We’re down to the Last day…it’s shorter than the rest but somehow has more climbing…? How is that possible? Another big climb right out of the gate. This time it was 2600 ft in 4.3 miles, but that made it, so it was mostly rideable at least. The stage sort of had us doing an 8 around Davos, again hitting a lot of singletrack and it looked like there would be some great singletrack right over the top of the first climb.
So, the strategy was about the same as yesterday, front load the effort, get over the first climb in a decent position, then manage the fuel in the tank until the end. This one had some more punch climbs in it and the bigger of the secondary climbs was later but ultimately more of the same from yesterday.
Still in the B start group, we got a good clean start and got over the top of the first climb with John and Tim (some other Western NC friends) before we got stuck in some traffic behind a woman’s team who didn’t seem to want to let us by. After the panorama trail opened up into some downhill gravel, Wes made the pass on the team. I waited for my opening and saw it as we were going around one of the ski lift houses but then the gravel got soft, and I saw life flash before my eyes. Next thing I know I’m pushing the front wheel sideways, Tim is coming around me with his back-end sliding, and John’s yelling “Yeah! Your saved it” well before I had control. It was a scene
I gained control, finished the past before hitting Mach chicken down a loose gravel road trying to get back up to Wes’s wheel. Through some more super-fast gravel and more amazing trail before our next struggle to get around one of the mixed teams in a single-track section. Wes found an opening at one point, and we pounced. It was sketchy but worth it, they were out of site within a few seconds of the pass so it’s hard to complain. There was so much good singletrack, we rode a lot with the Great Grandmaster Legends from Switzerland who just put on a clinic all day long.
We were rolling well for the last day. Up and down, fun trail. The challenge today was that the 2nd largest climb was later in the day. But once you went over that it was a long downhill with just one little bump. From here on out it was a steady day, just pushing hard, having fun. We hit the last bump and really went after it for some reason. Even though there was nobody close. It was amazing to feel like there was still some gas in the legs. A feeling I haven’t really had at a stage race in a long time.
We came to the line in 5th master’s for the day and secured 6th in master’s for the week and 61st overall (including all the UCI pro teams). Four hours Twenty-three minutes on the bike for the day and 22 hours 29 minutes on the week. A solid week of riding for sure.
The duo aspect of the Epic Series events is a fun twist to racing in my opinion. It adds a level of camaraderie to an ordinarily extremely isolated time. Endurance racing like that tends to be so on your own and you could go most of the day without riding with anyone. This forces you to share it. It really helps to have a partner who you can work well with. Wes is overall a little bit faster and generally a better bike rider than I am but I like to think I bring a little bit of grit and lightheartedness to the party. Ultimately, we communicate well, have a similar riding style, and have spent a fair bit of time riding together to know what the other one is up to. We also tend to stay positive and just have a good time out there.
After the first day I wasn’t sure how things were going to go, but the preparation worked, and I was able to feel stronger each day. To be fair Tristan, who I worked with on the prep, told me would happen and I didn’t really believe it. The 6-8 weeks leading into the race got a little more involved than my normal riding/training time and focus. Which certainly led to a little extra stress in the house. I must thank Katie for the support in my somewhat wild endeavors. I’ve got a passion for a sport that takes some time and work to do at the level I enjoy, and she humors me most of the time. Let’s be real, she let me train and go to Switzerland for 11 days to race my bike as a 42-year-old with younger kids…now that’s some patience.
Finally, it was really cool to have such a fun crew to travel with Western NC was representing hard and the BFC crew showed up. With Bragg and Champ taking 3rd in Amateur Men, Darling/Ziegler doing their first stage race together and having a great showing in Amateur Men as well. Donnely/ Tim for Dirt Camp riding strong all week. Man, it was fun to have some hometown friends to share it all with.
