Xterra America Tour Championship race #2 was hosted by the great city of Waco TX representing the South Central region. I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting much from TX, but what we got was a challenging swim in the steady current of the Brazos River, some very technical and fun singletrack and a run course that was basically 6 miles of rocky and twisty hill repeats. Xterra never disappoints and Waco was no exception.
Having raced xterra for a few years now, I have to say that these Cup races are where it is at. The folks at Xterra put on a great event no matter the venue, and having the expo and a deep pro field to race against each time really fires me up. Granted there are some amazing local races around the country, but if you are going to race, you might as well race the best. At least that’s my opinion.
Once again I found myself up against some really tough competition in my division. Adam Wirth from Boise and newcomer Shiloh Mielke from NC both made the trip, and both kicked my butt in Vegas. Well, they both kicked my butt again here, but not by quite as much. Adam actually won, but due to an accidental shortcut on the run, he was docked two minutes and ended up with second. When the top guys in your division are consistently finishing in the top 10 among the pros, you know its a tough class. Must go faster….
My Epic was dialed in pretty well and the Larsen TTs were fast as usual. What really made a difference on this course was the SRAM XX groupset. The 2×10 was perfect for a technical course that required quick and frequent shifting. The front shifting is about as good as it gets and can be shifted back and forth under stress without holding back a bit. The tighter spacing of the 10 speed cassette made for smoother transitions on the steep terrain. I’m sold 100% on it.
Adam and I came out of T1 together after a decent swim and I was able to hold on for a while but eventually he pulled away. After that I was lucky enough to be able to lock on to Shonny Vs wheel for about half an hour before she pulled away as well. She is a really smooth rider….maybe not quite as smooth as Coach Mel, but a great rider nonetheless. After that it was nearly a solo ride to T2. The bike trails in Waco were really well maintained and a couple of sections were so fast and flowy you almost forgot you were racing. Just at the end of the bike, a guy came past me and I noticed a 30 on his calf, which meant my division, and of course it was Shiloh. I held on and we came out of T2 together.
Now, I know I’m not the fastest runner out there, but I can hold my own when I’m feeling good, and I flat got dropped. Out of T2 you go straight up what is called Jacob’s Ladder and it is a nearly vertical stone staircase about 80 feet high, with each stair a slightly different height. By the time I got to the top, he was 50 feet in front of me and gaining by the second. Knowing that he has a world ranking for trail running and a VO2 max of over 90 helped a little with my wounded pride. I will say that the Avi-Stoltz shoes were about as perfect a shoe as you could have on this course. The angled tread and aggressive side lugs just gripped everything on this technical course so you could really just bury it and pound away without a second thought about your footing.
I ended up getting third in my division and third overall in the amateur division, but I was psyched with the result. Slowly but surely it’s all coming along. Got my Maui bid and apparently also qualified for to race with Team USA in the ITU Cross World Championships in Spain in 2011…no clue what that’s about, but I like the sound of it.
Pro Melraders Emma Garrard and Coach Mel both made the pro podium, so though it was a slim group, it was a solid result all around. My major regret was not getting to witness Craig Evans racing the entire race in nothing but a speedo…total throwback to the old school tri days, I love it. Next up the Bump and Grind bike race this weekend and then on to the Southeast Cup where there will be a whole new slate of division competition as the races start to roll East.
My takeaways from this race are 1) must go faster and 2) I need to get me some badonkadonk. Badonkadonk = power = go faster…any suggestions I’d love to hear them.
Train hard. See ya on the trails.
Adam Wirth, Shiloh Mielke and Me