Goals

So the first UCI races of the season have come and gone and came with some good and some bad. We'll save the best for last. As you may know, I wrecked out of the first race of the year last weekend after one lap... well I managed to do that again. I just didn't get enough time on the course to practice railing the corners, and once the race went full gas, I ate it, twice. The first one was going from grass to road and I hit some gravel and slid out, got a bit of road rash. The second one was a high speed body slam that ended my day (all in 8 minutes of racing don't forget). I rolled around on the ground for a bit, with some shoulder pain. I don't know whats wrong with it, it just hurts. My pinkey also got some damage. After the wreck it was kind of sideways, so I gave it a few tugs and it seemed to come back in line a bit. Now it's just purple. If worse comes to worst, I'll just cut if off. So yeah, DNF for day 1. 2 races, 2 laps. Not the start I was looking for to the season.



Day 2. Pretty similar course, but we got there 3+ hrs early so we had plenty of time to preride and dial in the bikes. Because I DNF'D the day before, I started last row. The start was pretty open so I moved up as far as my legs would let me. There was a decisive split that mike made it across and I was in the next group of about 5. We were 8th through 12th place. Eventually the group was down to just 3 of us for 8,9,10. I just needed a top 10 for some points. Late in the race I was running out of gas, and it looked like a group of 2 was catching us a bit, and I didn't want to have to sprint with them. I put in my last effort I had in my legs to stretch our gap back out over the last lap and a half or so. I lead it out into the last few corners and both of my guys attacked me, and I was dead. I rolled in at the back of my 3 man group in 10th, just behind mike and Steve Tilford who had just sprinted it out for 6th (Tilly got him by a wheel). So mike and I both got UCI points that we had been looking for. Isaac was super sick all weekend and basically just worked the pit for us and yelled motivation.

Post Race Pain Cave


I'm super pumped to get these points because it means call ups at the rest of the big races for the next 365 days. So going into the year, that was my first goal for cross, so now that I've got some points, I'll see what it's like to start at the front and set some new goals from there.



Other observations from the weekend. J. Page's mechanic was hilarious. When I was hanging out in the pit after I dropped out on day 1, Page lost his seat and came in for a bike change. Once he was gone his mechanic said (in his sweet euro accent) "It is OK he liiiikes it with no seat. He don't tell no one, but he is a little bit of the gay." Then he was having some tire pressure issues, where they were too soft and came back in for another bike change (you can do this when your smashing everyone like he did.) He mechanic said, "again, he liiike the bouncing" So he made life in the pit a more fun.

OK this is getting way too long, so I'm going to wrap it up with a few more pictures from the weekend.

J.Page alone. Surprising.


Sweet Swiss dude who jumped me at the end


Artsy Midwest Sunset Shot


Also, a big thanks to Zach Edwards for wrenching on my bikes for me this weekend, manning the camera and taking care of the pit duties!