Last weekend I had the chance to race the first two day, fully backcountry enduro race of the season. This race took us over 5 stages Saturday and 2 stages Sunday. Both were long days with pedal transfers, and stages were equally long and demanding. I am happy to report a top position this time due to fewer guys in my class (but I'll take it) Here is a break down of how it went!
First Podium in a long time!
Day 1:
Total ride time: 5:12
Total ride: 25 miles
Total Vertical: 3700'
Day 1 Strava
Stage 1: This stage started very close to the parking area so it was hard to warm up. It felt like I was really ready to race about halfway through the stage. Thanks to another rider I was prepared for several really surprising right turns. Toward the end there was some really tall grass that made it hard to see the trail.
Stage place: 3/6
Stage 2: The transfer to this stage was pretty long and involved a lot of walking. I didn't learn my lesson in Glorietta and wore my XC shoes resulting in some pretty bad blisters on my heels. This stage was the shortest in distance, and it felt short! I was pretty excited to be back on the bike and showed it by blowing the first corner which cost me some time overall. This is the only stage I finished out of the top 3. Besides that silly mistake, the stage was really fun and flowy after that.
Stage Place: 5/6
Stage 3: This stage was another long transfer that was not awesome. This was the longest at 2 miles and started with some fun semi-technical features that led to some pedaling in the middle. There was one cool rock feature I'd heard about that you rode straight over mostly on faith. I actually passed a guy at the bottom. After that it was not steep enough to coast, and not smooth enough to pedal which was frustrating.
Stage Place: 3/6
Stage 4: Stage 4: The final long transfer led to this shorter stage. It was only a mile but it felt a lot longer. This was an all gravity stage with very little pedaling (that I would pay for on Sunday). I threw a rock onto my right foot that really hurt but lucky it wasn't lasting. There were a couple corners on this course that felt really good!
Stage Place: 3/6
Stage 5 Start
Stage 5: After a mercifully short transfer to the last stage of the day, we were met with 2 miles that started out chunky and dropped off steeply to the right, and then at the bottom became a wide open pedal fest. No one came to the bottom of this stage without a smile on their face. There was one water crossing you had to just pull up and hope it wasn't too deep.
Stage Place: 3/6
After this we were supposed to have a 5 mile dirt road ride back to the race headquarters, but I was lucky enough to get a ride in a van with some other racers.
Ride back to the Start
It was great to get back to the hotel sitting third place!
Day 2:
Total ride time: 2:30
Total ride: 19 miles
Total Vertical: 2100'
Day 2 Strava
Stage 6 Start
Stage 6: There were only two stages this day, but each was a healthy pedal transfer. The first of the day started with a short road section then a hard left onto by a pretty chunky single track. Some described it as a rock garden. I don't think it was quite that bad but it was def something to deal with. There was a huge water crossing at the bottom that soaked everyone involved. This stage didn't have a ton of pedaling, and a couple corners felt really fast.
Stage 7 Start
Stage 7: Stage 7: After a not too terrible transfer to the last stage, I saw the longest line of the race. This whole stage was on a jeep trail, which meant double track. It was also a pedal-fest. There was some chunk here and there, but mostly it was about maintaining speed and staying smooth. There were several flatter corners that were followed by a short climb that could really suck speed. I ended up using the dropper a lot which meant that I was pedaling A LOT. After that it was a pretty social 45 min rode back to the start.
Stage Place: 3/6
Race HQ
Overall I stayed in sort of comfortably in 3rd for the weekend. I lost about 20 seconds a stage to 2nd place, and gained about 18 seconds a stage to 4th. I don't think my mistake on stage 2 cost me much.
Preriding: Only for suckers
This was the first race I didn't preride anything. While it was tough going in blind, it was very cool going in with fresh legs! I am def going to consider that before putting in a big day before a race in the future. Final results.
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