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This was the first year since I’ve been racing that there was a one-day National Championship race. It was held in Mammoth, CA, under blue skies and perfect temperatures. When I arrived on Tuesday things were a little chillier and there was a whole lot of snow on the trails. I was relieved that things warmed up enough to melt the snow! The atmosphere for the whole weekend was really fun. This was not only the Pro National Championship race, but all the amateur categories in all the disciplines were racing for their respective jerseys too. It was a very busy weekend for me, with three racing events and two clinics to put on, but it all just added in to the fun.
I started my weekend with the cross country race. No kidding, I was there to win. I knew in my heart the race would come down to Allison Dunlap and me, and I was right. Knowing that a lot of people don’t like to race at maximum exertion at high elevations, I decided this race was going to go from the gun. So I took a flyer from the start line. My mouth filled with the taste of blood, and I knew it would be a good day. We headed up the first climb in a group of about seven, and I entered the single track in third place behind Willow Koerber and Sue Haywood. There were a lot of small changes in positioning, but I rode conservatively by staying off the front, knowing there was quite a lot of headwind on some of the trails. I was reading the other women and how they were feeling, and I wasn’t worried about anyone except Allison. So when she took a turn at the front, I quickly passed her in the single track to try and make a breakaway. It worked for a while, but then she caught up to me by the start/finish and stayed on my wheel. She attacked early in lap two, but I stayed with her and took a turn drafting on her wheel. By the time we got to the steepest climb of the course, she put in the extra effort needed and I couldn’t match it. I hung in as best I could, rode as smoothly as I could, and never quit working until the finish line, but it wasn’t quite good enough for the win. I’m so proud to have earned second place, but wish it could have gone the other way for me.
That night was the first of our two clinics, and it was hugely successful. Foie from Shimano joined us for what we called a Last Minute Race Cram, and he had lots of good points to offer up. We covered everything from nutrition to visualization to tire pressure to tips for altitude to warming up. We had about 15 people there and they all had great questions and left feeling more prepared for the next day and the next year of racing.
Saturday afternoon was the Super D race. This is a new event that is a cross-country style downhill. Some Super D races are held as a mass start, but this one was done like a time trial. The course began with some pretty gnarly descending through skree covered corners, then mellowed out into a lot of pedaling. There were a couple climbs and a lot of pedaling flat-ish trails into headwind. I may very well have been the only fool out there on a hardtail, but it worked out well for me as I finished third behind Marla Streb and Allison. Everyone who was doing the Super D was there to have a good time, and I do believe a good time was had by all! Up at the top everyone was relaxed and smiling and goofing around. I can’t wait to do more of these races next year.
Sunday morning should have begun with our second clinic, a recovery spin. The bad news was that no one showed up for it, but the good news was that no one showed up for it. Truthfully, we were so tired that morning from the whole week and we still had our short track to race, that it was a bit of a relief to have that hour to ourselves.
Sunday afternoon I showed up for the short track with a new hairdo: two pony tails coming out of the holes in my helmet. It was a hit! The short track was a fun course, with one significant climb, a bunch of burms, a couple whoop-de-dos, and a headwind straightaway. Allison broke away in the first few laps, and I wish I had been in the mix from that early on to see if I could chase her. As it was I was just a bit too far back to do anything about it. So with her off the front, Kerry Barnholt, Sue Haywood, Willow Koerber and I formed the first chase group. A bunch of money had been raised for primes and I won a hundred dollars that way. I think the fund-raising started with Zeal Optics who donated five dollars for every pair of sunglasses sold over the weekend. Now that is good support! When I won that prime I simultaneously was trying to solo up to Allison, but just couldn’t get there, so I let myself get re-caught by the chasers and started sitting in to the group. With two laps to go, Kerry led our group. I attacked at the beginning of the last lap and was pretty sure I could hold them off until the finish, but I didn’t need to because Sue crashed behind me and I got enough of a gap to roll in solo style for another second place. Truthfully, it was better than I had expected for this race considering what awesome short track racers Kerry and Sue are, so I was quite happy with second place this time around.
What an incredible end to an incredible season for me. I’m leaving this season on a high note with huge amounts of confidence, and even more gratefulness to the sponsors who have been so supportive of me all season long. I could not have had such an amazing year without the support of The Ford Motor Company, Quick Release Racing, K2, Shimano, Zeal Optics, Compex, Athlete Octane, Giro helmets, Descente, Deuter, and Thomson. Each of these companies has done more to help me than they realize!
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