USGP Madison

The first cross of the season is always a little bit of a shock to the system, especially when you haven't done it for the last 8+ months and it's part of the UPGP national series. I knew it was going to be hard and I soon found I was going into it with the wrong mental mindset so Saturdays race was a little rough but I survived. Jeremy Powers the race winner from Saturdays race was turning blistering lap times of 5 minutes flat on the 1.7 mile course leaving my race to be cut short when he lapped me. Only having to drive 2 hours and have so many friends and family there to support my cause made it worth the pain and suffering. I'm convinced their cheers helped me drag my carcase around the course and remind me what cross is really all about.

Here is a quick snapshot from Saturdays race. The blur of the picture is how my head felt trying to keep up.

I took my new found perspective after a peep talk or two and applied it to Sundays round two of the course; a mental reset if you will. Between the mental reset and the little bit of rain before the start my race went considerably better on day 2. I was able to make it to 3 laps to go and 15 more minutes into the race compared to the day before. Course conditions were a little greasy to begin with requiring more handling skills to better suite my abilities. The power in the legs felt restored and twice what it was the day before allowing me to actually sprint down the straightaways and keep the gas on through the technical sections unlike 24 hours prior. Positive feedback from people and my improvement on my result are signs of my early season fitness starting to return and providing fuel for the training fire.

Next up for big cross races in the 3 days of UCI races in Cincinnati in 2 weeks!