Welllll, not exactly. The day began with ideal racing conditions; sunny, dry, and remarkably, not too hot. Edge sat poised at the front of the line...
...then shot out in front of over 200 other riders.
By the time he finished the parade lap, he took the corner with noone even close to riding his hub, and was first into the woods.
Hours went by, the eight mile trail was lapped
over and over, and despite varying problems with
heat and nausea, the day was strong.
UNTIL-- eight hours in, his rear, tubeless, 29er tire busted a seam while jumping out of the last taco stand and leaked tubeless goo all over the ground.
A final inspection in the Terrapin/Hostel Cyclist pit revealed he wouldn't be finishing off the last two and a half hours of the race, becoming instead, an official piece of the Hostel Cyclist cheering squad.
Well it turned out the Edge was far enough ahead when his tire popped, that he was able to sit down, have a beer, hang out for a couple hours...and still place third in his class.
Many thanks to the Hostel Cyclist support crew, and his new hat.
Power!
ReplyDelete