Justin and Chris just finished up a trip to the US Pro Cup mountain bike event in Temecula, CA, with solid results in the elite and master’s categories. Check out the report and great photos!
Justin writes:
I decided to skip the elite short track on Friday as I was still recovering from a cold and didn’t want to make myself worse before the XCO race. Although it was unfortunate not to be able to race, it was fun to watch from the sidelines and cheer for my friends. I had plenty of time to check out the UCI XCO course, which had been changed again this year to add manmade rock gardens and large gap jumps. After a few pre-ride laps, I got the hang of the new features, getting to know the A and B lines just in case.
The temperatures on race day were nice, but it was windy, which made the exposed jumps extra challenging. We had a small but stacked elite field of 25 riders, and I lined up on the fourth row behind the guys I have been racing all season. I had a decent start and slotted into the top twenty before we hit the single track, and the race strung out immediately. The first lap was fast as we all sprinted up the climbs to stay in touch with the leaders. A few riders tried to make aggressive passes, but I stayed patient and controlled my effort while holding my position. Luckily, another rider, Sam, had the same mindset, and we worked together in the headwind sections while maintaining a reasonable pace.
After a couple of laps, we caught a few riders that had crashes and helped pull them back into the race. Unfortunately, our group broke up, and I was alone in the headwind for the last few laps. I focused on descending well to avoid any issues and left the rest out there on the climbs.
An hour and a half of racing flew by, and I came across the line in 19th place, 6 minutes back from Chris Blevins. Although this wasn’t my best race of the season so far, it went as well as it could have, having just recovered from a couple of weeks of sickness. I am looking forward to getting back to training for the next races in May after Sea Otter this weekend!
Chris writes:
I was able to pack two races into the long weekend with a twenty-minute short track on Friday followed by a traditional XC on Sunday. The short track was challenging since it was just one group for ages 40+ since the promoters forgot that people lose fast-twitch muscles every year. In my case, I may never have had any to begin with. But the race went well, and I rode as quickly as possible, finishing in 3rd place, a bit back from the winner who is also the 40+ national champion for short track.
Saturday I was able to pre-ride the XC course, which was slightly different from Justin’s, and luckily there were no big gap jumps! I was the feeder and mechanic for Justin, so I got a good sense of how riders attacked the course in the area around the feed zone.
Sunday’s XC event had a bit of rain, which improved the grip in the loose corners, and I was able to get the hole shot to lead into the single track on the first lap. By the end of the first lap of three, I had been passed by two other riders and tried to close the gap to them on the windy home stretch, where I could put out power without being limited by tight corners. But my efforts on the straightaways were not enough to regain the lead, and I finished a solid 3rd at the end of the race. It was a good intro to racing for the year, with lots of events to come!
