3 Cross Races in 5 Days!

Yes!! Survived 3 hard cross races and one full day of Vegas in 5 days…… now I'm sitting in the Seattle airport enroute to Salt Lake City sipping my second double americano for the day and trying not to fall asleep. Im actually feeling a lot better all things considered then I thought I would. I couldn't escape from Vegas fast enough, it's definitely not my kind of place. I would do Cross Vegas again, but I think it would even be more of an in and out kind of trip then I did this year … but you gotta do it at least once.

StarCrossed on Saturday was as usual, great!! Unfortunately due to booking conflicts at the velodrome the race was moved to Lake Sammamish park instead. It was still and awesome event, but the course at the velodrome is really cool. Being at a park too, it wasn't quite the night cross it was last year, but the beer garden fans at the barriers were still amazing!!!

I really wasn't sure how I would feel. Walking around Interbike (the big dumb bike show) all Thursday really kicked my butt, and my warm up was very sub par. I lined up thinking, okay, just have fun with this. Two Alberta girls, I won't name names, lol, missed call up so I was able to squeak up into a first row start position…SCORE!!!! I couldn't remember if this was one of the races that had the holeshot prime, so off the start I took full advantage of my great starts (and no, no holeshot prime here) and gassed it. As a mountain biker I like to be able to ride an open course and not have to fight around the corners, so I charged to string out he field. Katherine Nash (Luna), Sue Butler and Caroline Mani (French Nat Champ) stuck to my wheel like glue, and it was pretty neat hammering out a lap and a half with those fast women. Half way through the second lap, Katerina passed me through the sand run (ya, I dont know why I'm so slow on the run, I'm tall I should be fast!!!!) and I was able to stick on her wheel for a couple corners, but she just had more gas coming out of the sand then I did. We would hold pretty even through out the lap, then she'd put time on me through the sand and out the other end.

She stretched out her lead and I stretched out my gap over Sue and Caroline who were working together and charging, through out the race. With 2 laps to go I come down the fly over ramp and getting a little lazy, end up landing on my saddle causing the seat to rotate nose up…NO!! Figuring I can ride it out to the sand pit, then hammer the saddle back into place on the run, I continue pushing my pace not wanting to give up any time. Then in a moment of lapsed focus I take the corner into the pits a little too hot and go down hard! My bike skids into the pits and I power slide right along with it. Jumping up faster then I hit the ground I'm back on my bike and trying to pedal. My chain had fallen off and while trying to get it back up on the front chain ring it sucks back up into the frame and jams.… flash back to Cross Vegas, though not nearly as bad. Sue and Caroline fly by me, I get my chain sorted out, and decide to hit my saddle back into place (everyone was yelling at me here to relax and chill out… haha, I guess it probably looked bad, but I really didn't wan to ride with the saddle tilted up) and got back in the race. Lap and a half to go, I hammer as hard as I can to chase back up, and not loose more time to the girls behind me, but in the end I finish just off the podium in 4th place.

Sunday I wanted redemption!!! It rained pretty hard all night, so although it was the same course, it ended up being very different. Second row call up (no squeaking into a front row today), I settle into a group of the same 4 of us from the previous day. Going through the start finish after a lap I look behind me and see the chase group closing, so I launched and attack… yup, mountain biker brain again. Katerina and I charge off and the race ends up looking almost the same as StarCrossed. No crashes and no mechanical today!!!!! I end up on my first big cross podium in second place between the Czech and the French national champ.

I am super stoked with all my races, but really excited I was able to keep it all together for the last race. Regan had 2 amazing races too, with a really solid 3rd and 2nd respectively!! He's back!!!!!! And a super solid presence from the rest of the Pro City Team and numerous other Victoria racers! Junior racer Amanda Wakeling kicked butt in the women's cat 4 and cat 3 races!!

Huge thank you to all my sponsors, Trek Pro City for the super awesome Cronus, Lazer Helmet for of course the Helium Helmet, VellendTech for the super sexy and super confortable cross specific Sidi Spider and Honey Stinger for the best race chews, gels and protein bars for warm up, staging and recovery nutrition. After a week of practically no swimming, this Xterra in Ogden is going to hurt!! Maybe some TRX to get me back in shape.