Oh boy... it's been a while. But there is a reason for that. I made a deal with myself that I wasn't going to post anything on the blog that was negative or disappointing. So we're just going to skip over the Hardwood Canada cup all together.
On to today! O-cup #4 in Midland. Awesome course. The weather leading up the race was really confusing me. But I kept thinking about last year and how much it rained before the race. I put on mud tires for that and it was a poor decision then. So seeing as it was a similar or even better situation this year i decided to stick with what I had on which was an all rounder that I run for every race.
Lined up front row again. Had a good start. The start climb is a hard one and if you don't watch your effort you could be passed at the top. Had no problems with that and was sitting with the leaders into the single track. Not much changed in the first lap. I just rolled around the course on there wheels.
Lap 2. Not sure how it happened but the leaders got away and out of sight (which doesn't take long on that course). So I rode the rest of that lap on and off of Tysons wheel as he would gap me on the downhills despite my efforts to stay with him and I would catch back up on the climbs and fast flowy sections.
lap 3. Made a few mistakes and lost Tyson. He was out of sight. So I just did what I do and rode consistent and hard on the climbs. I found a good rhythm and started riding smoother.
lap 4. Kept that consistent pace and by the top of the course Tyson was back in sight. That was a sigh of relief. Once I caught on to him I was feeling good and didn't want to give up the rhythm I had found. So I moved past him. As I went by he told me that he was attacked by a child watching the race. His brake levers were crooked but he seemed to be ok other then that. Rest of the lap was more or less the same.
lap 5. Traffic! I'm not sure what it was today but the woman's field wasn't as friendly as usual. Even some of the riders that are usually good about giving room to pass were content to make me wait. This forced me to be more aggressive then I usually like to be. I wasn't able to open up on the climbs like I had in laps before because of heavy traffic so lost a fair bit of time on that lap. Not a big deal as it wouldn't have earned me a higher spot regardless. When i crossed the line I found out that I finished 4th. Happy with that for sure. It's nice to finish the first block of races with a satisfying result. Now like everyone else I think I'll be getting back into a training routine for a few weeks.
In the meantime I'll be trying to arrange a way to get myself to Nationals in Alberta. If not then next race will be Buckwallow. Well I'm tired and getting lazy so that will be all. Talk soon.
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