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Saturday, June 23, 2012

2012 Utah State Championship Series - Round Valley

Lap 2 riding in 2nd place.

I took part in more XC racing on my single-speed this weekend at the USCS #2 race at Round Valley near Park City, Utah. The last time I rode these trails was during the 2010 Park City Point 2 Point so It was good to get back up that way. The course was really fun with plenty of singletrack and double-track suitable for passing or getting passed. It's clear I am still sorting out how to race a single-speed or rather how to choose the best gear setup for the race. I went into this one with a vague recollection of the trail so I took some time to look at the elevation profile. I saw a few steep climbs so I chose a 32x19 setup. This turned out to be a little under geared as I found myself spinning out much of the race but handling the climbs really well. I couldn't seem to get into the high RPMs needed to keep up the speed on the flats of which there were more than I was expecting.

Corey in 1st and me in 3rd starting lap1.

The race started out fast with 4 of us grouping together off the front. By the end of the first lap I was in second sitting about 30 seconds back from Corey Larrabee (KUHL) who was the eventual winner. He was riding strong and unlike me appeared to have the timing right on the flats and made it into a few pace lines with the geared riders. I wasn't so lucky and sat out in the wind spinning my guts out trying to tuck the wind.  I kept 1st place in sight most of the race never able to close the gap.  I'd like to think running an 18T in the back might have saved me a little time on the flats but you never know.  I ended up finishing where I rode most of the race in 2nd place.  I'm really happy with that result and hats off to everyone that rode their guts out.  XC racing is awesome!


Cool old car photo.

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