Wausau WORS #3

Just finishing yesterday was a victory in itself. Only 45 of the nearly 70 Expert men actually crossed the finish line! After a less than impressive finish at Alpine I was hardly hanging on to the top 20. I lined up with a clear shot start to avoid getting piled up last two weeks ago. The start was, like normal, dusty and FAST! It was a little touchy mostly because nobody could see where they were going but we all managed to keep it rubber side down. I made a good move to the inside going into the single track where the race really started. I was feeling really good and the bike was working perfect all first lap. On the start of the second lap we hit some new single track that was super rough. I took a spill in a rock garden which twisted my handle bars. I jumped up and didn't have time to think about it as I was leading about 5-6 guys through. The rest of that lap was tough learning how to ride with crooked bars. By lap 3 just about everyone was having mechanicals, mostly flat tires. I got a little nervous but had confidence in my CrossMarks set up with Stan's sealant. My 3rd lap was the toughest. I got dropped from the pack I was hanging onto and was having to solo on the roads, not allowing for any recovery. I figured I better get as much fuel in me as I could in order to have something left for the 4th lap. That worked, as I lapped around onto the final lap I grabbed my Gatorade and started to feel a lot better. I was more alive in the single track and the rocky climb didn't feel so bad. Coming out of the final single track Carlos Haeckel got around me. I sat on his wheel and planned when and how to get back around him. We splashed through the last mudhole side by side and then full on sprinted to the final single track. I grabbed all the brakes I could and was able to drive inside, he was on my wheel through that entire section and I was making sure I would have enough jump for the quick final sprint. We came out about 100 yrds. from the finish and I was able hold him off at the line.
It was a long hard race but I managed to turn my best finish, getting onto the podium for the first time as an Expert!!


Cathy's race was a learning experience of how to survive on a long course. She had a couple mishaps with the ground that left her some pretty good battle wounds and somehow even managed to get a black eye out of the deal. She was really struggling in the single track not because she lacked handling but because all the Comp. men were trying to get around. Anyway she stayed smooth and dealt with traffic good. One section was pretty tough with a bridge right after a turn. Cathy tried to square up for it but with men behind he she had to keep pushing without getting her balance she put her foot down and slipped up falling into ankle deep mudd. She scrapped up her ankle a little but kept going. Later on in the race she went to put her bottle in the cage, she looked down for one second and right then hit some loose gravel. Her front wheel dug in and sent her flying over the bars!! I think that would have been enough for me to call it a day but she got on and kept going!
This ended up being by far her farthest most technical race ever. She is really coming along good and should have some really strong late season races!