Mountain Biking - Too many laps!?

Hey-

Just wondering - any of you ever ridden too many laps in a race? The other day, I competed in a race that required 3 laps for my class. At the end of what I thought was the last(3rd) lap, I began to pull to the finish "lane." Just as I did this, I saw the the rider in front of me pulling around to do another lap. I figured that I was pushing so hard that I had counted wrong and that I had in fact only done 2 laps up to that point. I also looked to the side of the course and didn't see any riders that had just finished. I knew I was doing well, but I knew me and the person in front of me weren't in first and second. As it turns out, that lap was the last lap, and the rider in front of me was in 4th place, while I was in 5th place. The reason that in my quick look to the side for other riders i didn't see any was because they had moved up the course the other way to do a cool-down. In the end, I got 16th out of 20, including the time of the extra lap that I did. A fith place finish would have been my best this season. It actually would have been 4th if i had pulled off and left the other rider to keep going.

Has this ever happened to you? Ever done an extra lap?
Any other stupid mistakes you guys made in a race?
Or am i just alone on this one?

Never!

I know when I'm finished!!

I'm not being cocky... and by finished I mean spent, burnt, blown out... and it usually is before my last lap is over!!

Good for you having reserves!

Sorry to hear about the mishap! :eek: I was at a NORBA XC race at Mt. Spokane years ago, the first one they did there. I had studied the course and ridden it as marked, so I certainly knew the route. This was a one-lap race because there is so much room up there.

I was a senior Sport, and a few minutes into the race we hit a bottleneck point where we had to funnel into a singletrack. The leaders, following the lead motorcycle, got away from us. I was probably around 6th-10th at this point. We kept on going on the course we knew we were supposed to take, eventually hitting a place where the Beginners go around a hill, but Sports and higher go up it and down the other side. It's probably a 100ft. vertical, perhaps more.

At this point I think I was in about 5th. We came down the hill and rejoined the beginner route on a fire road. "You guys went the wrong way!" said the course marshal at this point. But we had gone the right way! Evidently the lead moto had taken the lead group around the base of the hill on the Beginner course! Aaaack! :confused: :eek: :crash: :(

So we were demoralized. We continued on. I found an AirB latex tube someone ahead had dropped, and picked it up to give back at the end, since I no longer had much hope of catching the leaders (did find the owner at the end, too). Of the people who went the right way, I was 2nd or 3rd.

Yeah Moab, it ALMOST happened to me once. I was lying in about 5th place and on the tail of the rider in front. I knew I wasn't going to win but I was pacing myself to attack on the last round and come in at around 4th. We crossed the line for what I though was the last lap, but there was no bell. Normally someone rings a big hand-bell to let you know it is your last lap. Anyway, I thought "*%^**$" not another 2 laps (I was already knackered), so I continued to follow the rider round. And waited.

We crossed the line again, I prepared to overtake but he stopped and waved! I carried on a bit but knew something was wrong so I rode back to the start and was told the race was over!

Frustration or what? :crash: I got a decent place and was glad the race was over but it could have been better. :mad: