Vayamundo MTB Cup - Houffalize, Belgium

May 3

In the middle of the small town of Houffalize, I warmed up for the fast start of the Junior category. I was feeling pretty stoked but also pretty nervous. I got a great warm up but got back a little late to find myself on the back row. But to my surprise they called me up to the 2nd line. They counted down, "trente seconds", "quinze seconds". I anxiously waited for the start. Cinq, quatre, trois... Bang! The gun went off two seconds early. It was race on. The rider in front of me slipped a pedal and went over the bars. I was able to get around him, but I had to slow down a lot. The group swarmed me as I tried to get back up to speed. I knew I had some spots to make up. The start lap quickly went into the most technical descent of the course. I had to run most all of it because of the bunch up. Once we got to an open section I was able to make many passes. I was moving in the right direction. But then on a technical descent I followed a rider on a line that was much faster, but new to me. I wasn't ready for it. I slid on some roots and lost control as it threw my bike into some rocks on the side of the trail. I went over the bars onto my side and slid down the steep technical trail. I felt my hip burning. I ran back up to get my bike. My seat was sideways, and I was unable to push it back straight, so I did what I could to get to the tech zone and get it straightened. It got straightened, but it didn't get tightened all the way. I rode hard to make back the spots I had lost. But my seat slowly lowered until it was extremely uncomfortable to ride. My knees hurt and my legs cramped a ton. I planned to stop at the tech zone, but due to some lap count confusion, I kept riding. I felt like I was pedaling a downhill bike. I continued to pedal the steep technical. I was really struggling and feeling the pain, as I had ridden most of the race out of the saddle. I came into the finish in 35th of 60. I really had hoped for better, but I was psyched because I had given it everything I had and learned a lot from my mistakes.

I was super happy to be wearing my DNA Cycling skinsuit and riding my favorite bike, The Specialized S-Works Stumpjumper. I was happy to be able to push past the bonk wall because of my Pro bar bolts and OSMO nutrition. My chain ran smoothly all weekend through all the mud and rain thanks to Pro Gold lubricants. Also big thanks to Pat and Cathy Batten for supporting me in the Tech/Feed zone. Had a blast in Houfflaize!