I was never super nervous about this race, perhaps because I knew I never stood a chance at cracking even a top 20. It's a humbling thing, racing literally the best in the Country and a few from all around the world. Looking back at this race, I think I finally feel like I belong racing in the Pro class. I know my weaknesses now more than ever, I also know my strengths. One thing never changes, suffering during a bike race is the best worse feeling ever, I can't seem to get enough.
I don't have tons of pics yet so I will make another blog later with pics. I just wanted to re-cap my race while it is somewhat fresh in my mind.
http://www.strava.com/activities/135293506
Here is the link to the race. Whiskey is a 50 mile MTB race that has a little bit of everything. Great climbs(an HC climb at that), killer singletrack, maybe some of the best I've ever ridden. Fast double track and a few miles of pavement. On paper I knew the HC climb would suit me well. Unfortunately, I ended up climbing it alone.
The race start was mellower than I thought it would be. Jockeying for position was tough but decently easy enough to move through the field. The pavement climb at the start turns to dirt for about 2 miles then funneled into singletrack. My only regret in the race was not jumping ahead 5-10 spots before the singletrack, honestly, I had the legs and it would have been easy and would have allowed me from getting held back. I was afraid to light a match too soon with the HC climb 1:30 into the race. I was on Jason Sager's wheel so I thought it was good enough. I was maybe top 50 at this point. The pace in the singletrack was perfect, hard but not too hard. Then comes the waterbar climb before the 1000ft descent. I was a wee bit frustrated here, a few guys were bobbling around and I couldnt believe some guys had to walk the tech sections, def lost some time there.
The 1000ft descent before the climb to the feed I knew would be tough for me, a mix of super fast flowy high speed singletrack with a little chunk thrown in. I still feel a little discomfort in balls to the wall descents, I am getting better everyday but I gave up all the positions I gained on the waterbar climb on that descent. Onto the feedzone I couldnt help but think about the HC climb after dropping into Skull Valley, it was haunting me a bit.
I was in a group of 5 leading down, Sager, Uhl, Troy Wells, and some other guy from Colorado. I ended up getting dropped on the 3000ft plunge. I can blame my gear (32x11) or my lack of skill. Not sure, I fought hard to stay on the train, I only had so much leg speed at 35mph+ with this guys pushing bigger blades, I should have ran 2x10 for this race. No one to blame but myself.
I started the climb up to the summit, 14 miles and 3000ft of climbing and I was solo. It took me 59 mins, I was about 3-7 mins off the times of the Elite riders ahead of me who all had the advantage of working together. I couldnt be happier with my performance. There was a chase group of about 10 behind me and none of them were able to bridge the gap to me, I was extremely pleased with holding my position until the end of the race, especially considering the techy singletrack descent back into town. I did catch a group of guys on the climb(Geoff Kabush, Ben Bonstrom and Sager) Sager and Kabush ended up catching me back with 4 miles to go.
I will def race Whiskey again. I ended up 37th out of 93 Pros. Most will agree this is the most stacked Pro field race the US ever sees and judging that by my 3:18 finishing time and how it would have landed top 15 the last 2 years, I'd say it'll prob get even more competitive next year & I hope it does.
I want to thank all of my friends and family for supporting me thru this race, it's just one of many this year but without a doubt the biggest race of my life so far and I couldn't be happier with my fitness.
Thanks and congrats to everyone who raced!
-KT
