This was probably the most nervous I have been about a race. I was tied for first with Colin and the points for this race cannot be dropped. I had to have a good race or I would not win the Florida State Title. I had trouble eating before the race because my stomach was in knots. It took me almost an hour to get a Clif bar in me! Finally we were on the line and was ready to race. The whistle went off and I got a decent start but pushed my way into the lead going into the woods. Colin found my wheel and settled in behind me. The first lap was pretty uneventful as Colin and I made our way through the other classes. It was right before scoring when Colin made his move to get around me. The trail opened up and off he went. Through scoring I settled in on his wheel determined not to let him open up a gap. Colin is fast in the open areas but I am faster in the technical sections so I really needed to stay with him. When we got to the first technical section Colin had about 5-10 second gap that I closed quickly. When the trail opened up he attacked. He opened up another gap so I chased him down as hard as I could. I really needed to pass him before the next technical section so I could launch my own attack. I had about 15 seconds to make up and could occasionaly see him as I was coming off a corner. Then the trail got really twisty. I was not able to see him through this section because there were so many corners and the woods were too thick. I knew I was slowly gaining on him so I kept hammering to catch him. When I got to the next technical section he was already in it. So I thought. Turns out Colin made a wrong turn and was now behind me. I heard after the race that the tape or some arrows had been moved but I never noticed anything. I flew through the technical section hoping to catch Colin and was gearing up for a sprint finish. Since I never caught Colin in this section I really started to crank it out to the finish. I slid out on a corner and went down. I quickly got back on my bike and started sprinting. My heart rate skyrocketed and I knew it was probably over. I was realizing I would take 2nd overall again this year. My teammate Adam and Tyler caught me in the last mile or so and I followed them to the finish. I had nothing else in me to catch Colin. Adam and Tyler battled for position all the way to the finish with Tyler having the better sprint. As I approached the finish line I saw Colins Dad with his hands in the air and I thought he asked where Colin was. Then I heard a bunch of cheers from my teammates parents and my Dad. I was thinking "I just lost state, why are they cheering like that?". As I crossed the finish line I heard my Dad say "You just won state!". I said "I won?" and everyone started saying "yes, you won". It was the most confusing few minutes in my life. It quickly sank in and my heart rate started to spike again but it felt like the world was off my shoulders. I worked very hard for this race season and I am glad it paid off. I learned a lesson in this race. You never know what is going to happen in the race so go hard until the end and pay close attention to the course during the preride.
The CycleYouth/LeRoy's team of myself, Adam, Madison, Sam and Jordon also placed 1st in the team competition and I believe this is the first time an all junior team has done that! Great job everyone that raced for CycleYouth/LeRoy's this year!
I would also like to give a big thank you to CycleYouth for allowing LeRoy's Bikeworks to be one of the DEVO leagues, LeRoy's for making sure the team has the best equipment and our bikes are always in race ready condition, my Dad for coaching us along and killing us with his workouts, all the parents who make sure that everyone is always at practice and my Mom and Mrs. Tracy for always taking lots of pictures of us to remember all of this. And a big thank you to Goneriding for putting on these events! As we like to yell on the trail...'MERICA!
