Category: Cat 1 15-18 Result: 6th After two days of driving, I finally arrived at the venue in LA As we drove up I felt the excitement of the first ProXCT of my season upon me. I registered and hopped on my bike to pre ride. It was almost 3 o’clock and everything was hot from a long day. As I started the lap I was excited but slightly intimidated by how technical the course was. Usually technical riding is my strong suit but I had been doing almost all my careful training of the last few months on the road and my technical skills were a little sleepy. Shaking off the long highway drive and getting my biking legs back, I maneuvered over the rocks and was not feeling very smooth on the first lap. By the second lap I knew what to expect and began to align my mind and body to the task. This race provided lots of opportunity for my developing vocabulary and toolbox for race strategy. It was unlike any course I had ever raced; I felt I was being challenged but knew I needed to stay in control so my approach was to put myself out there but be as focused and smooth as possible. Race morning came around and I got my bottles ready for the hand off and started out on my warm up. I had a good substantial warm up and was at the start line ready to race a little earlier than had planned. My race was smooth though I felt a little tentative on the course. All in all, it was a great course to practice and improve my technical skills. This race opened new territory and was a valuable learning experience. Later in the day I decided to race the Super D race. Super D is a time trial race, usually a section of the cross country course. This time it actually consisted of a lot of short climbs and some steep downhill. I raced a smooth race and finished second in the 18 and under category. It was exciting to finish the day with a podium before hitting the road home. Super D podium A bit of coast on the drive home
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Category: Varsity Girls
Result: 4th I had been sick the week before the race and off the bike completely for five days. I decided I would take this race with an open mind and decided I would go out there and see how I felt and not go too hard. With two more races coming up in subsequent weekends, I knew I needed to be careful to not relapse. I took this race as a step up to my race at the Fontana ProXCT the following weekend. Going into the pre-ride I was feeling pretty good but still had persisting symptoms. The night before the race I didn't sleep as well as I wanted and woke in the night still feeling sick. I considered not even racing the next day. In the morning I was feeling slightly better and arrived at the race venue at 8:30am. I had a pretty good warm up, but not as long as I initially wanted. I had the fifth call up in Varsity. I was feeling less stress to get to the start line early for a good position behind the call-ups. The countdown ended and we were off, struggling through the sand with some of the fastest girls in NorCal. I had a good start and carefully maneuvered around and through the sand pits. I only had three laps to race instead of the usual four adding up to an 18.5 mile course of fast and flowy singletrack. I started pacing with the lead pack and then we split into two. I was aware of how my body was feeling and was careful not to go too hard. I swept through the trees and down the rooty descents, cleared the rock gardens and was on my way to the majority of the climb. I powered up the first climb and was feeling really good. My legs felt strong and my breath was controlled. Up ahead I saw fourth place Sam Olsen and knew I could catch her. I peddled harder and got to the top of the hill and whizzed down the decent, wanting to catch as much time on the flowy track as possible. I had now caught up with Sam and started drafting her, not wanting to make my attack and tire out too early. We came out of the trees and were making our way to start the second lap when I made an avoidable mistake and slid out on a dry turn. I was mad at myself for doing something I know I could have avoided, and was so close to passing Sam. It was all over in about five seconds and I adjusted my bars and jumped back on, brushing off the dirt. Sam was still in sight and I soon caught up with her. In the sand pit again we battled through the stiff sand together and as we got out of it I made a quick pass on her. I'd like to say "and I never looked back" but that wouldn't be all true. I glanced back to make sure I wasn't being followed, and soon I was again flying through the hard packed dirt trails. I had a smooth rest of the race, feeling more focused than before. I finished strong in fourth place, moving up from my fifth place finish the previous race. Thank you to my entire family for all the support and encouragement, my training coach Dario, and to the San Domenico team for providing support at the race. |
AuthorSavilia Blunk, 20 | XCO MTB racer for Liv Racing Archives
March 2020
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