The trails in Grand Junction are a lot of fun, and have a lot of rocks! Pre-riding a couple different sections of the course with friends on Friday and Saturday were the most fun parts of the weekend.
Friday night we raced the downtown Fat Tire crit while a few thousand spectators were catching a concert and our race at the same time. It was really cool and a lot more fun than the Whiskey Off-Road crit since the course was flat and it played out more like a traditional road crit. I had a good ride and finished with the lead group in about 12th, even with the knobby tires!
Going into the 40 mile XC race I was really going after a top 10. After an up and down spring and beat down at Marathon Nationals I worked hard to get back on track mentally and training wise. Even while busy at work and at home I had a great 2 week training block focusing on some bigger endurance and climbing rides. I was back to being healthy, felt good pre-riding and was ready for a good race. The course suited me well, it's pretty tough with a good balance of technical sections and climbing. Just enough to really work yourself over!
I did have a good day and rode well, between 12 and 16th place all race. There were always a few guys just up the trail and a few more hot on my heals. In the end my climbing pace was just slightly off where it needed to match the few guys ahead of me and my goal of a top 10 slipped away on the long climb in the middle of the race. On one hand it was a good solid race and result. On the other hand I was a little off from the special ride and top 10 I was really hoping to pull off.
Cyclingnews Race Report and Results
Now it's time to catch-up on some quality time with my girls, catch-up at work, and train hard for Marathons Worlds at the end of the month! More on that next week...
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