I’m finally getting caught up on my race reports.
On Saturday, Jul 11, Winter Park had their third race of the series, the classic Valley Point to Point. This race starts at the Winter Park Resort Base, and ending in Fraser. This year however, they added a new mild climb and some super fun downhill single track.
I had a decent start, I was 10th place going into the singletrack, where I passed three guys before the next fire road. After settling in and keeping a good pace I passed a couple of more guys. After about an hour into the race I had a pretty good crash. My body and bike were OK, but it stunned me pretty good. I also had my water bottle with jet fuel (aka Accelerade) in a 24 oz bottle in my back jersey pocket. When I fell, I landed on my back, which busted open the water bottle, leaving me with 1/4 of a bottle (and a pretty good bruise) and about 1 more hour to go to the finish. I had no choice but to ignore that fact. I hoped I was hydrated enough
After getting back on the bike and getting my speed back, I caught the group I was riding with after about 8 minutes.
The last 4 to 5 files is a flat technical section with lots of twists, turns and tree roots across the track. This is my favorite part of the course. It’s fast, and fun, and I usually pass many people on this part. I caught a few guys in my group, but I lost my place count after the crash.
I finished the race in 1:52:53 with a 4th place, 3sec from 3rd place. I estimate I lost at least 45 seconds to the crash. If I hadn’t crashed, I’m sure I could have got 3rd place, but maybe 2nd.