The first mountain bike race of the year for my High School team and I was excited for a new year. This year I had some expectations to live up to since I had an article in the paper that my team had all seen. I was unsure how I would face up against the guys in the Varsity division, but I did expect that I would do well. The start for this race was ideal for me with a long uphill road climb before the race went onto the single-track. I felt good in the start and was able to get into the top five very easily and I was in the ideal situation heading into the single track. After about a mile the two strongest guys went off the front and there was no room for me to get over and chase. That basically turned it into a race for 3rd place. It is interesting how different Mountain bike races are then road. They are comparable to a Time Trial but there is lots of passing and if there is no room to pass at a crucial part of the race, then your race can get messed up. Luke Ramseth and I worked together for the next 2.5 laps with Andy Goessling hanging a fair distance behind us. During the last lap Andy caught us and I in the last few miles I got dropped and took it home as hard as I could. It was great going through the finishing stretch as my High School team is about 40 riders and they were all lined up cheering and yelling for me, that was definitely motivational and I appreciate that. I finished in 5th with an average heart rate of 185 for the race. I was happy with the result and I got a medal!
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