up and I'd pass him again at this pace, but after a little while running behind him I just couldn't keep the pace.
Confidence in first place (Mark Robinson photo)
The first thing that I do when I lose first place is to stubbornly stick to the leader until they either blow up or I realize that it wasn't a fake burst of speed. The first thing that I do when I realize that first place faster than me is look back to where third place is. And so beings the game of cat and mouse.
Getting the fire ready for soup and keeping tired athletes warm (Mark Robinson photo)
John Bartello, a very fast obstacle racer from Toronto was back in the trail, not far back enough that I couldn't see him, but far enough back that I wasn't too worried about being caught. It's a real mind game, as the trail twists through the forest, or if you hear something behind you, you have to judge how close they are, keep calm, keep pace, and not fall. I was relieved by cheering on those who were still running the first 2km out, giving high fives as I ran my final 2kmI managed to keep ahead, and came in for another second place finish for the second weekend in a row. I couldn't help but think that for the second weekend in a row, the guy who was expected to win did so, and I was second place, but I tried!
The following photos are a great sequence captured by Mark Robinson, of all things I'm thinking near the end of a race:
Focus. Don't fall.
Don't give up.
Look up. Am I following a trail?
A photographer. Better smile.
That smile sucked. Better cheer.
Cheering is exhausting.
Focus. You're close to the finish.
Done. Time to not do anything. (Grace Vanderzande photo)
The awards after the race around the bonfire were great, and I was happy to have such great soup and be in good company. Flanel is a good uniform in the off season I think?
Thanks Derrick for the great event (Grace Vanderzande photo)
After my near success in the snowshoe race the previous weekend, combined with the fact that reading week (a week of no school) had just started and all of my friends were training in California, I decided that it was time for me to go to Ottawa to train hard for 4 days, support my friends in their ski race, have fun in the city with friends, and try another snowshoe race. This time to win. Truthfully I had no plans of where to sleep, or how to get around, but I had a ride to Ottawa and a lot of friends in the city so I could make it work, right? It was too cold not to.
Friday night we got in and I stocked up on the necessary supplies for a weekend of training and unpredictable living situations.
The snowshoe and ski races were on Sunday, and this time I
was taking things seriously and putting in a training block (lots of training
in a short amount of time), so I got out to the trails twice on Saturday and
familiarized myself with what I thought would be the course. I ended up doing a
massive extra loop, but I did the course too, and upon reviewing the maps at
home I was straightened out. The course started and finished in a windswept
field then got into some pretty technical, twisty and hilly trail for about a
kilometer or so. The course then went across another wind swept field and up a
hill that got steeper as you went up (I remember very clearly). The next part of the course was
pretty standard trails until a steep hill of about 60m elevation gain and a
wild 1.5 km run out to the finish zone.
I got to the race start and after watching my buddies do a
ski race in -36°C it
was my turn to run 10km on snowshoes. And this time I wanted to win! It was
hard to judge proper layering for this type of event, but I settled for 2
turtle necks, some wind proof tights, and a Gore-Tex shell. I was told that if
I wanted to win I had to keep my eye on this older guy who was probably going
to win. Didn't seem so bad, but here’s what I've been told about Dave McMahon:
he was one an Olympic athlete in Biathlon (skiing and shooting is a pretty
badass sport to be very good at), he has also married an olympic athlete, he trains about 3 hours a day, he runs a
snowshoe race series and two snowshoe group workouts every week, he owns and
runs multisport company, he coaches, and that he's a really nice guy.
It would be less embarrassing for me if you just muted this video..
I saw a big Gatorade water cooler right by the start line and decided to go get a drink, as any nervous athlete would right before a race. I swigged down cup in one gulp and there was something seriously wrong. It wasn't cold. It was salty. It was hot chicken broth.
Surprisingly, it wasn't actually that offputting, but I didn't get more.
I looked around at some pretty intense people at this start line and asked the guy next to me whether he'd been in a snowshoe race before, the response was a little intimidating
"Yeah, I was 12th at the world championships a couple of weeks ago! But my hamstring hurts today"
Oh. So that's how it is.
As one would expect, Dave went hard right from the start, positioning himself in first place through the technical bit, and I stayed right on his heels, thinking that to win, I'd have to stay in second position for the first bit at least, right?
Thanks Dave for posting this photo
Once we were out of the technical area the world championship guy blew by us and I was forced to make the same move; trying to stay in second place for as long as I could. As we crossed the windy field area, I noticed that this new pace was getting us ahead of everyone else.
"Push a little harder and we won't have to worry about them again!" I yelled
I regretted that in about 2 minutes when I forced myself to slow down, unable to keep the pace up the next hill. Well shoot.
When the trail flattened out again, I was back with a vengeance, and by the bottom of the gradual downhill section I was leading the race. I had mixed feelings about this, maybe it was a bad move, it was pretty early to assert myself as the leader in a 10km race, especially with these world class competitors, but hey, I was feeling good. I had a few minutes of trying to suppress panic, even though I knew that I wasn't actually choking, the combination of the cold and the double turtle neck gave me the feeling that someone had their hands clenched around my throat, and I grabbed the shirt and held the neck out from my adam's apple to try to calm down. I did not however get passed.
The last time I raced with a turtleneck I just took it off... (Thanks Brad Jennings for this photo)
I maintained first place until we got pretty close to the start finish, when this guy just came blowing by me. I was pretty upset about this, the crowds were everywhere and this guy was taking my glory. The audacity. I figured that he probably just wanted to lead going into the second lap, and that he'd surely blow up at that pace, until he went straight for the finish line cheered on by the crowd. That jerk was only doing the 5k race. What a softie.
I led into the technical section and Dave was back on my heels, and we were just far enough down the trail that we could still look back and see 3rd place, (who was another guy, not the world championship guy), but I didn't think that he'd catch us. By the time we got to the big hill near the end of the lap, I was feeling confident, but not about to waste all of my energy on the uphill, which is where I was passed. I ran the rest of the race out and finished second place, beaten by a man who truly new how to race properly.
Proper podium gear. I do best in flannel!
I asked for some advice after the podium from Dave, saying that I was thinking of doing more of these races, and he had some very encouraging words for me. Apparently I was quite fast down hills and on flat sections, and he described to me how to run up the hills properly (I had just been walking with long strides). He told me that I would "keep the pace" well. I asked what pace, expecting him to say his weekly snowshoe race series pace, but he told me that I would be competitive in a world cup. That was the first time anyone had ever said something like that to me, and I don't think that I'll ever forget it. All just because I tried a new sport and decided to give it a second chance!
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
