A UCI filled Mother's Day

In they eyes of USA Cycling and the UCI, Cycings two top governing bodies for US riders, the Maplelag UCI Mtb Spring Opener was the most important race on my schedule for 2007. The race has Cat 2 status which means it is just below a national race on the importance scale. The main difference between this race and a normal MNSCS race is that Pros, SemiPros, Experts, etc. all race separately. Also the cash payout is higher=)

Jay, Jonelle, and the rest of the Maplelag crew always put on a top notch event and this was no exception. The course was in perfect condition and Jay had us doing 4 x 30 minute laps. The cool thing is that the Pro race on Saturday (won by Jeff Hall) was the same course so we could compare times.

The semipro field was the same size as the pro field, eight, and most of the top riders from the region were represented in one of the two races. 3 of the top WORS/National semi pro racers came over for the race: Mike Phillips, Chris Peariso, and Jesrin Geier.

From the gun, Mike took off like a wild man. He has been working over the SemiPro field at the national events, and I knew he would be a strong contender. Chris and I were actually last going into the single track. Experience told me to take my time and not blow up. Well, a few 44x11 efforts later, I was about 10 seconds in back of Mike. From then on, I just rode my own race. The course is EXTREMELY punch and tight. There are a few flat xc ski trails, but all the singletrack, 3/4 of the course, is up or down. I let things flow and caught Mike mid way through the lap. After going through the start finish, I took the lead and never looked back. Mike was there for a good while, but I was at/near my limit and with 3 laps I wanted to set a consistent pace.

By the time I entered my 3rd lap, I had over 2 minutes on the rest of the field. It is a good thing too because the 85 degree heat was taking its toll. I started cramping...I drank most of my bottle right away and rode the lap in damage control mode. Other people must have been hurting as well, because I ended up with 3.5 minutes on second place. Fisher rolled in with a strong 4th place. He was riding in 2nd place when he had an atomic bonk.

http://www.peaktiming.com/Results/maplelag_opener_overall_semi-pro.pdf

Another positive about the result was that my time would have put me 3rd in the men's pro race.

http://www.peaktiming.com/Results/maplelag_pro_men.pdf

Jen Meyer ripped it up in the Expert Womens (there is no Semi-Pro for women). She had her game face on all day according to my wife. It is good to see her so strong and winning in the WOW jersey...for those who don't know, VeloRochester and WOW are brother/sister clubs.

Tegan had the best seat in the house and was laughing at dad while he suffered.

A camera man caught this oops...and SAVE of mine. A momentary lapse of concentration is all it takes. Thanks to Bruce from Skinnyski for most of these pics...he always does a great job of covering the local events=)
Fisher did it there right way. In 1.5 laps he went from 7th to 2nd. I want to say a special thanks to my Wife who took care of Tegan before and during my race when she should have been getting a Mother's Day pedicure. Without you sweetie, I wouldn't be racing!

Cheers.