June 14- Race DayThe third round of the Ontario Cup Downhill series was held at the Kelso Conservation Area in Milton. Kelso also hosted the series opener back in May. The track used on the weekend was unique as it was just over a minute long! I drove up from Collingwood with Andrew Gotuaco from the Exprezo/NEMA team. We we're stoked to arrive at Kelso ontime with Blue Skies! Shortly after we registered for the event Zach Tatem and Ben Ellis had arrived and we threw the pits together in record time! After a quick java it was the lift was running and it was time to practise. On such a short course practise is tough for Elites as you catch beginner riders in no time. We hiked a few sections and got 2 top to bottom runs in that felt great. After practise we grabbed some lunch and re-feuled. Races start at 1pm and Elites have until around 4pm for their runs so its important to keep moving and awake. To kill the time as usaul, we took the cowbells up on course to cheer on friends and teammates. Zach and I were really stoked with how Ben Ellis rode the slick rock section in his race and he definitly got an earfull for his efforts from us.
At 3:42 I dropped in for my race run- I knew I had to put some big time work in up top in the pedalling to have a chance against clipped in riders (Zach, Ben, and I all ride flat pedals). Besides a minor mistake in the first woods section where I smacked a rock with my pedal the run went well. Right after my run I ran up to the final sprint on course to scream at Zach for some motivation, and I tell ya he was on FIRE. Zach rode an amazing run coming in only 0.9seconds off the first place rider Rob Fraser for 3rd place. Also note - The top 3 Elite men were all riding TREK SESSION 88 bikes further proving the abilities and character of this machine. I ended up in 11th, glad to get some points for the overall, also learning how important small mistakes can be. It was a great weekend!
