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06-26-02, 07:45 AM
my 2nd mountain bike race this weekend! it should be a pretty hard race - i'm doing the middle distance which is 50km (31 miles) and 2000 vertical meters (6600 ft). i did a training weekend in the area about 5 weeks ago and have ridden almost the whole course although not in the same order - we trained for 2 days and so added a bunch of riding and vertical. the climbs are brutal with pretty much constant 12-20% grade for 700-900 vertical meters at a time. then the descents are almost all technical single-tracks which is a place i hope to make up time as most of the Europeans are strong climbers but not so talented downhillers (in my last race i would pass 10-20 people and be passed by no one on each downhill and then be re-passed on the climbs)
i was on vacation for 2 1/2 weeks back in the US in early June so i lost a little from my training, but i did a good ride last weekend with 1550m vertical and felt OK. tonight's my last training ride befor i take it easy and rest for race day this Sunday, the 30th of June.
just to get everyone up to speed: i race Sport class in the US, but Europe doesn't have classes and everyone races together. In my last race in Austria in late April i finished 129 out of about 1100 riders and in exactly 3:00 for the 1200m vertical - the first place pro finished in 2:19 - so i wasn't close to being competetive, but i was 'only' 41 minutes behind the top pro. the other problem with this is the start line is crammed with 400-1000 people and unless you're a pro and have someone to reserve you a spot you get to start at the back if you want to warm up... last race i started at the back and spent the first 30 minutes overtaking about 600 people!
the race is in Kitbuehl Austria and here is the vertical profile:
there's also a longer distance (88km, 3600m vert) so i'll only be doing the first 2 mountains in the picture. There is an expected 1st place pro time of 2:30, but i think i will take about 3:30 or so...
i was on vacation for 2 1/2 weeks back in the US in early June so i lost a little from my training, but i did a good ride last weekend with 1550m vertical and felt OK. tonight's my last training ride befor i take it easy and rest for race day this Sunday, the 30th of June.
just to get everyone up to speed: i race Sport class in the US, but Europe doesn't have classes and everyone races together. In my last race in Austria in late April i finished 129 out of about 1100 riders and in exactly 3:00 for the 1200m vertical - the first place pro finished in 2:19 - so i wasn't close to being competetive, but i was 'only' 41 minutes behind the top pro. the other problem with this is the start line is crammed with 400-1000 people and unless you're a pro and have someone to reserve you a spot you get to start at the back if you want to warm up... last race i started at the back and spent the first 30 minutes overtaking about 600 people!
the race is in Kitbuehl Austria and here is the vertical profile:
there's also a longer distance (88km, 3600m vert) so i'll only be doing the first 2 mountains in the picture. There is an expected 1st place pro time of 2:30, but i think i will take about 3:30 or so...