Wow, what a day. The weather forecast was calling for a 70% chance of rain and cool weather. Lucky for the racers, it remained dry and the course was in prime condition for a fast pace. DAS racers had a blast. Liz Bove made her debut at mountain bike racing with a 1st place finish in the Sport (Cat 2) category. Liz Allen made the podium in 3rd place for the Expert-Pro (Cat 1) category and Dan Biscup raced his first Expert race ever. Also finishing with good results and smiling faces were Ben Burdick and Matt Danis.
When asked what she thought of her first mountain bike race, here's what Liz Bove had to say:
For my first race, I was nervous and excited. I had no idea what to expect. What I got was an initial 15 minutes of nerves and anxiety. I questioned my choice to ever race. Once I settled into a rhythm I felt much better and pushed it. I was 2nd to go off for the Sport group. The woman who went off 30seconds behind me passed me on her rigid single speed by the time we hit the first wooden bridge. I had her in sight until I missed a turn on a large, flat rock face. I quickly got back on course. I passed her when she got a flat on the fire road. After the initial technical section I felt good on the faster, flatter terrain. I was suprised and very happy to have come in first. Now I think about all the points where I could have pushed it more so that I had a greater margin than the <1 second that separated me and 2nd place. I can't wait to do it again. Yup, I'm hooked.
Ben "Burnacky" Burdick sounded like he was was pleased following the race: "What can I say? It's a great race and I love the TT format. Love when you catch up to another rider while keeping in mind others are doing the same to you. My goal is the same in every race. Push myself, don't come in last and be able to go to work on Monday. Now its time to up the time in the sadle. Longer races are just around the corner."
For Dan, the step up to Expert was a chance to join the ranks of some of the fastest men in New England. Those guys pulled in some seriously fast times. I had a great time at bgame. The new course added a new technical section that at race pace is quite challenging. The weather called for rain and a high of 50 but we were spared and the conditions were excellent! This year I have moved up to Cat 1 and had no ongoing traffic on the course. I passed one guy and no one passed me, that’s always a good thing! We rode an extra lap after the race so we missed the time announcements, but it was such a great day we had to keep riding!
Matt Danis raced his rigid single-speed 29er: I felt realy good and recovered well after the tough rocky stuff in the first half of the race. Single speed racing was an education for sure. I had a flat issue and stopped to add air, which luckily did the trick vs a full tire change. 18 out of 25 in sport, but my time would have gotten me dead last in novice? Did they do a different course or am I racing out of my league?
No worries, Matt. They did a different course. For anyone looking at the results at EFTA.com, the novice racers had an easier shortened course than the expert and sport category riders. Overall, the day was a success. The t-shirts for the even were pretty awesome; they featured the race sponsor's signature W. E. Stedman image of the guy decked out in his gold crown, gold necklace-watch, and sweet stache.
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