I was really anxious to see how the Cross Country race would go, since I had felt really good in the Short Track race a couple days earlier. I thought the juniors were going to start separately, because I thought they had done that last year. But they called 60 Cat 1 men to the start line, and then let the 17 juniors come to the back of the group. Off the line I was struggling to make very many passes, but did the best I could. We funneled into the singletrack where passing became a lot harder. I could see my teammate Silas, 5-10 riders ahead in the train and a fast kid I recognized named Pete right up there. I didn't know for sure how many juniors were ahead of me but I knew there were at least two. A few riders in front of me weren't taking the turns fast enough and I grew anxious as I saw gaps opening. I continued to pass riders, but eventually lost frequent sight of Silas and Pete as they were making their way past riders also. After another lap of chasing I was able to see Silas and a Midwest Devo rider a few switchbacks ahead of me. I realized that there was for sure at least three guys in front of me, bumping me off the podium. As I started my final lap, my dad told me I was in 4th, 3rd about 30 seconds in front of me. I hammered as hard as I could and caught him right before the last descent. He said he was having a little problem with his tire. I kept my gap and finished in 3rd.
I was pretty stoked on the result even though my start wasn't perfect. I think I did a good job of pacing and thanks to OSMO nutrition and Pro Bar I was able to stay hydrated and nutritioned well for the entire race. Also, the Kewl Fit cooling vests were a great help in keeping me nice and cool before the race. My bike rode smooth and fast thanks to Josh Snead. Congrats to the whole athlete team with another day of stellar results for everyone. Excited for Nationals this weekend in Pennsylvania
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