Pre race: Yow-zas! It's f-f-f-freezing at 730am! 15 degrees and the world is dark and frozen solid. 740am and Joe and I are driving the Matt's Man Truck full of bikes to the races.
Matt had a meeting so he was running late which required me to get all his stuff ready for the race. Makes for a bit stressful pre race, but all the running around did help me "warm up." Right?.....Not so much the "B U29."
Joe and I started in the 4th and 5th row. Coming off the pavement, we were 4-5 or 5-6, somehting like that. John Giles gets the hole shot, which ensures him a good place and everyone else is left chasing. Joe gets held up by a crash, then falls himself. I fall, then get held up by a crash, then fall again later. All that in the first lap.
After Lap 1, all the frozen hard ground loosens up and turns to instant slime. Each corner that I was flying through before, now is snotty and slimy. I fell 3 more times but managed to ride myself into the top 10, after each of those crashes. I still managed to throw myself on the ground a couple more times and did a spectacular job of sliding (good pun) out of the top 10, finishing in the 20's.
Meanwhile, Joe had a hell of a ride, scoring himself a 6th place and having yet another good ride on what could be the early start to a breakout year. But the ride of the day goes to Shadd Shriner, a Physical Therapy Student from KU Med. Shadd's a mountain bike rider with bike driving skills the likes I haven't seen first hand in a while. I was able to go up hill fast, even passing Shadd a couple of times. But the guy just goes down hill in the slime fast! If he hadn't gotten a poor start and held up by crashes I think the win was in his ability.
The win went to Robin Eckmann of Germany! What?! A German winning the 'Mer-can B race? Well, it appears that wasn't the only 'Mer-can race won by a non-'Mer-can.
Results
B 30+
I only know one guy who could start from the back row, ride through everyone, and be in first place by the top of the hill. Brian Jensen (from Denmark), and that's exactly what he did. When the final lap bell rang, Brian had decimated the field and still had time to finish a cold one before standing on the podium. Well done Brian!
Results
