Jeremy and I bucked up and raced the big-bike XC class. You have to have a minimum bike weight of 35 lbs, 12 inches or more of suspension travel, and flat pedals. Big thanks to Chris Herndon for letting me borrow his Specialized SX trail for the event! I knew I had big shoes to fill when I realized that this was the only bike there that had ever been raced at a world championship! It wasn't all fun and games though- he left me with his 38t single ring and a road cassette! Although we will both feel like crap for the next 5-7 days and we've both sworn never to race cross country again for the rest of our lives or next icycle, which ever comes first, we had a great time. I got second place, and jeremy pulled across the finish not far behind me in 4th. (I almost took myself out during the lemans start when I slipped in the mud while running to my bike!)
After the XC, we headed over to the DH course, the top of which is really high-speed and exposed on one side, the bottom half of which is really pedally and flat. The downhill race had record attendence in the pro/ex class and the competition was stiff! It was Dave's first Icycle experience. I started out my practice by getting rag-dolled on the first fast section of the course. I rung my bell pretty good and knocked the wind out of myself. That shook me up pretty good and rather than feeling dominant in practice, I spent the rest of practice trying to regain my confidence. Both of us had way too much fun practicing and were pretty well spent by race time. I got 8th and I think Jeremy and Dave ended up in 11th and 14th respectively. We all had a great time and it set a great tone for the upcoming season!
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