Kenda Cup Vail Lake

Thank you to Stage21 for the new brake pads!

Wow that was a crazy day in the rain and mud last Sunday.  It’s actually kind of hard to believe we had a such a rad mud fest race here in SoCal.  Going into the day I knew it would be wet, but I also know it is sandy out there and assumed it would just be cold and a little wet.  It was a legitimate mud mess out there!  There were fast sandy sections, but there was also some slipping, sliding ,and a couple full-on mud bogs.  We only get a race like this every couple of years here in SoCal.  Combine the mud with it being the first big cross country race of the year and there was a lot of excitement out at Vail Lake. 

For me, other than a recent crit that doesn’t really count, it was my first race lining up against other mountain bikers in about 5 months.  The sprint to the single track was aggressive but I felt right at home rubbing some elbows and got completely covered in mud within the first minute.  It wasn’t going to be an average local race!  I had a pretty solid day, felt comfortable riding the mud with only a couple small bike issues, and my hamstring felt good throughout.  I really had some fun out there pushing myself effort wise and on the slippery trails.  The 20 some riders in the pro class including at least 4 US and Canadian National Champs making it a really competitive race and I was happy with to come away with 7^th.  Results here 

Luckily I was planning on a rest week following the race since work has been a little crazy and my leg has been nagging me again.  With a little more rest and prep I should be ready to go for my first UCI race in about 2 years at the Us Cup in Bonelli on the 14^th.  It will be interesting to see how I can perform after being away from these shorter races the last couple years.  My hope is to have a fun, intense race and take another step towards my bigger goals at the late spring races.  You can check out the Bonelli race LIVE HERE.  Thanks!