I've been doing a lot of XC events this year. They are a lot of fun, but seem to lack somewhat in the epic-ness category. Also, driving 6+ hours to do a 2 hour race can be somewhat lame, if you have a poor race. Finally, the attitude can get super serious. I was asked about doing this "Raid" event, up in MSA. Although the details of each stage were unclear, it seemed like a very fun race. I've been wanting to do something like this (Crank the shield / transrockies etc.) for a few years, but the entry price usually discourages me. This event was only $120 to enter. The Kunstadt guys were all going up, and it just seemed awesome. I'm in!
Day 1: There was some anxiety on the ride up, as we thought we were going to be late. James and I were crammed into the back seat of the truck, and we only arrived 15 mins before registration closed. Tight! After uncurling my legs, the first stage was off. Everyone was unsure about the course. It was either going to be a 6km climb to the top, or a 17km climb, then descent, or a 24km climb. It turned out to be a 17km course, up to the top (with a brutal kicker at the top) then rip back down. About 600m into the race, I went to the front, and just hammered. By the top, I had a pretty solid gap, I think it was about 1-2 mins. Descending back down, with 2km to go, my front tire blew off the rim. I rode it in, but got caught with about 200m to go. I hung on for 2nd. I was happy with the ride, but unhappy with the flat.
Day 2: Quebec city to MSA. This day was 77km. An honest, GPS measured 77km - I think it was more like 83. About 28km into the race, I was taking a pull at the front, feeling great, then the tire that neil lent me blew. frig. Front tire again! The CO2 didn't work, and I was saved by matt surch, who gave me a pump. I lost a lot of time there, and chased hard for the rest of the race. I was able to catch neil, and came in 5th on the day. This left me about 9 minuted down on GC. damn.
Day 3: loop around MSA. This was my day. I had to put 9 minutes into second, to win GC. I didn't manage to do this, but I was happy with my ride. Again, I pulled away right from the start, got caught with 15km to go, attacked again and again, and then sprinted in for the win. My legs felt good, but the person who won was too strong to totally drop.
Overall, I finished 2nd, and Neil came in 3rd. Awesome result, and an awesome race. I really pushed it all weekend, and my legs felt good. Also, the camaraderie was great. Super fun riding, lots of climbing and a great environment. My only big complaint about the race, were the sketchy feed zones. They could have placed them much better.
The most impressive feat of the weekend was Neil pounding a large poutine on the way home. WOW. Thats a lot of curd. Good job bud. Sorry about the lack of good pics. I was slacking on the photo duty. The image is of us getting ready for stage 2.
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