This past weekend was my first USASA Race since last seasons Nationals at Copper Mountain...
USASA South Tahoe Boardercross actually started last weekend, but after learning the hard lessons that came along with competing while SICK, I decided to take that weekend off. This was probably the smartest decision I've made in the last month of hustling all over the globe...
The weekend started off with some much needed on-mountain time with great company. Ian Wu and I got up to Sierra early Saturday morning. We wanted to get in on what was left of the "10 feet" that the last round of gigantic storms supposedly dumped on the Sierra's. Apparently all 10 feet must have fallen SOMEWHERE ELSE; Sierra didn't look too much different than the last time I was there about a month ago. Nevertheless, I had a race to prepare for, and Sierra has always been my favorite spot to go FAST. We met up with a couple other friends and had a blast (Thanks Chad and Melissa!). I ran with a freestyle stance, spent plenty of time on the hill, and had a chance to dial in some Air Time in the terrain parks.
After a full day, Ian and I headed down to South Lake for the night. The 3rd man in our crew was already out there for the weekend, so we gave him a call and brought back an old tradition; Elgin, Ian, and I - Harrah's Friday Night Buffet time! We caught up on old times, ate until we lost track of time, then headed out for the evening. For Ian and I, we got to the room and headed to sleep...Sunday was a big day. By 10pm, LIGHTS OUT...
The weather predicted a partly cloudy day Sunday, but we woke up to crystal clear skies! By 730, we were out of the house and on the way to Kirkwood.
The vibe at registration was SO MUCH DIFFERENT than I've experienced over the past month and a half. USASA has ALWAYS been so family oriented, and it was great to be back in a place where even amongst the heat of competition, it felt like home. I got up to the course for inspection, and got myself dialed in for heats.
I had raced on this course once last season, but Sunday's course was so much faster than it had been before! Coming out of the gates you drop straight down, after about 20ft, a small roller is there to pump even more speed into your take-off. After that, a pair of Double-Jumps / Rollers. Coming into the second double, you're already FLYING. During inspection, the confusion was mostly around this part of the course; "Do I double it? Pump it?...WHAT'S going to give me the most speed?!?" Whatever you decide to do, you have to be stable immediately; between the landing of the second Double and the long lazy turn 1 - FOUR rhythm rollers are waiting to take you right off your feet. Those things were a haunting reminder of the Triple that took me out of competition at Copper just 2 weeks ago. But, the experience prevailed and I killed those things every run.
After the entry, the course was mostly straight forward. The layout didn't give room for any tight turns, so if you were able to stay on your feet and keep the pedal to the metal, you were in good hands. Now, to mix that with a handful of other racers on course...this is where it gets fun.
This was my first season in "Open Class", so from here on out I knew I would be up against nothing but experienced racers. With my recent experience in France and Colorado, I was more than ready to welcome the challenge. Ironically, THREE of the racers from Colorado were there to compete...three GOOD racers. All three had made it past qualifiers at Copper, so it was going to take some consistency and aggressive racing to stay out of the bottom of the pack.
We had an odd number of racers, so heats were staggered a little bit different than normal. Opening heats would take the top 2 directly to the next round, while the bottom 2 would be allowed an LCQ, or "Last Chance Qualifier" to get into semi-finals. Our names were called, and 4 by 4 we got in the gates. When it was my time, I looked across the gates to see who I was running against; two of the guys I had never seen before. 2 gates over - John Retta, a guy I consider THE man to beat in the South Tahoe region. I've seen this guy running for the past 2 seasons, and even had a chance to race against his older brother a couple seasons back. He's got a GREAT pull out of the gates, and he's CRAZY FAST....
RACERS READY! IN...10 SECONDS..............
With the PPM locked in, I RIP out of those gates. Within a half second, I can see that its just John and I - we left the other two behind with a great start. John and I hit the first and second Double side-by-side. He keeps it stable and goes airborne, while I try to keep it on the ground and pump for more speed. Both strategies seem to work, as we enter turn 1 right next to each other. From then on, John pulled away with some amazing technical riding. I wasn't able to reel him in, but stayed right on his tail through the finish. 45 seconds later, and we're in it - on the express lane to semi-finals!
Because of the odd number of racers, I got an awkward seed in semi-finals; one that I didn't necessarily agree with, but I couldn't argue. Instead of getting seeded with ONE winner of opening heats, and two winners from the LCQ, I was seeded against TWO winners of the opening heats. How ironic, it was the other two from the Copper Mountain Nor-Am Cup. No need to be intimidated, but it's going to take some hard work to make it through to finals. Both of these guys have a HUGE pull out of the gates, and both are insanely fast on the course. One of them took 2nd place at USASA Nationals Open Class recently, and the other is also a Speed Veteran, taking 8th place in Open Class Giant Slalom last year...
"Racers Ready....."
With a gigantic pull out of the gates, we all go barreling down course. It's neck and neck into Double #1 - but things almost immediately change. Right alongside me, one of the racers gets a bit unstable in the air. From my view, it looks like a fall is going to send him DIRECTLY into my line approaching the second Double. I'd rather NOT be taken out, so I lightly check some speed to avoid a full-speed pile up. Just as I thought, he lands, veers just barely into my line, but SOMEHOW manages to stay on his feet. My little safety precaution meant less speed into Turn 1, so it was going to be a hi-speed chase if I was going to make it past this round into finals. I remember this round in slow-motion; I would reel him in, and after some unstable flapping of his arms, I would back off to avoid a wreck. Rather than be aggressive and go for the pass, I kept playing it safe - and it ultimately cost me the spot in the finals.
3rd place in Semi's meant I would have to settle for the Consolation Round. After talking to Ian, he said that my timing was actually OFF on the gate-drop. A better pull would have gotten me out in front, and that's the name of the game if you want a spot in the next round. After getting the results, I headed back up to the top - Consolation Finals were coming up quick, and I needed some wax to try and salvage the best spot that I could.
Here it is, "Consi's". Were gated up, it's now a race for 5th place. After thinking about what Ian observed last round, I focused harder than ever on the top of the gates. The instant I saw the top start to drop, I was going to rip those pull handles right out of the snow. By this time we were ALL tired - but I wanted these points, BAD. "RACERS READY!!!....." The gate drops and everything falls silent.
With my BEST pull of the day, I'm GOOOOOONNNNNNE. I blast out of those gates, pump through the drop roller, and hover over both Double's. By Turn 1, I finally come out of the silent hypnosis and realize I'm out in front! WHY did my best run of the day have to be NOW?? Through the tech-section, turn 2, rollers, turn 3, 4, and so on and so forth...with the most speed I'd had all day, I fly through the finish line in first. With a 5th place finish on the day, I can't be any less than satisfied. Still, a little piece of me wondered how things would have gone if I had a different seed in semi's, if I had gotten a faster pull out of the gates, ANYTHING that would have put me through to finals. But in all, I was happy. My first Open Class race, I was in the top half of the field, and I had kicked some butt...
I'll take the positive energy into this coming weekend; Sierra is hosting the final round of South Tahoe BoarderCross - and I LOVE Sierra's track. Thanks again to everyone who's taken the time to follow along, stay tuned!
