I have said it once and I will say it again…World Cups are tough. Mentally, physically, emotionally. Monte Sainte Anne was no exception. Going into a World Cup feeling like you are not riding to your full potential makes it even worse in my opinion.
I think that I let this course get to me at the course walk. It is not like there was anything exceptionally difficult about this course, but the speed, oh the speed. From the the time you drop out of the gate, it is full on. The key being to stay off the brakes and hold on. Much easier said that done. On a technical course it is much easier to break the course into sections and find your flow and rhythm, each section building on the next. Here, you just had to hold on.
I wasn’t riding well from my first practice run onward and as a result my weekend ended with qualifying. Bummer.
(I got to go cheer Lea and the XC girls on for their race which was so fun!)
Just wrapped up the first national round of the year up in Port Angeles, WA. It was so great to be back in the PNW to smell some fresh air and catch up with my original crew. I grew up in Washington and it is where I started riding so it is my happy place. Familiar faces, trails, dirt, sights, smells… :)
The trails in Port Angeles are sooo fun, been out there quite a few times over the years for racing and coaching. The race track was no different. After my first run down I was like yesssssssss I am home. That is the kind of riding I just love. Fast, flowy, good dirt, a little tech mixed in. I did so many runs over the weekend. First day like 4, second day like 5 or 6, qualifying day 9 (!!) and finals day 2. I just couldn’t stop riding.
Saturday (qualifying day) I did way too many and almost got myself hurt. hahah. Check out the tree video. I was so tired and got off-line in a run and slammed the tree and then had to go up for qualifying when I was beyond tired. Not the smartest move.
I ended up 5th on the day, stoked to make it on the podium. My run had a lot of room for improvement as I had a pretty big mistake which cost me quite a bit of time but I will take it. There were a lot of fast girls out there this weekend so to get on the podium is great. Barely, I should add. By .05 of a second. :) Jill 1st, Miranda 2nd, Holly 3rd (watch out for this girl!!), JoJo and me.
For the boys, Stevie Smith brought it home for Canada, so stoked for him. The boys field was stacked, could be a World Cup podium anywhere. Stevie 1st, Gwiny 2nd, Mick 3rd, Brycland 4th, Neko 5th.
We had like 4+ hours between our AM training run and finals on Sunday and I was really bored and I made a sweet video…should be done with it this weekend, you’re gonna love it :)
Sea Otter has come and gone once again. I feel like it totally sneaks up on me every year. You are doing your thing all winter and then all of the sudden it is the middle of April and bike season has officially begun. I kinda like it like that. Anyway, it was a great festival once again. Busy as. I raced slalom and downhill, spent a bunch of time at the SRAM Ladies Lounge, did a signing at Camelbak, went to the Strength in Numbers premiere and caught up with all my friends and sponsors. Fun times. Busy times. I felt like I just left Vegas at the end of it all.
I wish there were more slalom races, it is seriously so fun. Everyone loves it…racers and fans alike. I had a mechanical in qualifying and ended up qualifying right near the back which meant I was going to have my work cut out for me from round one. In slalom you are put into a bracket according to you qualifying position so first races last, all the way down and it goes out from there. Anyway, I raced Jojo (Joanna Petterson) in round one. Last year I crashed in qualifying and she took me out in the first round, this year we battled it out and I beat her. :) Good fun. Anyway, I made it to the round of 8 and got knocked out by Junior World Champ Manon Carpenter who went on to get 3rd. Jill slayed it all night long. Jill 1st, Buhly 2nd, Manon 3rd. On the boys side, Kyle Strait did America proud and won it…sooooo awesome.
I got my butt kicked in the downhill. I have so much fun riding the track and doing massive trains but racing it is another story. I have been working on my pedaling a lot this off-season and I am feeling pretty strong but to be honest I was just beat and the girls totally out rode me. Not a whole lot in the tank come Sunday after a big week.
Post-Sea Otter is always a good time ’round Santa Cruz. Lots of people in and out which means lots of new people to ride with. This weekend the Dirt Series is in town so Miss Kintner and her big van are staying with us and the rest of the Dirt Series crew is staying nearby. I am not coaching for the Dirt Series but the girls had to pre-ride their trails for coaching which meant we went out to Demo for a bit of a rip. Good times.
KP has been talking about this sausage market forever, the Corralitos Market and Sausage Co. Sausage. Sausage. Sausage. So of course we had to eat sausages after our ride!! Some of those loved the sausages more than others…
