Cross Season is here!

Cross season is here and yesterday marked the first race of the year at Fort Langley's Alder Acres farm. Historically, this course is a bit of a mountain bike course with a rough fire road that has the potential to eat skinny cross tires, a good run up, and then singletrack leading back into the main area. This year, the road was a bit smoother, the single track a bit more groomed, and the run up just as painful as ever.

I went into this weekend with the simple goal of getting a cross race under my belt before heading to Starcrossed in Seattle in a couple weeks. I had no idea how my legs and lungs would react to the anaerobic workout after almost a month of getting back into running, little to no riding, and a lot of great food and wine. I also just got my sweet new Everti Ti-Fighter built up but only had 3 rides on it.

Off the start line Kelly Jones surged ahead to take the hole shot around the first corner, I made sure to get on her wheel, almost blew the second 90 degree corner (thanks to my Ti-Fighter for its super smooth ride I was able to recover), and then somewhere along the straight stretch I managed to take over the lead. I led going over the barriers (first barriers of the year...and at speed!) and into the run up. My recent running habit helped me out as I headed up the run-up at a comfortable pace that gained a few seconds on the other girls. I had a bit of space through the singletrack, but back onto the fire road and Stacey Hutton bridged up to me. We rode together for a lap, worked together on the third lap, but the rest of the race we danced a routine that went - me with a lead up the run up and through the trees, Stacey with a bridge-up on the straight stretch.

Going into the last lap my brain started working - legs felt good, lungs were functioning properly, now, how to win a race? I made sure I was in front heading over the barriers and into the run up, attacked on the run, kept it smooth through the descent, and the gave everything I had through the trees and onto the fire road to take my first BC Cup Cross win of the season...not a bad day considering the race was supposed to be an "experience" race.

Overall the race felt great (after suffering at 8,200 ft elevation in Colorado, suffering at sea level just isn't the same) and the bike was amazing! I would have liked my tubular wheels to run a lower tire pressure, but my RS80 clincher training wheels felt great and the ti cross bike (over my carbon bike last year) dampened the rough sections and rode like a dream. Island girl Amanda Wakeling (child super-star and Canadian Junior National XC Mountain bike Champion) came 3rd and onto the podium in her first Open Women's race.

Next weekend we'll actually be at home...woot woot!....then we are off to Seattle for the Star Crossed/Rad Racing NACT double header for the first UCI races of the season. Time to get to gluing the tubulars!