The Firecracker 50, serving as the Mountain Bike Marathon National Championships, is always a suffer fest. 50 miles and 10,800 vertical feet of climbing. Trek-VW had a great weekend as Jeremiah battled through broken chains, broken spokes and a bent derailleur to earn his first national championship. I passed him twice - once for each time he had to pull over and attend to his machine, and he passed me back twice - like I was standing still. JB is one fast dude...
Huge props to Martini (team manager) and Shep (our mechanic) for keeping us dialed in - as usual. Shep threw a brand new tire on my bike right before the race and I believe it was the key for me. Martini booked us a sweet condo, and both he and Shep were unbelievable motivators as I came through after lap 1.
Another plus, the biggest plus, was the surprise Libby gave me by flying in the morning of the race. Now if THAT isn't motivation to ride fast...
I am surprised I finished 5th, but I'll take it! I didn't feel sharp at all, but I kept going, and going.
On the women's side, Jen G finished 3rd in an amazing performance, and my teammate, Jenny Smith, got 4th, (but was relegated due to her being a Kiwi).
An early crash took out a couple of the super fast guys like Trek-VW cohort Brian Smith and last year's winner Jay Henry. Two great guys who were dealt some bad luck.
Well, I've been resting and recovering. I have a sneaking suspicion that there will be plenty of riders looking for redemption this weekend . . .
1 comment:
Great job Kel! You look awesome on the podium...great finish! Looking forward to seeing you at the Worlds in Canada soon. Love, MOM
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