Our preciptation-free fall continues on the front range. Our weekly great cross migration moved up to Summit County to Frisco Colorado for a Colorado Cross Cup race on Sat and repeating on Sunday ( which I opted out of ). I can't tell you why but I've always experienced really solid form coming up to 9,200 ft in elevation and yesterday was no exception. The course is always held at the Frisco Nordic Ski center and the track features a brutal long grinder section of pavement then dumps riders on to an extremely loose, dusty, "double track" descent that really only features one decent line through deep piles of wood chips leftover from clearing beetle kill trees. Into a fine gravel and grass ball field, over telephone pole "barriers" then into some rocky drops followed immediately by a few short run-ups.
Sunny skies and much more reasonable(seasonable) temps in the 60's met our 45+ group of 50 some odd riders. Without a call up I tried to get as far up as I could however I dread the start of this race. Punching it from the gate in a full on sprint at elevation up a pavement climb usually prompts seeing stars and trying desperately to gather your focus prior to diving into the descent. I had a good enough start and settled in looking to avoid drama. The laps were fairly short and there were lots of opportunities to pass so it made sense to pick a pace that was sustainable and try picking off riders. Last weekends race featured few technical challenges yet Frisco is all hands on deck, you will be penalized for being asleep at the wheel. This type of course suits me and it all came together yesterday. I had a solid race, no issues and rolled through in 17th position, My personal best for this 45+ group since I moved into this category last season. Until yesterday I've never been able to break into to the top 20 so obviously very stoked to put in a solid effort and with luck, pick up a few points for a call up.
Next weekend, Jen and I head up to Fort Collins as the USGP circus rolls into town. Stay tuned.
Sunny skies and much more reasonable(seasonable) temps in the 60's met our 45+ group of 50 some odd riders. Without a call up I tried to get as far up as I could however I dread the start of this race. Punching it from the gate in a full on sprint at elevation up a pavement climb usually prompts seeing stars and trying desperately to gather your focus prior to diving into the descent. I had a good enough start and settled in looking to avoid drama. The laps were fairly short and there were lots of opportunities to pass so it made sense to pick a pace that was sustainable and try picking off riders. Last weekends race featured few technical challenges yet Frisco is all hands on deck, you will be penalized for being asleep at the wheel. This type of course suits me and it all came together yesterday. I had a solid race, no issues and rolled through in 17th position, My personal best for this 45+ group since I moved into this category last season. Until yesterday I've never been able to break into to the top 20 so obviously very stoked to put in a solid effort and with luck, pick up a few points for a call up.
Next weekend, Jen and I head up to Fort Collins as the USGP circus rolls into town. Stay tuned.
I raced Saturday and Sunday in Frisco in 2008, I think, and loved the technical courses. 9,200 feet elevation, on the other hand, nearly killed me - I had just flown in from Chicago the day before!
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