Well...I went to PA in hopes of becoming the next XC National Champion, but ended up with a another 4th place finish. Could I have won if I had not flatted and fixed my tire??? Nope, I don't believe so. Maybe I could have gotten a place or two higher, but not first. What I am most proud of is... fixing my tire and not giving up. I was in the 3rd position fighting for 2nd when I flatted during the end of the 1st lap. Having never fixed a flat before, it took me 4 long stressful minutes. So, by the time I hopped back on the saddle, I had slipped to 8th place. But thankfully, after a hard fight on a short 2 1/2 mile course, I ended the race in 4th place.
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| photo credit: Jackie Bovine |
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| photo credit: Christie Burnett |
Super D was my last hope in getting my hands on that stars and stripes jersey. I pre-rode the course several times and was confident that I would do well. But...what I did not predict was...flipping over the bars at the beginning of the race, shattering my garmin, and getting tangled up in the tape. Normally, during a crash, you just kind of get back on the bike and continue on. Well- for me- that was almost impossible. It took me forever to get my chain ring and crank arm untangled from the race course tape. To my surprise, even with my little incident, I was able to pull off the win.
Nationals was a great way to see where I was at in the game. Not a 100% happy, but I believe I have progressed a lot since last year. Now it's time for Mother Nature to speed things along for me, I think that will be the key to some additional strength and power.
1 comment:
Way to stay positive during your race! I had to DNF at many different nationals because of mechanicals. You are lucky that you could not only finish, but make up FOUR spots! It's great that you can see improvement from last year. Keep training hard.
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