Bike: Trek Superfly FS 9.9 SL, Fast Trak S-works/Rengade S-works 2.0 - 1.6bar
The first race of the Dust Cup was a time trial race. I chose the full suspension Superfly because it seemed appropriate. There was some rain during the night but not enough to change to grippier tires so I went with the narrow and fast-rolling S-works. We got to the race early enough for a practice ride. The course turned out to be fast and furious. A lot of steep (short) climbs and manic technical descents. A LOT OF FUN in other words!
Results:
Dustcup #17
Race story:
The lead up to this race was not optimal: I did mountain bike guiding for a group of "advanced riders" the day before. This turned out to be a bit more intense than I suspected. So we ended up doing 2.5 hours of HARD riding in the forest. I had also biked the two days before this so race day was the fourth day in a row that I biked.
The time estimate for the race, which was three laps, was just over an hour. So there was really just one way to go: Full on from the start. As it was a time trial we were sent out with 20s intervalls and drafting was not allowed. There was really no quick rider just in front of me to hunt down so no motivation there.
As always I held an eye on my heart rate and saw it go up and settle on a nice lever of just above 175. I know that I can maintain this kind of pulse for 1+ hours without problem. I just tried to be smooth in my biking. No braking in the technical descents and try not to crash. There was no real problem during the race, the lapping went well and I my feet didn't leave the pedals at any time.
During the second lap, when two of the Elite riders caught up with me I went a bit harder than I perhaps should, but the lap times turned out quite even. I managed to keep my heart rate even during the race and even the last lap went well.
After finishing I quickly checked the live standings and noticed that I was in the lead. And then it was a case of waiting for all the other riders to finish. In the end it turned out that I had won the race.
Conclusion:
I like quick and technical courses and I'm good at them
