Mt Snow, Vermont

We headed with part of the DH Team and lots of other tri-state racers up to Mt. Snow Vermont for MTB Nationals. I didn't quite qualify for expert license so basically just going along for the trip and will do the sport race to check out the course and get a ride in. Big & Little Hen and Justin will be racing their age classes, expert.

Mt. Snow is a small, somewhat older resort but nice. We bunk with Gerry P. (Speedgoat), with the Sprengs next door in the 5* suite. Justin and I hike course to check it out, it's basically up the side of a long hill mostly on wide, smoother stuff and then bombs back down through tighter and rooty sections. There are a few small rock sections too, but overall the biggest risk is getting stuck on the descent with a pack that could hold you up, passing will be hard and you could lose a lot of time there. Climbing fast will be a big key in this race.

I race Friday, it's really hot and I am glad to see there are only 9 women in my race and two of us are the youngest in the group. The starting pace is ok, three of us in the front stick together for the first climb rotating positions frequently. I hit the downhill first, and near the bottom we catch up to the younger age group's racers in front of us. Hard to pass and getting mixed in with more people within a few seconds got a little confusing to keep track of everyone. When it opens, a few pass me and I keep them in sight as we enter the sprint area. Back to the climb, I thought only 2 passed me and I catch them (meanwhile the other youngest girl in our group got ahead in the pass and none of us realized it). Two of us pace together and push to the top, back down in a rush. She gets me at the bottom of the downhill and finishes >1 min on me in that short section. I thought I finished second and was ok with that, but to my surprise Justin was there to crush my excitement as he quickly blurted "no, you were third".

The next day the guys all race. It rains the night before, so they got some slick downhill riding. Little Hen goes early and we all watch. He stays close to the front of the pack the entire time, finishing in 2nd. Big Hen and Justin go in the afternoon, while Crystal mans the feed zone I head with the camera to the downhill. I got some awesome photo ops, but unfortunately either my camera cannot capture the fast action or I just can't figure out which button makes that happen. The shots were not coming out, so I end up having fun with the other specatators cheering lots of racers on. Along with our two racers, Gerry and several friends from WV/OH and eastern PA were out at the same time so it was fun to get to watch everyone racing.

While most folks relax for the night or head home, we head to WV for the next day of racing at Valley Falls WVMBA. We sleep at a truck stop near MoTown until the WV crew stops by at 3AM to lead us to more comfortable sleeping. Thanks Gunnar, Betsy and Chris:-)

Mt Snow Results:
Justin- 3rd
Big Hen- 6th
Little Hen-2nd
Ruth-3rd
Gerry P.-1st

Info on Mt. Snow National Championships & full results: http://www.usacycling.org/events/2008/mtbnationals/