WORS Subaru Cup Super D Race Report



For some crazy reason WORS decided to combine the Pro and Cat 1 Super D fields, and it wasn't a shortage of participants -- I think we had 45 guys waiting on top of the hill to go down, split into four heats. Thanks to some careful timing with the signup sheet I got into Adam Craig's heat and started praying for the best descending race of my life.

By the time we actually got to the start line I was shaking like crazy. Having almost nothing to eat since the end of the short track (3 hours ago) was probably not the best strategy... and yeah, I might've been a little nervous, too.

I semi-botched the clip-in, but got it soon enough and drilled it along with 10 other guys straight at a narrow gap in the tree. After 8 seconds of sprinting we all locked 'em up and went down to single file, with me in fifth. Some junior absolutely crushed the holeshot, and Adam Craig could only manage 3rd into the woods.

There's only 265 vertical feel to work with at the venue, so there's not much D in the Super D. It was tight, pedaling singletrack, so we kept it all pretty tight, right up until the guy ahead of me took a bonus line I wasn't expecting. I had standard mid-race tunnelvision going on so of course I followed him, but I was off-balance so I shoulder-checked the next tree. Crap! Adam, I don't suck! Wait for meeeee!

I sprinted after the group through the singletrack, but by the time I got there Adam had busted through to the front and was on his way to leaving us in his dust. We had almost run out of descent (but not course) and yet my legs were already jello.

I faked it as hard as I could for the last 2 minutes of pedaling, which was good for a place, because the junior that got the holeshot pretty much MELTED DOWN on the final climb. Adam Craig (or 2nd, or 3rd) were nowhere to be seen, unfortunately, so I sprinted in for 4th in just under six minutes of racing.

Update: Nathaniel sent a link to Adam Craig's helmet cam from the same heat. I do not feature in it!

Final Update: Results!

Comments

Nathaniel said…
The super star has a video too:

http://www.vholdr.com/video/wi-pro-xct-super-d-heat-3
6/29/2010 10:07 PM
Colin R said…
Nice find Nathaniel!!
6/29/2010 10:25 PM
Flood said…
What, no mention of racing (bikes) with Kuzzy?
6/29/2010 11:42 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sam Anderson Cheats at Mountain Bike Racing

Image
Note that this is NOT the 24 Hours of Great Glen   Race Report. 24HOGG delivered another AMAZING race weekend that reminded me how much I love this event and why it keeps going strong in its 19th year, long after the 24-hour craze of the 90s has faded.  I will be back in 2015, and you should be too! ---- update:  I made a second post  that answers some questions and has some more info. The only individual prizes you can get at a team 24 hour race are the "Fastest Lap" and "Fastest Night Lap" prizes. If you're a serious racer (which most people at this race AREN'T), you pay attention to this stuff. Back when I used to do the race on the Back Bay Team, we'd fight over who got to ride 2nd because it was the "hot lap spot" -- the first rider on the course who didn't have to do the Le Mans start. This was better than going 3rd or 4th on your team because lapped traffic quickly started appearing -- your best bet at taking "fastest
Read more

Do-It-Yourself March Cycling Blog Post

So, are you a cyclist? Do you have a blog? If you answered "yes" to both of these questions, I hope you've already written your March Training Blog Post . You know what I'm talking about. To make it easier for those of you who haven't yet written the required cycling-blogger March Training Post , here is a handy template. Just cut and paste the text and then choose whichever option from the brackets [option1|option2], or add in the details [something vague] for whatever fits your training more accurately, and BAM, blog post DONE! Early Spring Training Post Template Just a [quick|surprisingly detailed] update about how training is going this year, in case any of the [joke about small number of readers] care. This week I've done [15 hours|30 hours] in the saddle, [getting up at 4 am|returning after 8pm] each time. It's been pretty chilly out there-- 5 below [celsius|fahrenheit] when I [started|finished] yesterday, but I'm toughing it out because
Read more

US Cyclocross Nationals Travesty Report: Junior Girls

Image
Note:  if you're a USA Cycling representative or Austin 2015 representative, and want to add a comment, rebuttal, fact, or perspective to this discussion, feel free to email me at colin.reuter@gmail.com and I'll post it here verbatim.  I fully accept that I wasn't there and don't know every issue that may have contributed to the decisions that were made.  There may be an explanation for these events that I am not aware of, and if so, I would love to hear it. Important Facts Update and Hyperbole Correction - The Junior Girls 15-16 race was supposed to be 30 minutes long, so the 7 girls who made it 2 laps were not "pulled" from the race, they were removed from the course after the finished their race.  Without firsthand testimony it's impossible to know how clear they were on their race duration being 2 laps shorter than the boys race happening simultaneously -- based on Turner Ramsey's quote to Cyclocross Magazine, it was certainly not a straightforwa
Read more