...This is how I felt after this race...
Originally I planned on not doing this race but when I saw Aaron Snyder (Scott Bikes) pre registered I changed my mind. Along with Aaron came the Alesio brothers (Fuji mtb) and Rob Lichtenwalner (visitPA.com). I haven't lined up against a stacked field like this in a while and was wondering if I had enough top end left from the early season. (I've been doing a lot of long rides lately). Brian Lariviere (Cycle Craft/Bulldog) got the hole shot while we all jockeyed for position behind him. At the top of the first climb there were five of us that made the front group and even though I was working hard to stay with the group I felt pretty good. Often times in a mtb race the pace is super fast at first then seems to slack off a little giving you time to recover, This never happened. We came around on the first lap at 24 minutes. Jocelyn would later say all she could see was a cloud of dust then our paceline, I was sitting 4th wheel and that 30mph feed zone was hectic. Major props to Jocelyn who handed me bottles like a Tour de France team director. We rode like this wheel to wheel for three laps then on a short loose climb Snyder punched it like he had a jet pack on "this kid is the real deal folks" I attempted to respond because no one else seemed interested and it turned out to be a mistake, my legs were not there. The three others caught me a couple minutes later and went right by. I was attempting to recover all the while trying to staying in contact with the group minus Aaron. Later I would catch Dylan Alesio and pass him to finish 4th with a big smile on my face knowing I gave all I had, and even though I didn't win I think this might have been the most fun I've had in a race in a while.
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