What a Few Picture Say

Trish Albert took a neat sequence of pictures at nationals right around the corner of a 180 degree turn. At the top, near the course tape, is the best line and the course falls off camber toward the viewer. This is the same general area where Ryan Trebon got smacked from another rider going the other way to the 180 corner.

Picture 1: I decided to run the 180 turn instead of trying to slow down to take the best line on the ridge. For me it was too risky in this race, unlike the B race where I rode it each lap. The turn here was just too icy for me to do it with confidence.

Picture 2: I have just remounted and you can see that I do not have my feet in the pedals yet. The course is very icy here and the snow is really coming down. You can see that I am on my original bike now but my rear wheel has been replaced with a Bontrager Race Lite and clincher tire while the front is my own Mavic Cosmic carbon wheel. This was the result of my tubular failure earlier in the race.

Picture 3: This picture shows that I am now clipped in and rolling. But more interesting is the knotted course tape in the background. The course doubled back on itself here and so many riders were going through the tape that it constantly had to be re-tied or replaced. Many riders would simply ride over the white plastic course stakes but only to find that they have an aluminum spike in the bottom causing many flats you could hear distinctively.