Mutant Strawberries and the attack of the race report!

That's right.  The secret of the Giant Mid-Atlantic team is mutant siamese strawberries.  But good luck getting your own, suckers!

This past weekend was the first official XC race of the 2010 Mid-Atlantic Super Series; Bike Line XC @ Fair Hill.  Everyone was amped to test their early season fitness, and the day did not disappoint!  With over 700 racers in attendance, it was hard to stay calm and focused on our own race!  With so many there, we made sure to be as visible as possible of course.  Flag me!

After what seemed like a bigillion sport riders took off on the course for their race, Matt and I took off for a warm-up pre-ride of the course.  What we found was what we expected:  A fast, fun course, with a small sprinkling of short punchy climbs to sting the legs and help create separations in the pace-lines during the first lap.  Before we knew it, we finished and were ready to race.

Lining up for the Elite Open, there were much more racers than normal, and a certain Hebrew Cyclist (ahem, ahem) should have been paying more attention.  After we got called forward, there were about 8 rows deep of racers for the start!  Despite the large field and it being the first real race of the season for many, the start was relatively uneventful, but was FAST!  It was a drag race for the first mile or so down fire road before we hit the singletrack.  Passing was at a premium, and drafting was used generously.  The singletrack strung things out, but didn't slow the pace, and while Matt fought near the front, I was at the back picking off riders, practicing some good-ole fashioned aggressive passing.  After finding some sweet inside lines and passing a good number of riders, my luck started running out and I found myself stuck in position while things started splitting up ahead of me.  At this point, I found myself doing intervals between groups of riders, resting in their draft, then going again.  Meanwhile, Matt was duking it out with some of the young'ns ahead of me.  This was how our respective races played out for the first 2 laps.  On the final lap, my legs finally got the better of me and started fading big time.  Matt held strong for a top-20 and a strong start to the year!  Big shout-out to my wagon wheels, Giant XTC 29er.  Best choice for this course!

Afterwards, we took another spin on the course and then cleaned up for some socializing and story telling with everyone we raced with.  Great race, great weather, couldn't ask for a better start to the season!

This weekend the team will be at the Tour de Tykes XC race!  Look for us there, and don't forget to get your Intercourse Care Package Raffle Tickets!