Rocky Hill Race Report

This weekend was the season opener of the TMBRA XC State Championship Series, held at Rocky Hill Ranch. As I turn 30 this year, this would be my first race in the Category 1 30-39 group: a fast, deep field often referred to as the Pro lite class. I have only really been doing base training up to this point, with my focus more on the Ouachita Challenge than on the XC series. I had a good couple of weeks riding leading up to the race, riding my SS exclusively as my BMC was down for a wheel repair. This was a lot of spinning, good for the aerobic fitness but I was worried it would leave me down on power for the climbs.

Saturday I got a ride in with Patrick and Richard, helped the Loucks move into their new house, then went to a Robbie Seay/Josh Garrels concert that evening with Raine. A busy day with lots of stairs and being on my feet, not the ideal lead up to a race but you can't put your life on hold and lay around all day either.

My race started at noon so I had a relaxing morning leaving home about 8:30. I grabbed the usual McDonald's breakfast on the way and got to the race at about 10:30. I got my number, kitted up and rode a lap of the course. We were doing 4 laps of a 4.5mi UCI style course, so it wasn't too hard to see the whole course. After a few clothing adjustments back at the car and hearing they'd delayed our start by 30 minutes, I took one more lap then started focusing on race time: eating a little bit, finishing off my first bottle of Skratch, and double checking everything.

I got called up in the first 15 riders probably, and took a spot on the 2nd row. At the gun I got off the line well and slotted in about 10th. Up the first few climbs the pace was lower than I thought, but I wasn't complaining as I was able to hold my place well and even pick up a spot or 2. I started battling with a small group, they would generally put time on me on the climbs but I would pull it back on the downhills and faster sections. I was having a hard time pushing a big gear up the steeps as I feared, but I was able to use my little ring to my advantage and simply spin up the climbs, keeping pace well enough without hurting my legs.

At the start of the 3rd lap I got together with 2 guys I know from Houston, we would stay together for most of the rest of the race. We rode that lap together, I never led but just followed to keep my pace on the climbs and catch back up on the descents while resting. At the start of the 4th lap I surprisingly gapped them a bit on the first climb, I knew better than to attack this early but I kept the pressure on to see if they would come back. They did about a quarter of the way through the lap, so I latched back onto their wheels. The lap ended with a long, mostly downhill section after a steep climb, and I knew I needed to be in front for this to pull away before the long flat finish. I managed to get around one at the top of the climb, but still had the other in front of me. I was on his wheel in the early part of the downhill, really needing to get by. I saw an opportunity after a fast down/up dip with a sweeping off camber turn afterwards, so I hugged the inside and made the pass. I put the hammer down on the downhill and managed to open a nice gap that kept me well clear to the finish.

When the results went up, I was surprised to see my name in 7th, but behind the 2 guys I knew I'd beaten. After they got that straightened out, it put me up to 5th! I was stoked to finish on the podium in my first race in this tough class, and have such a great race when not really expecting it.

Pretty sure I stood in the wrong place for 5th, I'm new to the podium thing!

Looking forward, I need to work on building some leg strength while maintaining the spin fitness the SS provides. My BMC was perfect, climbing well and ripping the downhills. I drank 1 bottle of Skratch during warmup, and 1 during the race: it was the warmest ride I'd done in a very long time and the hydration was perfect! Many thanks to Sugar Cycles for supporting me, I'm looking forward to seeing what else the season brings!