Double XC weekends are always a challenge, but somehow I find a way to double up with Saturday and Sunday races at least once a year. The Seeley Pre-Fat is a class event and one that I couldn’t miss. Of course Sundays’ WORS Marathon was equally tempting.
Day one in Seeley got off to a great start. My legs felt strong and I could pedal hard and recover quickly. By the end of the start loop I found myself riding at the front and forming the lead group. Just fifteen minutes in and it was a four person race consisting of Jesrin Gaier, Jeff Hall, Sam Oftendahl, and myself. I led through the singletrack sections of lap one and was able to create some gaps so when Jeff took a hard pull at the front I knew that I had to stay on his pace. I could just fine and we had created a sizeable gap over the chasers. A race of two now, I thought to myself. A couple minutes later Jesrin had clawed his way back up to us. At this I put in a pull at the front to see if it was really going to be a three man race or if Jesrin might crack from the effort. He stuck on.
By now the hard efforts I had been putting in on the steep climbs were wreaking havoc on my legs and some cramping set in even though all other systems were still full-go. With some slight modifications to my strategy I was able to ward off the lock-up for the most part and somehow continue to lead our group, even creating a bit of a gap from time to time. I put in my digs when I could, but wasn’t able to shake either Jeff or Jesrin and it came down to the final quarter mile on the railroad grade. It was going to be a gun show to the line and I couldn’t even get out of the saddle for a sprint. Jesrin jumped hard with a clear shot to the line and won quite handily, while Jeff’s burst didn’t quite match up. I rolled across in third, disappointed, content, and relieved all at the same time. I was strong and riding well, but really missed out on sprinting due to the cramping issue. My new nephew Mason enjoyed the sprint of his first ever bike race, even though I couldn’t quite get the W. He’s already learned to waive at the camera at just a couple weeks of age.
Jesrin earned the win after making the bridge up to Jeff and me mid-race. Too many racers would simply give up and race for third in that situation. He fought hard and dug deep for the sprint win, setting the course record; six minutes faster than ever before. This is a good shot of the finish that my dad captured. Clicking on it will open the full sized version…
From Seeley it was eastbound in the minivan to Rhinelander with Ron and his boys – Adam, Ryan, and Alex. We did pretty good going 37 miles with the gas light on before stopping at the first available station along the way.
Day two at WORS was pretty low stress, already having a good race performance. I was hoping to go fast, but obviously didn’t have or need any real expectations other than to enjoy the ride. It didn’t take long to learn that my legs were zapped from yesterday while Mike was drilling it at the front on lap one. The short bursty-climbs took there toll and I really buried myself early on in attempt to stay with the lead group. Laps two and three were filled with lap traffic, but I played it cool and saved my energy for the final lap. I was able to pick up a couple guys along the way and solo in for 8th, the last money spot on the day.
The course was relentless with bump after bump in the singletrack. Rhythm was something not worth looking for and the bloodied palms of any rigid fork rider was evidence enough of the punishing terrain we raced. The venue was great and having the lake to jump in for a cool off was quite refreshing. All in all, it was a great weekend to do some excellent races with perfect Wisconsin weather. I’ll enjoy it now before returning to the desert. Thanks to following along,
-TJ
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