Manfeild O Cup Report

So my first race in Elite went...... all right. I finished 32nd out of 42. Goal was top twenty, but with the Quebec team in town, and some world cup level racers stuck in Canada, that would have been harder than usual for an O-cup at Mansfield.

I had a good start today. I was on the back, but made my way up about 15 spot on the first climb. I felt good, lungs were burning, but my legs felt strong. I was in a train of about 10 guys and felt like I could handle the pace being set. I did for about 3/4 of the first lap until I had a little spill. Not a bad crash at all, just a wash out in some deep sand, but I lost the train and a couple more spots. I got back on and regrouped quickly, but noticed a bunch of noise coming form my front derailleur. It was bent in; likely from whacking it with my foot during crash. I was now stuck in the big ring, but the chain was rubbing bad no matter what cog. A bunch of Guys come storming by while I was distracted by this, included the leaders of the Junior X race. I rode it out till the feed zone, and I stopped there to pull the derailleur straight while I got a new bottle. It didn't seem like my derailleur moved much at all, but it worked fine after that quickish fix.

So dead last...or close to it I had four laps to make up some ground. The usual back pain crept in on lap two, but I rode strong. Coming in to the end of the lap I slid out on the grassy right hand turn...Just came in with two much speed, and wound up sliding on my stomach. I got up quickly and hammered away, with a bruised knee and ego. Not a big loss though..

Lap 3 was good. Painful, but I made up some spots and made no mistakes.

Lap 4 I felt better. Less back pain, and energy felt high. Thought this would be my fastest lap, but it was not. Less pain must have been the result of riding slower..

Lap five went great. Lots of drinking through the race meant no cramps to worry about. My energy was lower, but I had tones of power still to grind the big ring up climbs. I passed a couple more elites and closed up big gaps on others, but ran out of race and couldn't catch em.

So there is some room for improvement. Dry sand seems to be my weakness, so I will have to put in some miles down at the beach. Also, my lower back still killed. Worked so hard on it all winter and it still hurts so bad in races. Thinking it may be worth seeing Physio Therapist about it, but more dead lifts might be the only solution. Gonna think about that more.

Weather was great for race. Rain held off and temp was warm enough to leave arm warmers in the truck. Kinda wanted it to rain though to keep the dust down but w/e.

Now more pics from Derek MacAulay (who just missed a podium; nice job) Check out the new kit- I'm representing the Short Hills Cycling club this season: