Promotion Cross

OVCX headed over to Lexington, KY this week for the Promotion Cross. The weather was a huge 180 from what it has been lately. Upper 60's/low 70's and dry. It was also quite different from last year where it was cold and windy.

I left the house at 8:30 in the morning and after the 3:30 drive, I arrived at the course. I was able to get a few warm up laps in and found it quite different that what I have been used to. The course was dry, hard and bumpy, no two wheel drifting through the corners this week.

I began with a front row start and with a really good start on the uphill pavement, I found myself in the top 6-7. I looked back and we had a nice gap to the next group. My glory in the front group was short lived as Mitchell Kersting and Rob Kendall were hitting it hard at the front, one-two in the series standings. I found myself in no-man's land and pretty soon some fast back row starters passed me.

Shortly after, I found myself in a group with Chris Nevitt, Ryan Gamm and one other guy. This was a solid group to be in and hung on for a while. I must have gone way too hard at the start and soon found myself gapped out and and riding by myself.

Now it was time to get in a good pace and gut it out to the end. I was hoping to recover a little and be able to push harder but that never came. I got passed by a few people but at about half way, I had found my place. The fast dry course was surprisingly hard on equipment and several people had rolled tires. Mike Kennedy looked like he rolled a tire, Gamm rolled a tire, a Calistoga guy rolled a tire. There were certainly many places on the course where there was hard, fast cornering and I made sure I didn't over cook those corners and risk rolling my tires. Not that I don't have faith in my glue jobs, you just never know what can happen.

I rolled in at 13th, both satisfying and disappointing at the same time. I am slowly improving but have not had my breakout race. I did not feel super hot today and know I can ride harder, but it did not materialize. It could have been the hotter weather and I do seem to ride better when it is colder. It could also have been the spicy foods I ate yesterday. Regardless, I am waiting to break the top 10 in an OVCX race.

Next week is a combined Cap City, OVCX race in Granville. It will be a nice break from driving 400+ miles. I also hope some of my teammates can make it out to race.

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