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That was a hell of a good race!
Enjoyed from start to finish. The course was not the best due to problems with fallen trees and area in general trashed from previous winter but they've done so much good work to rescue the area. Tons of singletrack, some new sections quite loamy, other classics were super fast. Not much climb but after a few hours I thought the 2 shorts ones were quite punishing. Still cleared them all with 32 x 36.
Plenty of categories for everyone, fat bikes, good atmosphere, raffle tickets at the end... I think this is one of the best racing weekends of the year.
For these races I like to see how almost everyone goes too fast at the beginning to die little by little in solo cats. I just started in the middle or even further back and took first lap as a warming up, getting to know the course and using the easiest gear for every climb avoiding chasing others. This was very good in the end, as my lap times were very constant.
I stopped every 2 laps to change the water bottle and drink from spare one. Had a table with bananas, grapes, soreen malt loaf, gels, bars, caffeine, electrolyte tablets, cooked pasta, around 8 bottles of water with some powder and plain mineral water.
Lights were supposed to be on the bike at 7pm and on at 8pm. So at 630pm and 8 laps already I stopped for 8 minutes to eat some pasta and fit the lights. Lumicycle in the handlebars and gloworm for helmet bars. My lap times were under the 50 minutes at that time and I had decided to try 7 more laps, including the last one after midnight, therefore my pace should be for 6 laps under 55 minutes, which I did.
I had a nice battle with another rider. I caught him after 7 or 8 laps and knew he was another 12 hour solo but I couldn't overtake him so I thought 'we have the same number of laps and pace'. He was much stronger on the climbs and doubletrack, but I could carry more momentum and catch him up in other parts of the course. He made 2 mistakes and passed him but he caught me later and disappeared. This lasted 1 hour or more.
I had my pit at the beginning of the lap and I saw him again going much slower. I was about to overtake him before stopping at my pit but I decided not to show off and remain behind. After a quick stop I went fast on my 13 lap. It was time to be more aggressive and swith to attack mode. I again caught him after 5 minutes just at the beginning of first long climb before Sponge bob. I nearly removed the stickers of his bike and left him behind. My rear tyre was losing air and that was another reason I was standing on the bike and I was worrying the tyre side might pop off the rim. Before finish line there were other riders with their pit areas and borrowed a pump. 1 minute later I was flying again.
Due to dusty conditions and not wearing glasses my sight was horrendous. I made a few mistakes in the last laps and avoided risking too much in other parts, but trying to go fast on easier terrain. In the end I took him 9 minutes.
After finish line I entered in the crowded marquee to find my race results and I barely could distinguish them on the TV screen. I had to get to 1 metre and looking around was funny haha!! Then my body and mind went dizzy at times because of lack of electrolytes during the race. I should have put salt on the pasta for example.
It was one of my best races. The new bike helps a lot to be honest. Still I need to get used to it. So many changes on wheel size, crank length, front ring handlebars, etc...
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My sponsor in Spain
http://aplbike.com
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nice one!
