Race Report by Rachel Harris – GoPro Games

The day of the GoPro Mountain Games I was so excited to watch all the other events. I did not even want to think about racing, but I ate my normal prerace breakfast, which consist of a toasted peanut butter bagel. The day was off to a great start. I cranked up the music, and drove to Boulder. Ready to do some TEAM BONDING! Thanks to Bobby we had a team van as transportation up to the race. I sat in between the Garret and Nevin. Their bromance surrounded me, and they talked about there love for nice bikes and cyclocross the whole time.

We arrive in Vail ready to race. We walk to registration as a team, and sign up for an amazing mountain bike race. We move the van up the street to a house, and park in the driveway. The others who were racing in an earlier race were already climbing the steep hill also known as the racecourse. Relaxing on the perfectly green lawn looking up the clouds helped my race. I was able to lie down, and keep off my feet the whole morning. It was so much fun hanging out with the team finding shapes up in the sky.

After 3 hours of lying down in the shade it was time to start warming up. We rode the streets and golf cart paths around Vail. Warm up felt great. My legs were fresh, and nothing bothered me. After my legs were warmed up it was time to race. I ride down to the start. Ayden and I decided to sign up for the junior race, which was fun because it was only one lap, but not challenging.

On the line I look around me. I am completely surrounded my 11 year olds, and 13 year olds. This was my time to shine. The guy says go, and it was off to the races. The hill was grueling, but not terrible. It was expected for a mountain bike race at a ski resort. The downhill was amazing! The tight switchbacks were challenging, but taking them at high speeds made them so much fun. The bumps began to make my back hurt, but I’m hoping that that will go away. Its been happening the last few bumpy downhill’s I’ve ridden.

I finish the race running on endorphins. I think I had a bit too much energy, but I was in a good mood, and had just finished first. It was so nice to have Max pass me with a half a mile left. He brought back so much energy, and I was so proud of him. It was nice to finish around the same time as the guys who did two laps. They all raced really well in my mind. Congrats you guys. I went to talk to Ann and Bray about my race who were sitting up the hill. They seemed to be enjoying the perfect weather.

There are a few things I want to work on. I really want to strengthen my ride mentally, and one thing I did great this last weekend was resting. I did not drive to the race, and I was not on my feet all day. Over all it was a great weekend of outdoor sports!! We are so lucky to have amazing trails in Colorado. This was the perfect venue, and I brought back memories of nationals 3 years ago. I love Colorado!