Exchequer MTB Race 40+ Expert 4 of 15
Amazing venue! Plenty of camping and amazing views. Course is directly adjacent to the Barrett Cove campgrounds and has 15+ miles of fun single track. XC course starts with a long 2.5 mile climb with a steep descent on a black diamond trail then some fast rollers and punchy climbs heading back to the start. Course was very wet and muddy with many parts of the climb more creek than trail. We were doing 3 laps starting and finishing at the base of the climb. Pace started out very reasonable with only a few people “sprinting for position “. I moved my way up the field and eventually settled on the leaders wheel (who also holds the Kom for the climb). I stayed with him until a small gap opened on a steep section towards the top and went into the descent a few seconds down. Unfortunately I flatted on the descent and had to pull over. Hit it with co2 and it eventually sealed up and I started chasing . I moved back up through the pack and made contact with 3rd place by the descent on the second lap but was never able to overtake as he gradually pulled away at the top of the 3rd lap climb. With about 2 miles to go my rear tire lost some more air but sealed and held enough for me to ride it in
Overall I was very happy with this result.
Historically longer climbs have been my weakness but have worked hard this last year to bring the threshold back up and keep the weight down. So to be able to come over the top of a long climb on the heels of the Kom holder and top 10 it myself made me feel better about how the training is going.