This race is by far my favourite, and this was my fifth year of doing it. 1275 people race 60 kilometers of dirt roads, rail trail, single track and some paved roads, throw in some mud, and a crazy steep climb at the end! Bang!
Guy Leclair and I carpooled from the finish to the start, got there early, and managed to get a starting spot at the front of the 250(right behind the top 100) - this was the best starting position I have ever had. Waiting at the start it was +5c and windy. Once the race started i warmed up quickly....got passed by maybe 50 riders by the time we got to the rail trail (sprinting isn't one of my strong points). However I was well positioned entering the rail trail. This part went very well, no bottlenecks, no crashes in my group... I barely hung on...average speed in that section was 35kph..zing..(I still feel the rush...flying on pea gravel 2 abreast, ditches on both sides). The climb out of the rail trail into the farmers field was tough...a few more passed me there.
From that point on, I would pass a few, then get passed, then catch those that passed me etc. etc. By the time 40k had rolled passed, I was feeling it in the legs, so I settled in with a group and we worked together keeping a good pace.
The final climb...yeah, if you have done this race you know what I am talking about close to 300 feet of vertical over 1.5...not so bad, but it is torture after 58k of racing. Anyways, legs didn't have it for this section and I had to run/walk it :( ...I never have made this climb, maybe next year.
In closing...I was very happy with my placing. I could not have done anything more to have finished in less time, and no "mishaps" slowed me down. There are a lot of fast people out there.
Every year I comb the results, how did I do this year in relation to last year, or in relation to this person last year. It's amazing how the same names keep turning up in similar placings/timings in relation to each other at the finish line year after year. My placings over the last 5 years
Year rank Time Cat Cat.place AveSpeed
2010 190 2:14:28 M40-49 66/393 26.8
2009 188 2:30:10 M40-49 63/363 24.0
2008 148 2:17:25 M40-49 46/293 26.2
2007 239 2:21:46 M40-49 65/233 25.4
2006 204 2:28:11 M40-49 43/283 24.3
Well done Tommy!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI loved the race report, I could feel every windy km. And know the feeling, the last hill is a beast even when you think you're not starting too hard. It's the ditches that get you. Good result. For old guys 66 is respectable, somewhere out there, there is aguy who is happy with 250/393.
ReplyDeleteThanks guys, I can't say enough good things about this race...the organization, traffic stopped at every road crossing, so many things
ReplyDeleteWay to go Tom! Did my first group road ride last night. What a blast!
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