20 more seconds. Don’t look back. You want it more than he does (if someone is there). Don’t back off now, you’ve gone this far don’t give up, 20 more seconds.
Being physically ready to race is only half the battle, being mentally prepared is the other half and the results only come if you have both. These are the few things I kept rolling through my head the whole race to keep me motivated and dedicated. I’d like to start off thanking my coach and dad for believing me and installing into me that I can do this.
It’s race day, and it’s hot but I live in Temecula where the heat is real and I train in it every day so I was ready for it. Once again getting mentally prepared. Getting to the line I was hoping that we wouldn’t be sent off late because the girls started a half hour late. We were only sent off 5 minutes late so it wasn’t too bad. I had an ice soaked rag on my neck and back to keep me cool at the line in the sun and a few minutes till I went off I ate a gel and gave my dad the rag. Now it’s on, racing is about to start and I’m in the second row in a good spot.
GO!!! We were off and I was determined to get to the creek crossing in the top 5 to avoid any crashes or slowdowns. I was very aggressive in the start shoot and was not about to back down for anyone. I got past the creek and onto the climb in 5th position. We were spread out on the length of the road riding 3 or 4 wide and I was in the second row. A rider started to come up the left side of me that I didn’t what to be in front of me because I didn't want any chance at losing the front guys wheels. I locked Bars with him for just a second until I pulled out of it and he realized I wasn’t going to back down. The group started to string out about halfway up the climb and I got into 5th position and we picked the pace up a little bit but not dramatically. We were almost to the top and I looked back to see who was there and I realized that the top 4 and I were getting a gap on the group. I psyched my self out for a second when I realized that I was in the break and all I had to do was stay there as long as I could. I quickly got my head back in the game and focused on the long task ahead because it was nowhere near done. We got to the bottom of the decent and onto the next fire road and the top 4 guys that usually run away with the race looked back and I could tell that they were surprised to see me there. Every once and a while they would look back to see if I was there or not and every time I was there right behind them determined as ever to stay with them no matter what.
Heading out on lap 2 with my teammates who raced earlier and coaches all yelling from the side of the trail was super motivating and just what I needed going into 3 laps to go. I took my feed right behind the others at a surprising my super slow pace giving me all the time in the world to do what I needed. On to the creek crossing and up the climb still with the top guys in the league and super excited as were my coaches at the top of the climb. On the decent when it got Super dusty I backed off the wheel in front of me because I couldn’t see a thing and I didn’t want anything to surprise me and take me to the ground. I caught up every time on the next climb or flat road or as soon as the trail wasn’t as dusty. We approached one of the hardest climbs of the course that was extremely steep and only got steeper by the top and was drawn out just enough that it wasn’t a sprint. I was almost sure that I was going to fall of the group on this climb but I only lost a few seconds that I made up on the descent. I kept telling myself the longer you stay with it the less likely the group of guys you know are working together behind you are to catch you. With that sentiment of motivation in my head, I was back in the game and determined again. The longer I was with the guys the more I realized how easy they were actually going and that they only picked up The tempo in a few places but when they did it was hard.
The burn in the legs was real this lap and I just kept telling my self 20 more seconds, 20 more seconds and they will back off, and they did. They would back off and I would catch my breath a bit and get ready to settle back into a hard pace. Climb after climb the hits kept coming and it never got any easier. They would put a small gap on me on the climbs and I would close it on the descents and flats where they would back off. We got to the longest climb on the course and one of the top JV riders that started after us, caught us, which is insane. He got mixed up in our group and the pace picked up a bit. By the time we got to the finishing climb, they had the biggest gap on me they had ever had the whole race. With 3 laps down the JV rider was done with his race and it was back to the same four guys I had been trying to stay with. I told myself I don’t know how far back the next rider is and it doesn’t matter because I’m going to give it what I got to catch back up and keep everyone behind me there.
I went through the creek by my self and up the next long climb to the first decent gaining on the group in front of me. I was only about 5 or 10 seconds back when one of them at the front made a strong attack to try to split up the group and at that point, they took off and were only barely in my sight for a while before they totally disappeared. I gave it everything I had that next lap trying to do anything to get the littlest edge still worried that there was a possibility that someone would catch me. Coming into the finish on the climb I didn’t know who was behind me, how far back they were or if they were in my category but I didn’t care. I just told myself that I wanted it more than they did if they were there and I was the one that stayed with the guys in the front for 3 laps so I was in the mindset to destroy someone in a sprint if it came to that. Little did I know the next guy back in my group was 4 minutes back but hey, it got me to the line quicker.
A big thanks to all my sponsors that made this 5th place finish in varsity possible. The biggest thanks of all goes to my dad for doing all he does and of course, the coaches that never give up on me and that drive me to the end of the race. Ellsworth Bikes, Rudy Project, Kenda, gup, Scicon, ESI Grips, Physiophyx, and Dryve wheels.
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