Revolution Series #6 Powderhorn Race Report - All that bike park time paid off

This weekend was the last stop of of the Revolution Enduro series at Powderhorn resort near Grand Junction. This was a fun one for me because Powderhorn is here I learned to ski, and worked for a few years as a ski patroller. Since then, they've put in a great bike park and host a stop on the series.

Let's get down to it!

Total ride time: 3:30 hours
Total ride: 19 miles
Total Vertical: N/A due to lift access
Strava

Stage 1: The day started with a ride all the way up the mountain via service road. It had rained for about an hour that morning so the road was a bit of a mess. Luckily, it cleared up and the trails were in pretty shape all day. Stage 1 had us going down a long-ish blue with some big, fun berms. I was happy to fall into a groove fairly quickly and had a couple corners that felt absolutely on the edge of control. Towards the bottom definitely wasn't attacking as arm pump settled in. One thing about this bike park is someone really likes doubles! I have been spending more time at the local dirt jumps with my son and that has paid off as I was jumping everything out there. 

Tires gathering mud on the first transfer

Stage 1 start

Stage 1 Place: 8/16

Stage 2: This stage had us riding into the back country for a short but intense section. The transfer was pretty wild as well, taking us through boulder fields and up some pretty steep sections. The stage itself was rough with no obvious line choices, with a few spots where just staying upright was success. There was one feature I was worried about in practice, but at race speed I barely noticed it. The ride back to the top of the resort was pretty relaxing and enjoyable (more than the stage).

Stage 2 Walk-a-bike

Stage 2 place: 8/16

Stage 3: This was the most fun for me, the top was pretty flowy and there were a lot of fun, very ridable jumps. It opened up into a fast section with two big doubles and then ended in a really tight section. Because of the length of this stage, I tried to open and close my hands in the middle so I wouldn't get as much arm pump. The problem was I got caught right at the open section and the guy was confused about the end of the course, and in the confusion (me: "THIS ISN'T THE END GOOOOO!") I was unable to hit the jumps and lost what ended up being precious seconds. 

Riding the lift up on stage 4

Stage 3 place: 8/16

Stage 4: This was the most technical stage with 2 rock gardens and plenty rocks. I had preridden this twice and was comfortable with everything. Luckily, I had noted to stay left on everything for my preferred lines. There were a few good opportunities to pedal int here as well and I did what I could in the last stage of the day. I also noted, "don't try and jump the big jump at the bottom just go around it." Coming up to that - the last jump of the series - during the race I built up some nerve and jumped it and it was really not that big a deal. And as a bonus my parents, brother, and his fiance' were waiting at the end to cheer me on!

Stage 4 place: 7/14

Overall finish: 6/13 (one freakin' second behind 6th)
Final results

I also ended up with a 4th overall in the series. I was pretty happy with that, although I was pretty far from third. 

Series results

Season Podium

I was pretty set on this being a one and done season... until I was forced to watch the podium for that day. It really made me start thinking about what I'd have to do to be more competitive next season. But that is a conversation for another post!