NMBS #6 - Super D Snowmass, CO

So I just had to see what this Super D thing was all about. I had never done a National Super D race and I was dieing all season long to race one but the timing just never worked out as my focus was always Cross Country and Short Track.

If you do Super D you need to be very prepared from pre-riding the course whenever they decide you can pre-ride it (which may or may not coincided with YOUR plans) to carting the right bike around with you from race to race (one with rear suspension ideally). But for me - no team truck-y equals only one bike-y for Kath-y. And that bike is going to be my awesome Titus Eleven custom hardtail hands down. I love that thing! So that is what I raced on in the Super D today. A hardtail. As I stood at the top of the course waiting for the race to start I got some pretty good "what the hell are you thinking" stares from men and women alike along with a few outright comments asking what the world I was thinking. I thought it was funny though and was planning on just checking out Super D and see what it was all about vs going for the win you know?

I mean it certainly would have been Super Smart to have my Titus Racer X...a dually which would have been Super Plush down the Super D course but I didn't even decided to race Super D until after I pre-rode the course which was only right before I had to immediately head back up on the chairlift just in time to start the race!

Super D races have very little uphill and a ton of downhill....but not the type of dh that you are thinking of with drops and rock gardens and all. The dh was actually held a bit on the cross country course that we climbed UP the day before so it wasn't that technical at all. There was of course single track and super fast fire road descents in it as well and it was about a 13 minute race.

So yah.....the start of the race was pretty interesting for sure. Get this...we had to lay our bikes down on their sides on this line that we were 10 feet away from. They then had us lay down on our backs as they said 3, 2, 1, GO!!! We all got up on our feet as fast as we could, grabbed our bike off the ground and then had to run with it about 70 feet I am guessing out and around these orange cones to another spot where we had to lay our bikes down again and then run to where our bike was originally laying at the beginning, touch our feet to that line and run back to our bike that we were now finally able to jump on and start peddling down the mountain as fast as we could. I can't believe I remembered all those pre race instructions to. Geez-Loo -Eez. Luckily I wasn't even close to first place at any of those points and could just follow the leader. So I guess technically I really didn't remember the instructions myself. Wishful thinking I guess.

I was almost last as I jumped on my bike to finally start peddling it too but I was able to make a few passes and was in about 10th as we started on the first super fast fire road descent. Everyone was flying down it trying to maintain a solid pace without supermanning off into the trees. We hit another uphill and I was able to make a few passes there and then there was more dh where the gap grew behind me. I made my final passes on a bit more uphill before we hit part of the actual course that they used for the National Downhill event. Everyone else had dual suspension and probably felt as though they were riding a couch down the mountain but I was on my hardtail so I had to be super careful in spots although the bike handled extremely well given the conditions I must say!!! Oh man that was sketch but I managed to pull off a 6th place in my first Super D for Pro Women. Super D was Super fun and I would love to do it again but probably not on my hardtail I am thinking.....although quite doable, a dually is a safer bet in these conditions. :)

My husband Chris also raced the Super D and he placed 4th in his category!! His time was a whole minute faster than mine too! He knows how to kill it in these races. Not bad for someone who doesn't train too much but instead just goes out and rides when he feels like it and doesn't when he doesn't. Nice work Chris!