Grafton Pumpkin Cross - 2022

 One more time the decision was made to head up north.  After last week's podium my head was full of bravado.  George talked me into it (or the other way around if you ask him) and we made the early morning drive to Grafton, WI, just north of Milwaukee.

There was a pre-ride video done by the hosts before all the tape was up and it looked pretty tame - a grass crit perhaps.  When we got up there it was anything but.  It was a good course with plenty of off camber turns and one big hill.  There were a couple barriers at the top of the hill and a short run up on the back half of the course.

Our race was 50+ Cat 4/5 > the old and slow group.  It was a big group with 57 racers.  There was also the 35+ group who started 30 seconds before us with 25 racers.  Luckily, it was a long course so the course didn't get too clogged.

Being a long course it also meant that our 30 minute race was going to be 3 laps (which turned out to be fine for me).  The starting grid is based on points and I was the 4th callup and on the front row.  One row here or there doesn't matter all that much as long as you are a strong racer but the difference between 1st and 4th row is a big deal.  You immediately have a sizable gap to the front of the race when you are 4th or farther back and there are a lot of racers to get by.

The start straight was a paved road that went slightly uphill and then we turned left onto the grass and came back down.  The down part helped to recover after the sprint from the line.  The highlight for me for the entire race was the start where I once again got the hole shot.  And I kept the lead for the first minute without going into the red.

As I said that was the highlight because after that I just slid backwards.  My cornering was pitiful and I kept letting gaps go.  Then when we hit the hill the plug was pulled and all my power drained.  The hill had an "A" and "B" line.  The "A" line was steeper but shorter and the "B" line was shallower but longer.  I chose the "B" line and lost 2 places because of it.  On the second lap I took the "A" line.  The first 2 laps it was a 25 second effort.  Being fresher on the on the first lap I expected it to be quicker so in retrospect The "A" line was better.  Well.... if you have the legs.  The 3rd lap I took the "A" line and blew up to the point that I had to unclip and walk up the second half.  That lap the hill was a 43 second effort.

Just before the hill on the 3rd lap George flew past me and was making good progress.  The only silver lining I can take is that after the hill on the 3rd lap no one else passed me.

I finished 18th.  A far cry from the 3rd of last week.  It was humbling.  The fact that I started front row is the only reason for me not falling into the back half of the results.  Other than it being the 3rd weekend in a row of driving to WI and doing double races the only thing I can think of is that I got very poor sleep the night before.   Training is important, but recovery is more important.  Especially at my (our) age.

Thanks for following along.

Here is the video from the race:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeWGA3-Rhv8&t=1452s