Bike: Trek Superfly FS 9.9 SL, Fast Trak S-works/Rengade S-works 2.0 - 1.6bar
This is a popular Danish marathon race with most of the good riders taking part. The race is 4 laps of a track totaling 76km. Some quite technical sections with lots of roots and some steep inclines and descents. Ahead of the race the weather forecast predicted rain through the night leading up to race day. So muddy conditions were to be expected. I was trying to decide between running my usual RocketRon / RacingRalph combo with plenty of grip or to go with the quick rolling Fast Trak/Renegade combo. In the end (mostly out of laziness as the wheels were already on the bike) I decided to go with the Fast Trak/Renegades. This turned out to be a mistake. Oh, and this was the first race on the full suspension Superfly.
Results:
Fitness MTB Classic
Race story:
The start went well but I had to do some work to get up to a group that had Henrik Söberg, Henrik Ahlbäck and Palle Jensen. However, after catching that group I just went past them and up to the next one. This new group with riders I didn't know held a really high pace and so just before the end of the lap I let them go.
At the start of the second lap Henrik Söberg and Palle Jensen, together with some other riders caught up with me. We rode together but after a while Palle went off the back. The group got smaller all the time until it was just me, Henrik Söberg and another guy. I managed to stay with them until just before the end of lap 3.
The last lap was a real struggle. I was out alone and towards the end of the lap I started getting cramps in my legs. Nothing that completely stopped me as I was able to straighten my legs just before the cram really struck seriously. However it did slow me down. I dug down deep and managed to keep a good pace finishing fifth.
Conclusion:
I'm getting good at this technical stuff. BUT I must NOT be lazy in the future: change the wheels to use the correct tires for the circumstances.
