After my success of the last WORS race at Englewood in the Cat 2 Sport division, I decided to move up to Cat 2 Comp for WORS #3.
Being at Camrock, this was my “home field” while at home for the summer, riding countless hours at the park since the day I began mountain biking. Having this possible advantage and knowing the course and trails so well I decided to take on the challenge and “cat up” from Sport to Comp.
Spending some serious time at Camrock the days prior and getting a really good feel and look at each line and the course, would benefit me on race day. When the weekend rolled around my legs felt great. On Saturday, the Trek 100 for the MACC Fund was rolling through town, so I joined the ride and did some openers and got my legs feeling good and ready for the race.
At the start line at Camrock, it was brutally hot, almost 90 degrees out and sunny. I knew this would be a tough race, with the famous ½ mile climb to kick off the race. I started with the Comp 19-39 year olds right behind the Cat 1 Men and Women. When Don, the race director, did his famous 10 second countdown I was ready and confident for this race. When we went off I had an extremely solid start. I got in the top 5 position behind some pretty quick riders and followed their wheels up the hill and then to the lead out. I ended up getting a PR on Strava for the climb, so I knew I had a solid start.
I then continued to ride behind two other riders for the first lap. We did end up catching some Cat 1 women, which did slow the pace up due to lap traffic in the singletrack. During the final part of the lap, it contained a few long brutal climbs. During the first lap I really focused on the fundamentals to ride through the climbs, the heat didn’t exactly help here. Going into the second lap I was still sitting in third, the group I was with put a pretty solid gap on the other riders behind us. Then in the singletrack the leader made a strong move and myself and the other rider, from 801 W. Madison/Trek, tried to keep up but just couldn't hang on.
I then stayed on his wheel the rest of the race, he was riding at a perfect pace that kept me challenged but was manageable to not bonk. During the last of three laps I was feeling great. My mind and legs were working together and where in the right place. Drinking plenty of water and eating a few energy GU’s helped this.Thank you to Taylor and my Mom for keeping me supplied during the race in the feed zone’s. On one of the final climbs I tried to make a move on this rider but just couldn’t hold on. Due to extreme exhaustion and possible dehydration we came close to a crash at the finish line. But finished half of a second from each other.
For my first Comp Cat 2 race, I was extremely happy with myself and the results. I ended up finishing 4th overall out of 77 riders, in a stacked field and placing 1st in my age group (19-25)! I ended up finishing the almost 20 mile course in 1:42:01, just a half of a second behind 3rd place!
I also want to give a special thanks to State Farm - Zempel Insurance and Financial Service in Lake Mills, Wisconsin for helping support me this season! I’m very glad to be working with Dan and his office this season! Here is a link to his website: http://www.zempelinsurance.com/
Again. Thank you to my sponsors, family and friends for all their support. A special thanks to 2 Rivers Bicycle and Outdoor, Trek/Bontrager, ESI Grips and Zempel Insurance for the support they give me to continue my passion for cycling!
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