This past weekend I competed in the final Jolly Roger downhill race of a 4 race series. This is actually the Minnesota State Championship Series of downhill racing. I competed in 3 of the 4 events, placed third at the first one (to Jed Olson and Thor Shellum -both far more skilled than me), then won the last 2 races. These results put me in 2nd overall for the series. I am pleased with that. Here are a few shots of the race (all taken by Dana):
I am considering changing my focus in racing for next year to specialize in gravity type events. I still plan to get back into shape and put in an honest fight in the MNSCS, but I would like to see if DH racing (possibly a few nationals) is a better fit for my skillset. The law of diminishing marginal returns reared its ugly head last year in the XC races. I was focused, trained and ate well, but only saw small incremental improvements from prior years. Let's face it, I'm never going to be able to be a top level national XC racer. I just don't have the "gene." I still enjoy the local/regional competition, but that's as far as I ever see myself going with it. I might try to get a pro license at some point, but it would really only be to say I have one.
I'm going to try to get my semi-pro USA cycling license for DH before next year. Last year I tried, but was told that I need to compete in more USA cycling DH events. The good thing is that the Jolly Roger series is a USA Cycling sanctioned series. Time to start hitting the weights again and ramp up the intensity type training.
Besides losing focus, here are a few of the other reasons why my XC bike is going slow this year:
2 comments:
Nice to hear from you again Tom. Great job on the DH series. Unfortunately, if you aren't high enough in the "Gene Pool" I think my chances of doing well in the Expert class are poor. My main goal is to be an inspiration to my kids and let their genetic potential shine.
We should get together and ride Murphy sometime, as it is now pratically in my back yard.
Later!
Tom-
This was a great post.
FWIW, I believe it's possible to find deep enjoyment of racing even after you stop being one of the best. Change the goals slightly, don't measure yourself against your past accomplishments and concentrate on what it is about racing that you really enjoy.
-Sandberg
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