Winter Park Race #6 Report

   Last Saturday was the sixth and last race in the Epic Single Track series at Winter Park. This marks the end of my first series and season racing in the expert class. Good riddance! Driving up, the weather was not looking too promising:

Cloudy and about 50 degrees

   Driving over Berthoud Pass was a little unsettling. It was very cold and cloudy and I didn't bring my handlebar mounted fog horn. I parked at Winter Park, but the start was way down in Fraiser, about 8 miles away. 

At the parking lot

   The question was - what to wear to the start not knowing if it was going to clear up or I'd need a snorkel. I wore my knees and arms and an extra jersey to the start and then carried them in my pack for the race, which worked out fine. 

   Here is a map and profile of the race: 

Warmup in pink, race in red

    I rode to the start with a Pro named Jesse who took 3rd in that class, that was cool. He was super friendly and not exerting himself at all in my 'warm up'.The starting line was a pretty calm affair, with people showing up no earlier than necessary to their start times.

   The race itself was pretty fun. It started on a pretty long hill that put me back on my class a bit. I made up some ground in the middle and actually caught a guy about halfway through the race. After that it was just staying consistent and staying out of the 35-39 and 40-44 age group's way. 

Results!

   I ended up with q 11 of 12. It's amazing how your outlook can change with one little position. I was kind of negative until I passed this guy, then everything changed. Suddenly things weren't so bad, maybe I belonged in this class after all, and the next gut was probably around the next corner.

   So here is how the series shook out: 

Series standings

   I am pretty happy with a  5th overall, but would sure like to not have finished in last so many times! It was fun to finally race with this class and see the talent. Now, who is ready for some CX racing?!