With the sprinter van packed to the gills with six bikes, tools, spare parts, drums on a bob trailer, and enough food for an army … we headed up to Mt Snow Vermont in the rain to be part of the National Championship Race, that we are lucky to have near to NJ this year.
Although the rain stopped briefly, the course was wet and rain showers continued for the next few days. By Friday, the first day of XC racing, deep mud had accumulated, making conditions worse with long sections of portaging. The semi-pro race started the day. The drums were pounding on the climb and Mtbnj member “B.L.” put in a great race finishing mid pack against the nations best riders.
The sport class was next, and by this time the mud was well churned up by all the semis. “NJ Jess” put in an awesome performance winning the sport 30-39 National Champion class! And who is 2nd next behind her? … “Play All Day”. Laura Winberry of Nj also finished 3rd in sport 19-29. Great job girls! You certainly showed them who can ride tough conditions. We want to hear your race reports!
By Saturday conditions had not improved much, but I was still determined to race in the open SS class with my 32X25. Several pros in my class raced in the pro field on single-speeds the day before with top finishes. I also noticed a few pros running small chain rings. They stared us in front of the experts. So try to imagine hundreds of the countries best expert men racing for the national champion title, and pixy plopped there in front of them trying to survive. The traffic was intimidating on the descents, but I was holding my own on the climbs. I had to stay seated for most the climbing because of the wet conditions. My legs were screaming, but I pushed on. I can’t tell you how happy I was to see that finish line. :drooling: My race felt crappy, but being seeded with the men must have given me that impression. I ended up 4th in the class and being the first non-pro women in with a much better time than expected.
Congratulations to NJ racer, Lindsey Bishop winning the expert 19-24 National Champion title. You rock girl!
Other great NJ finishers:
Stephen Petersen - 2nd expert 25-29
Melissa Kern – 3rd expert 25-29
Cody Kapetanaks - 3rd sport 15-16
Troy Kimball – 4th expert 40-44
Art White – 5th expert 50-54
Results are posted here:
https://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=3062
This race is national level mountain biking at it's best with wet technical conditions. I can't tell you how inspiring it is to watch some of the pros race before your own race. A great event to attend.
Any more reports?
Although the rain stopped briefly, the course was wet and rain showers continued for the next few days. By Friday, the first day of XC racing, deep mud had accumulated, making conditions worse with long sections of portaging. The semi-pro race started the day. The drums were pounding on the climb and Mtbnj member “B.L.” put in a great race finishing mid pack against the nations best riders.
The sport class was next, and by this time the mud was well churned up by all the semis. “NJ Jess” put in an awesome performance winning the sport 30-39 National Champion class! And who is 2nd next behind her? … “Play All Day”. Laura Winberry of Nj also finished 3rd in sport 19-29. Great job girls! You certainly showed them who can ride tough conditions. We want to hear your race reports!
By Saturday conditions had not improved much, but I was still determined to race in the open SS class with my 32X25. Several pros in my class raced in the pro field on single-speeds the day before with top finishes. I also noticed a few pros running small chain rings. They stared us in front of the experts. So try to imagine hundreds of the countries best expert men racing for the national champion title, and pixy plopped there in front of them trying to survive. The traffic was intimidating on the descents, but I was holding my own on the climbs. I had to stay seated for most the climbing because of the wet conditions. My legs were screaming, but I pushed on. I can’t tell you how happy I was to see that finish line. :drooling: My race felt crappy, but being seeded with the men must have given me that impression. I ended up 4th in the class and being the first non-pro women in with a much better time than expected.
Congratulations to NJ racer, Lindsey Bishop winning the expert 19-24 National Champion title. You rock girl!
Other great NJ finishers:
Stephen Petersen - 2nd expert 25-29
Melissa Kern – 3rd expert 25-29
Cody Kapetanaks - 3rd sport 15-16
Troy Kimball – 4th expert 40-44
Art White – 5th expert 50-54
Results are posted here:
https://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=3062
This race is national level mountain biking at it's best with wet technical conditions. I can't tell you how inspiring it is to watch some of the pros race before your own race. A great event to attend.
Any more reports?
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