Going into this race, I knew I was going to have some good competition. When we rolled up, there wasnt a huge field of women, but the ones racing were fast and I was actually nervous. For me, being a bit nervous at the lineup is a good thing. I felt some butterflies flying around in my stomach as i did the regular chitchat at the start. Some of the competition that i was worried about was a lady that has always won that race, and another was an elite level cyclocrosser, etc, etc, so I knew i was going to have to work for it if I wanted to win the championship. (I was really tired too, as I hadnt slept the night before because every 10 minutes I would wake up to a freakin' mosquito buzzing in my ear. anyway...)
They started the men off 10 minutes before us. Justin told me right before his start that his Stans'd up rear tire was losing air. He didnt look to confident on the line. But as soon as the gun went off, he shot up and was in second place, first place was some young 19 yr old phenom champion.
Then it was my turn, off went the gun, feeling the rush of adrenaline and the over eager beating of my heart, I did what i do and pushed the pedals hard, I wanted to be the first one into the singletrack as that is my forte, but one girl pushed it hard too and so in the game of strategy and tactics, I let her go in front and decided to ride her wheel to see what kind of pace she was pushing. Right away, I felt comfortable, not breathing too hard, but she was breathing rather hard, and the technical skills were a little sketchy. The first singletrack ends at the bottom of a very steep climb back into more singletrack, so I knew this was the place to attack. As soon as I hit the climb, I powered up the motor and pushed past her, I even got out of the saddle and didnt look back. Women did five 6km laps of pretty intense riding, near the end of the first lap, I saw the "lady that has always won that race" close behind me. So I pushed, went deep, I knew my heart rate was in the anaerobic range, I was feeling my legs begin to lose ground, but I would recover on the few decents and in the end I was beginning to put a gap on the lady behind me. Then I see Justin, he is at the bottom of the singletrack. Double flats! Bummer, he is a bit bummed but tells me that girl is right behind me so go, go! Soon I was catching up to some of the guys and I was feeling good, I just settled into the pace and kept at it. It felt great coming across the finish! Especially having my kids, Justin there to meet me.
In the end I finished strong and put 11 minutes on the "lady that has always won that race". All the women rode excellent. There were a lot of mechanicals and wrecks, I saw two guys go down in front of me, so the course was definately on par for a championship.
Regaining my composure at the finish:
Looking a little better:--like my socks?! Littlemismatched.com, awesome little sockies!
The sweet taste of success, 2009 US forces Europe mtb champion:
The next day we ventured to a little town an hour away and I watched Justin race the final local german cross country. They gave him some organic bread and his race number was 29, so that was cool. No podiums, but his ridng was great. The German racers are super fast, SUPER fast, so this is going to get him in shape! He is used to the longer races, this was a shorter xc, but I think it will be great trainining for both of us next season.Justin looking like he's working hard:
29'er Boy chasin':
This weekend I am babysitting a cute dog while friends head to Oktoberfest in Munich, we'll probably go next year, not exactly the place I want to take our small children. But maybe next year we can find a sitter. Plus it's my baby girls 3rd birthday, so busy weekend ahead!Well, more to come later on my plans for the future...
Peace, Angie
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