I raced in the women veterans class, here is a shortlist of what happened to me during the 4days:
Stage 1 Cradle Mountain: the weather is good giving that there are only 10 days of sunshine a year in this area. - 2nd place Stage 2 Que River: flat tyre, which goes down to 18psi again, after 'fixing' the puncher...In my distress I forgot to check the tyre for thorns....yep! - 3rd place
Stage 3 Stirling Valley: great downhill!! I forget to unlock my fork and riding down with 50psi in my tyres(still pumped up from last cruise stage on bitumen) - 2nd place
Stage 4 Montezuma Falls: 1 flat tyre + 1 tyre that went down to 18psi + 1 lost cleat of shoe on top of best single track(Montezuma Falls), I wasn't very happy to see my podium place going after losing so much time to mechanical. - 6th place...bugger! That day my teammate Craig finished the last 15km on a bare rim
Stage 5 Spray Tunnel: 5km Time trail, due to my lost time from the last stage, my start is within a group of people that are significantly slower than myself. Therefore I am constantly passing at the tide single track, the guy that didn't let me pass, crashes right in front of me and I do have to walk around him at the downhill section. But still - 1st place! YAY!... and no mechanics!
Stage 6 Granville Harbour: absolute fantastic tracks and riding, I have a blast and race head on head with Naomi Hanson, which eventually wins having the better climbing legs. Awesome, fun riding! YAY - 2nd place
Stage 7 Hell's Gate: mostly flat, fast and furious. Exciting drafting if you manage to catch a group of riders. The beach section offers some great view if you have the time to look. Finish here! 2nd place Even that misfortune, I still managed to come 4th place over all in Vets and gained some new experiences in my old days.... in how to change tryres or better maybe using reall tubeless tyres, fixing cleats to shoes and checking your equipment more often.
I had lots of fun with my team Sam Maffett, Craig Findlow, Chris and our Team suppot Justin Riedy, those guys made my days really enjoyable!
Justin Riedy from 'bike beyond' took care of us and did an awesome job...I didn't even need to clean my bike...very much like a princess...
