It's amazing how strong everyone is right now. Everyone is getting ready for US nationals next week in Bend which means most people are trying to peak around now......and it shows. Suddenly there are 20 people in front of me in the first turn instead of around 10. That can be mind boggling 1 min into your race thinking that maybe you are going well but luckily I never had that thought! The confidence was there and I knew it so I just kept calm and steady and passed when appropriate.
Overall the course was the same, it had dried out a little bit and the wind was howling. The thick mud was now fudgey where you would ride thru it and the line would stay there. The back section of berms was getting pressed out and seemed to have more but deeper lines in them. They would throw your bike a little but that made it fun! There were still power boggy sections through grass and such but overall a dryer course and luckily my body was ready for it.
I simply stayed on the gas and was determined today. I even fell and slipped (see knee above) losing a few spots but I didn't let that affect anything as I chomped my way back thru the girls that took advantage of my fall. Kind of annoying that I did that but oh well. I decided early on I wasn't giving anything away today and that people would need to earn their spots so I kept on it.
I was super aggressive in the corners taking inside lines that were less traveled and more risky. But you gotta do what you gotta do to get up there and today I was confident enough and willing to really bank everything on my skills in those corners. And it worked. I gained seconds in each corner and made my way up to 6th in the end!!
This was the final USGPCX to be contested this season and my 6th place finish put me in 5th Overall for the USPGCX Series. Given that I had no idea how this season was going to turn out after having miss all of last season racing against the nations best, I am pretty darn happy!!!
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