First of all, props to Chriss Redd Photography for taking the pics you saw in my last blog and this blog. This has to be one of the best pictures that I have ever seen of myself racing. It was taken in Gainesville this past weekend and it just has so much emotion and raw energy. If you look carefully, you can see my middle finger in my right hand dripping with blood. Just one of the wounds I acquired this weekend while racing to a third place finish and finally getting an even better taste of what it feels like to be a champion.
I have had a budget crunch around my house. Quickly approaching the years end, I got to tighten the dollars to make sure I can have a fantastic holiday. That being said, just like last race, I didn't come up the day before to ride the track, yet I still knew what to expect, cause the way the course is laid out, there are only two ways to run it. Well the way they chose to run it, was backwards from last year and it made it so that you basically had a flat run for 2 miles before you dove into an extreme rocky downhill into a pit and then a rocky climb out of the pit.
Before the race started I consulted with my team captain to get some advice on what I should do. His recommendation was to hit the track second behind someone, let them do the work thru the flats and draft off their wheel. If I have to make any passes, he added, make them on the up hills to really break the spirit of your competitors.
As the race began and I paced myself behind the rider who eventually won, heading into field two, My team mate asked for a pass and I obliged. As he continued to chase the lead rider, I did my best to keep them in sight. Just as we were entering the second of two short single tracks in the flat, I was passed by a rider, who has been gunning for me for weeks. I stayed with him and kept him close. I decided to wait till the first uphill to make my move to shatter his spirit. And my plan worked like a charm, as we started making our ascent up the steep rocky 300 ft climb, I would intentionally smack his bike with my front tire to throw off his rhythm, then I made my move next to him and past him. He jumped on my bike tire and start rubbing my rear tire with his front, I continued to put on a faster pace, crested, geared up and started to escape him. Soon thereafter another rider came up behind me. As we made ourselves down a small twisty hill that quickly led to an uphill switch back climb, I heard the rider that I just passed on the climb screaming, I looked in time to see him rolling and screamed to him to see if he was ok. Well just then BAM another rider plows right into him, crashing horrificly. Feeling the pressure to defend my third place spot, I continued the race.
Well the guy behind me, quickly makes a move and passes me, and tries to escape, but before he can mount a serious attack, I reel him in pushing my big ring, pulling him close and keeping him close till the last mile of the first lap, when I countered attack on a 50 foot steep climb to pass him. I could tell by the look on his face, he didn't have a chance to beat me and as long as I kept my pace steady, I would get third place. I made my way thru the second lap and as I approached a 500 foot climb, I geared down and lost my chain. The chain became trapped between my smallest front ring and the frame, after wrestling with it for a minute and gaining a huge ring bite on my finger, I yank it out, after being passed by the previous rider that I had battled with 30 seconds ago.
I immediately jump back on and start hammering the pedals, and in less then 25 seconds I reel him back in to put the final nail in the coffin. I spend the rest of the race riding smooth and fast and finish, victorious with a third place podium placing. I beat that guy by 30 seconds and beat all the other head hunters that are dying to see me slow down by no less then 2 minutes. As I make myself even more prepared thru this week and the next, half way thru the season I am looking to finish with the very least number 4 in the state. But in order to insure this victory for myself, I have to continue to crush the competition, stay on task, work even Harder and make every single last race count. Cause I aint lying when I say, I WANT TO WIN, FIRST PLACE before the season is done....
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