Wars Cup

 

Saturday morning was one of those foggy,dreary,damp days.Me and Sam set out for an early 1 1/2 hr ride exploring the nearby towns and State Forest.Devils Lake State Forest is very nice.The geology is kinda like the north shore with giant boulder fields.They even had a roughly paved walking path through the boulder fields which was fun to ride.
11:00 rolled around quick and everyone gathered at the top of the Devils Head to start the TT.Only 5 Pro/Semi-Pros showed up and maybe a little over a dozen experts.Conditions were wet and slick with the ground having that spongy feel to it.Riders went out at 2 min intervals.I went out 2 guys ahead of Sam so I was his 6 min man.I went out a little conservative at first to get a feel of the corners since this was my first wet race of the year.I hit the hills as hard as I could and was breathing like I was running for my life.Mike H. had hooked me up with a rear tire that Jeff uses for muddy races that hooks up like nothing else."Its almost like cheating" he says.Half way through, I caught my 2 and 4 min men.I was riding nicely with only a few wobbles untill I hit the grassy sweeping decent near the end when my front tire washed out at high speed.Luckily it was grassy and free of rocks.Just like a slip&slide.Bad thing was I pulled a Brendan Moore and my brake lever dented my top tube in.In the end I thought I did well and Sam felt slow,But on the contrary he ended up winning and I only posted 5th or 6th.Jeff Hall beat out the pro field a min over Brian Matter.Tristan had a flat near the end,but still managed 3rd.
About 4 hrs latter we lined up for the short track event.The weather was clearing out and the sun was baking the moisture from the ground.We had to race for 17 min+2 laps.Only a few laps into the race Niel Swanson took to the front with Sam on his wheel and they had a gap right away.with about 5 min in Niel dropprd his chain and Sam was alone with a sizeable gap on the splintering field.I was in the hurt locker trying to minimize my losses and pick off some of the guys who were totally blown.Jan Rybar and a Wisconsinite pounded hard to close the finishing gap to 17 sec. behind Sams winning time.He was close to lapping me as I was at the top of the climb when he finished at the bottom.
Jeff cleaned house once again taking the pro field.Tristan lead out for a while. Then Jeff took the lead and turned the screws tighter on Brian and Tristan hot on his wheel.Tristan was the first to pop near the end, then Brian couldn't hold his wheel any longer as Jeff through his final punch on the last climbs.
Sunday everyone decided to show up with a nice sized field and some fresh big hitters.With a 10 min climb right off the bat I decided to work my way into this one.The first lap I was suffering big time up the still spongy single track waiting for my body to switch into race mode.At the end of the first lap I was maybe 1-2 min behind Sam as I saw him climbing the hill with Ian and a string of other riders.The 2nd lap was better and my breathing was getting under control.That main climb still is one of the hardest climbs especially when the ground is power sapping wet.Midway through I cought up to a struggling Cole House and told him to take my wheel.At the beggining of the 4rth and final time up the Devils Head, Cole stood up and never let off the gas.He must have reserved it all for that moment because he was gone.I picked off a few guys at the end but the real excitement happened at the finish.I had caught an elite rider at the last technical section.As we came to the end of that section he went right through the mud pit(I have another story about this pit and Sam) and I gunned it to the left.I now had the lead with about 75 yards to the finish.As we were comming towards the line 2 comp riders were in front of us.I yelled "2 experts passing".I think I even yelled we were sprinting.A course official even yelled at them "riders up".But as I was in a full downhill sprint and the adrenaline flowing, I tried going around the last comp rider and the next thing I know I'm seeing the sky with a couple of bikes flying through the air.We stacked it big time.I quick get up, grab my bike, and run to the finish.I was lucky to just come away with some scrapes and sore muscles.I guess that guy broke his helmet,deraileur hanger,and hurt his ankle.Every time I play it through my head I just can't picture whose fault it was.It just happens so fast.When I came running across the line I saw Sam leaning on his bike with filthy jersey and scared up face,which takes me back to that mud pit.He came down that hill and when he hit the mud pit his rear wheel kicked up and flew him superman style into the mud pit.Spectacular crashes all around this time.We weren't the only ones who fell victim though.While I was running my ragged self to the finish line they had one guy on a streacher,Jan Rybar did an endo and his bike landed on his back,and Kim Eppen dislocated her thomb.Its just a part of racing and the risks everyone takes.One thought I had was maybe having finishing lanes to split the elite riders from the comp at least on the downhill and flat, fast finishes.I don't think alot of these riders know how fast elite cyclist can close in on them,and In mtbing the course is usually pretty tight leaving little space to be taken.
All in all the Wors Cup title is still safe in MN hands (Expert&Pro)Sam and Jeff taking the overall title.I took 5th overall and finally got a podium spot.One more long weekend and the season winds down for me,time to let the body and mind get that deep recovery.