Yesterday was a classic course for those of us that have been racing there for the past 5-6 years. Xilinx offers lots of mtb-y terrain, grass corners, some dirt singletrack, usually a downed tree to ride over, and a really nice start/finish straight on pavement. According to the CrossResults.com standings, my accumulated 2011 points had me somewhere in the top 16, meaning I was going to get a call-up to be on the 2nd row. I slotted right in behind Tim Faia. The ACA official then gave us the 1min warning, then 30 secs, then 15. Next, however, instead of an emphatic whistle blow or a loud "Go," he kind of started us with a hushed Go. About 10 or so guys took off, but the rest of us stopped as many had eeked off the line before he really started us. We were assuming they would re-start us, but that never happened. So instead of applying pressure to the pedals and slotting in to the top 10 safely, I found myself way back in about 15th or 20th. I applied some power and tried advancing up along the left side of the pack. I managed to get back up to maybe 10th or so before the course left the pavement and was on the grass & dirt right before the downed tree. I was okay with where I was at this point, but I was not okay with how much energy I had spent to get up there! I soon settled into a pretty good group consisting of Pat Gallegos, Mark Wisner, Greg Keller, and a few laps in joined by fellow mtb'er Rob (bodybuilder) Batey, Jeff Wardell, and stud Dennis Farrell. Meanwhile, Mike Robson & Tim Faia were off the front and gone. We all knew our group was racing for 3rd and on. I settled in knowing I didn't want to do too much work until the last couple of laps. I was riding pretty well. Not great in the corners, but ok. I had just minutes before the race threw on my wheels with the new Specialized Tracer tubular tires. Not having ridden them before, I conservatively had a bit too much psi, but they still felt great leaned over, and the rolling resistance was a dramatic improvement over the Tufo Cubus I had been running. I was sitting in, biding my time, and due to the long laps, next thing you know I see 2 to go. Wisner was having some bike issues, so he fell back some after a couple trips to the pits. Then after the twisty descent on the gravel path, Jeff Wardell and Dennis Farrell both came by me and they were going pretty well. I latched on to their train, and we soon had a tiny gap of maybe 7-8 secs on the group behind me which now had dwindled down to just Keller, Wisner and Gallegos. I knew Wardell, Farrell & I were racing for 3rd, so I was hanging tough. Too tough, however, as I tasted some vomit coming up on two diff occassions. But I rode error-free, maintained some power, and approached the last corner before the hairpin left brought us back onto the pavement for the sprint to the finish. Sprints are always a blast, and I was psyched to have a shot at the final podium step. But, I had NOTHING left in my tank, and could only watch as Rob Batey & Dennis Farrel began their sprints and left me in the dust. They rolled through the line in 3rd & 4th, a couple secs ahead of me in 5th. Behind, 6th-8th rolled in about 5secs behind me.
Had someone told me the night before the race that I was going to end up 5th place at the Boulder Racing Xilinx course, I would have been pretty happy about that. However, mostly due to the botched start (from which i recovered pretty well), I can say now that 5th place doesn't feel quite as good. Ah well, it was a great warm day, and I was ecstatic to be racing in front of Helen's parents and my parents.
Patrick Gallegos had a GoPro or something on his bars, and shot some great footage. I come in the scene around 2:37, and am right in front of the camera until about 6:40 when I decide to make a pass.
Xilinx CX 35+ 09-24-11 from Patrick Gallegos on Vimeo.
