On July 29th, Liz A and John Y headed out to Winsted, CT with a forecast for showers looming on the horizon. Liz's race was at 11:30, and the course was touted as being in great shape despite the fact that Winsted had gotten the unofficial award the day before for getting the most rain in the entire state. While it didn't look good, the course was in really great shape. Throughout the Cat 1/Pro race, the rain started to come down. This didn't bode well for their final laps, nor did it make for a very easy course for the Cat 2 racers like John.
Liz's race took off fast as usual with her lined up against Crystal Anthony (MA) and Jane Pearson (NY/CT). The girls went back and forth in position over the course of the very technical first mile or so. Eventually, Crystal and Jane got ahead of Liz on the first lap.
I had my usual crummy first lap. My legs were taking awhile to wake up, but anytime there was anything technical, I was hammering past everyone. The course suited me well. After letting the girls get ahead on the first lap, I started reeling them back in on the second lap. I saw Jane up ahead and told her we needed to try to catch up to Crystal. Eventually, I made a pass on a technical climb and took off. Jane told me that Crystal wasn't far ahead. I basically went as hard as I could, while feeling surprisingly well, for the last two laps. I think if I'd had the 5th lap, I might have caught up. I finished less than a minute behind her, and that's the closest I've come all season. My tech skills finally got to prove their worth.
John's race turned into a muddy mess. The rain that started during the Cat 1 race left the course sloppy with little traction on the climbs. Despite the challenge, John finished strong in 8th place for the Cat 2 40-49. He's been making improvements all season and is really starting to enjoy mountain bike racing.
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