Hey there Gang! So I forgot to add in my last post that Andrew L’Esperance (aka TYG The Young Gun) and myself crushed an unreal cliff jump off a babbling brooks waterfall into an icy pool just outside Mont Saint Anne. It was about a 30 footer and we figured the only reason the water was still in liquid form was because it was moving. So Fun!
In Mont Tremblant we were joined by the one and only Jamie Lamb (I know eh! I know him!!!). We were a Dynamic Trio dialing in the xc loop all week. Race day came and Local girlie Liesen and fellow Newfoundlander Berges volunteered as out support crew and did an unreal job. So here goes my race story:
Monte Tremblant Canada Cup: Started second row and was on Watson’s wheel. Felt amazing off the start with zero lactate and unlimited power. Effortlessly took the lead and road with the leaders through 3/4 of the first lap. Caught my helmet on a tree and crashed into another at about 35km/h. Somehow messed the lockout lever on my fork and the Lefty was stuck locked out. Tried riding a lap fully rigid and went very slowly. Decided I wasn’t having fun anymore and sat in a frigid creek to cool down. Vowed revenge for the real race this evening (Red Bulls Monte Decent) with fellow Bertan Felix Willberg. TYG had an unreal ride finishing 16th and Jamie Lamb had a very respectful comeback ride finishing 28th.
Later That Evening @ Red Bull Monte Decent:
This is a relay format race with one xc rider and one downhill rider to see which team can complete the most laps in 90 minutes. The race took place with a really kool setup in the village at night. With $10,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs for the top 3 teams it was the real deal. The XC loop was about 6 min long and the DH run took roughly 2.5 min to complete. Needless to say I was crushing the XC course putting in some of the fastest lap times of the night while Felix was holding very consistent runs on the DH without a light. This was all for nothing as on one of the runs the timers forgot to call my number to the top of the DH run and Felix had to sit at the top thinking I crashed for about 10min until someone figured it out. So at the finish we ended up 7th out of 40 teams and would have been very close to a podium result without the mishaps. O well. Super fun event with a TON of people out to watch. TYG organized the entire Ontario Junior Team to run with me up the main climb as encouragement. Jamie was busy in the village capturing some really funny interviews in between laps as well.
The next day was spent hanging out under the Norco tent and doing some downhill go carting with Team BC. Guthrie has a video of the experience. Pretty good time.
From Tremblant The Dynamic Trio traveled West into the Toronto area making a quick and much appreciated stop at Jamie’s Aunts place for dinner and a swim. Thanks for all the hospitality! TYG and myself ditched Jamie with his fam for the week and headed Northward into cottage country to stay with Ontario local Matt Spak at his home for the week. Matts house was about 30 min from Hardwood Hills and within walking distance from Lake Huron. It was a great setup for the week with plenty of sunshine and sleep. Wednesday Night Hardwood race was pretty fun racing a 40 min loop with local powerhouse Mitch Bailey jamming the front. Hardwood Hills is a really fun place to ride with high speed flowing singletrack, punchy climbs and neat Elastomania style obstacles. The Sunday Canada Cup course had the same fun Hardwood flow and 30 plus degree heat that we’ve been enjoying all week. Here is how it went:
Hardwood Hills Jam:
Started second row again and felt easy riding myself into the top 5 through the first piece of singletrack (I guess World Cup racing does that to a guy...). Settled into a conservative pace I felt I could sustain in the heat and up the punchy climbs for 2 hours and rolled around 13th place for the first 4 laps and 1h50min of racing. Just before the last lap I started to get really bad quad cramps that forced me to fall off the bike on two occasions. I also started to feel weak and dissy and was crashing into trees and rocks the whole last lap losing 5 spots and huge chunks of time. Hit the dehydration wall super hard! Finishing time was around 2h15min in 19th place. On a positive note I was happy with the way I road until the last 25 minutes... Jamie improved on his Mont Tremblant race, riding in the low 20’s until he flatted on the last lap. TYG was riding well until he also hit the wall on the last lap and held on to finish somewhere in the low 20’s.
BIG thanks to Jamie’s Aunt and Uncle for the burgers and the ride to the airport after the race!!! Im super pumped to be getting home and get my life organized for the first time in 8 months...
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