CCCX XC #1 - Race Report

As I was driving to Fort Ord, the weather was surprisingly clear.
There was strong overnight rain and winds, and my strategy (and only
hope) for this race: pray for lots of rain, and that no one else
shows up. Well, only 7 in my group showed up for the start (Cat
2/Sport – 19-34), and Keith announces that medals only go 3 deep due
to small field (oh well).

A light rain began to come down right before we started, but it
wasn't too bad. Normally the sport/2 does 4 laps, but as it turned
out, we did about 4 and 2/3rds laps. We started with the
singlespeeds since both groups were small, and up the road onto the
single track we went. A group of about 5 or 6 formed the lead pack,
and I fell in line in the back of them. I wasn't sure how many were
geared and how many SS, but at least 3 of them were in my group, and
they were pretty fast up the first couple climbs. I was barely with
them, and pretty close to my max HR the whole time, but still slowly
pulled away right before we got to the finish area for the first of
5 times.

Four laps to go, and the rain starts coming down a bit harder. I
formed another group with someone from my group and 2 or 3 leaders
from the 35-44 group that started 30 seconds back. We stuck with
them for ½ a lap, and then they dropped us. I traded places with
the guy in my group a couple times, but after one of the climbs, he
faded back, and now I was riding solo, with 3 laps to go. I pretty
much rode by myself for the next 2.5 laps (kinda boring actually),
but the course was pretty slick now and rain was coming hard. One
of the climbs that was easy the first 3 times was now very slick,
and I was spinning out and had to dismount. I passed one guy in my
group that had a chain problem on the side of the trail; sweet! I
just moved up a spot, maybe I'm in the top 5 now. I was still
riding by myself, until the last ½ lap when two guys were coming up
pretty quickly (I think the leaders of the 45+). On that one slick
hill, I dismounted and noticed they were in different groups so I
let them pass, ran up, and tried to hang on with them.

They eventually pulled away and I was riding solo again, and
uneventfully crossed the finish. I change out of my muddy clothes
ASAP after the race, and go check to see the standings, and I ended
up in 3rd! Sweet! I'll take the podium despite the small field.
My first ever in Sport/Cat 2.

This was a pretty long course for CCCX (and being the first one
too). Even though it was slick, wet and windy, I can't complain
about the weather since bad weather WAS my strategy. Anyways, I'll
look forward to a couple more, but likely won't be doing the whole
series. Prefer to save the entry fees for other races like NVDC,
Skyline, etc.

Rafael

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