MNSCS#6 Hillside Attack

Got a call up as the series leader in my age group, which will probably be the one and only time that ever happens. Clayton got a call up as well, and we rolled to the line and got ready to drop the hammer.

Clayton tore ass down the road and up the first climb. I was sitting 3rd going into the singletrack, and was really hoping my heart rate would come down a bit. Started Lap 1 huffing and puffing but hanging on. Played leapfrog a bit with another guy in my group and we started passing a few of the Expert women. I was blowing up big time, so I let a handful of people around on my next lap. Grabbed my gel flask only to notice that the top had opened and everything had leaked out. No fuel for me and I was struggling.

I don't know if it's because I was that tired and on the verge of bonking or if it's because I'm so used to starting my laps there in the front lot but I thought I still had one more lap to do. So, as I'm coming out of Section 3, I eased off the gas a bit to save something for one and a half more laps. Made it through 4, recovered a bit in 1 and when I got towards the end of 2 I could hear Zilla announcing something about Comp leaders coming to the finish. Huh? Got passed by Scott and asked him if we had another lap and he said, "I sure hope not!". Grabbed his wheel and followed him to the finish.

Had I known that was my last lap I would have pushed it a little bit, but I was pretty much in no-mans-land so I'm not sure I could have caught anyone or if I had the legs to go much faster than I did. Gel flask is going in the recycling bin and I'm going back to gel packs. Pretty disappointing race for me, 5th place when I had realistic hopes of reaching the podium. I guess it cancels out my Spring Cup result.

Memorial Classic

This is one of my favorite courses because it's got a little bit of everything: tight twisty singletrack, screaming downhills, and steep technical climbs. This year the course got longer which meant much less congestion. The prologue was almost twice as long, so there were no waiting lines heading into the singletrack. A new downhill and climb kept us on our toes and the switchback climb at the end added some extra pain.

I wasn't feeling the greatest at the start, so I did what I could to keep towards the front going into the singletrack. I think I went into the woods sitting in 9th. Tried keeping a high tempo first lap but just couldn't get the snap I needed on the climbs. I dialed it back a bit to keep from blowing up. Made it up Stairway and the Quarry and around for Lap 2.

Ben Rogowski and were playing leapfrog for most of the race. If I managed to pass him he'd come around before too long. He spent most of the race in front of me. I started to recover a bit halfway through Lap 2, and when we started Lap 3 I tried to throw down a little attack on Ben. Didnt' work, and he grabbed my wheel then passed me before the singletrack. He managed to get by one other rider before I could, so I figured he'd gap me. I hammered all of the double-track sections and took some chances on the downhill. I felt ok at this point and decided to try to attack one more time. I was finally able to pass Ben and make it stick on the long climb up to the Stairway entrance. I passed a handful of guys before the downhill, and caught up to a big group at the base of Stairway. This is a long, steep climb over a bunch of loose rock (see last two photos above). I went hard and passed a few people but then got swerved into twice, forcing me off. I managed to get back on and pedal the rest of the way up. Made it up the Quarry climb for the 3rd time (first time I've ever done that) and went as hard as I could to the finish.

Ended up 4th in my age group, 12th overall. Clayton beat me by 19 seconds. It was like Groundhog Day -- last year I got 4th and missed 3rd to Zilla by about the same margin. If I could have had a stronger first lap I may have done better, but I made up about 5 places on the last lap and a half and was happy with how I rode towards the end. Feeling it today -- very, very sore. Good race, all in all.

Photos from skinnyski.com

More from Mt. Kato

Some race pics from superstar photographer Dana Schoppe. Bottom two show Mad Squirrel, which is a really tight, 180-degree switchback that drops away fast. I came within about a tire-width of ending up like the dude in the last photo. Ouch. Full crash sequence here. I'm not picking on you dude, those are just some wicked photos. Think cycling isn't a tough sport? Think again.