I want to start off first by telling everyone how incredibly blown away I was by the MTB scene in FL. For a state that has zero mountains, I am beyond impressed with the community of racer's there. Ocala has 70 miles of single track leaving from 2 different trail heads all within about 1 mile of each other with Santos alone. It was cool as hell watching little kids hitting dirt jumps with moms and dads chillin', grilling food and just the whole scene was amazing, it is now NO WONDER at all that FL produces some amazing talent in cycling. These kids have an impressive exposure to the sport that I only wish my hometown or even Nashville had.
The race was on a roughly 6 mile course. The pro's did 4 laps. The course was fun with 50% of it being flat and crazy fast with bermed corners and the other half super technical with tons of ups and downs with rock traverses and 180 degree turns.
I had a bad start, ONCE AGAIN, dammit! I had this huge bodybuilding looking dude to the right of me at the start that has a fast start and cut me off so it delayed my goal of top 5 into the woods even more so. Kudos to him, he did great!
The start of the race was probably one of the slowest starts I've ever experienced in any race, ever. 100 milers and all. Everyone seemed content leading into the tech section with no yelling or jockeying for position. I was 8th or 9th into the woods and I was itching to make some moves forward.
Sorting through the yo-yo effect that comes with racing tight and twisty trails, I was able to place myself in the top 4 towards the end of the first lap. I was feeling good and ready to heat up the pace on the 2nd lap without all the traffic, my legs felt awesome and I knew that with a course like this I could potential negative split every lap.
Starting the second lap, I was able to get in front of Chase Dickens(american classic/xpedo/maxxis) just as we headed into the woods from the feed zone. Hammer down! I was railing through the flat section much faster than before on the 1st lap. Leaning into some of the sandy corners, I noticed while using my rear brake (corner traction) that the lever was getting soft on me. By the time I hit the technical mix of the trail it was as if someone cut the line on my brakes. My lever was completely gone and useless! My first thoughts were about the recall Magura just had with the brake levers. My front brake was working fine. I have had my fair share of bad luck in races, flats, chain issues or whatever but...
I then made the decision to finish the race. Not only finish but still race. I took little risks. I want to podium in this series at the end of the year and I won't get very far DNF'ing. My second lap was still faster than my first. I pushed through the sections I knew I could, and hit the punchy stuff full bore. I rode more conservatively where I knew crashing would be more at risks and only managed to fall off my bike twice.
Aside from the crashes my lap times were still consistent with a 25,24,25,25.
I was very pleased to hold down 4th place and still compete minus the setback. It was still a tight race. I finally feel like I am coming along with a better attitude towards racing, I love to ride my bike and I got to do just that. A positive attitude and determination will pay off, you just have to push through the bullshit!
I called Magura today at work and have a new rear brake in transit. I always talk to Corey and want to make it clear, they have excellent customer service and great brakes. Shit happens and in a sport with equipment that is constantly pushed to its limits, you can't expect for everything to be perfect 100% of the time.
I had a terrific time in FL with great competition and great company. Can't wait to do it all over again in 2 weeks at Tsali!
Here was the PRO podium from the race.
Thanks for reading!
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