I managed to start the season with a little success to build the confidence. I pulled a WIN in the Cat 3 / 40-49 race at Hop Brook in Waterbury, CT. I was disappointed that I didn’t get there in time to scout the course more, but in the end, I think that was for the best. I did scout the first half mile before the climb and determined to start strong and avoid the riff raff. I figured it would piss off the better technical riders, but felt I needed a strong start. By the base of the climb I went from 5th to 3rd place. At the top I was in second right on the wheel of the leader, who I could tell was suffering. He nevertheless got a sizable gap on the DH and increased it to 150-200 yards, by the time we hit the flats. I could tell by his posture though, that he was suffering and slowing down. By the time we were nearing the top on lap two, I think he was in panic mode. I could see that he was struggling with his shifting, not thinking about it in advance, and then he overcorrected and snapped his chain. We had a sizable gap, so I knew I was in good shap for the second lap. I really took the DH conservatively and blistered the flats and climbs. Unfortunately, though, I caught the juniors (ranging from probably 8-15 y/o) and it was very sketchy trying to pass them. They got scared and were pretty erratic and I had to pick my way through what must have been most of their field. I probably let up too much as a result. With a few hundred meters to go I heard adults coming on fast. At the top of the downhill I knew one was right on my ass, but I knew that the left line was best and just focused on not making a mistake, because I was confident on the final flats. Turns out that I held him off and was able to basically treat the finish as a CX race sprint. I really didn’t expect to win going in, but it was a nice bonus.
