Rain and cool weather was in the forecast for the day so everyone prepped for the bad conditions. Some folks welcomed the rain as others seemed to want to stay in the car and head back to the comforts of their warm and dry homes.
The Cross hairs guys were HPIC(head promoters in charge) and if you've never attended one of their events you need to make it a point to, as they know how to bring the party to a bike race making a cool rainy day feel warm and sunny.
The conditions seemed to really suit the team. First players in the game were the JRs. Owen had one of his best starts ever and it quickly became the Marcus (bike doctor) and O show. They were both glued together for the first few laps, but Owen decided to make his decisive move on one of the long straights,and established gap that would stick for the remainder of the race. He finally gave us the victory salute that the crowd demanded.
Ean came in 8th after enjoying the muddy grass and even won a sweet castelli hat as a hand up.
Next up on deck were the 3/4 masters. Will and Shane both seemed to enjoy the conditions withboth had stellar top 20 finishes Will at 12th and Shane at 19th for the day. Shane said that the course really suited him and it showed as he seemed to be powering through the field pretty well.
Last race of of the day put Jake Sitler against the rest of the elite field with a front row start and a good result in his vision. He started well and came past the NAG tent in 3rd spot. The race started settling in with Steevo (20/20) putting his mudder skills to work as he started pulling away from the field. Jake held 4th for a lap or two but made a few early race mistakes and feel back to 6th. By mid race Jake ended up getting into his groove as he passed the 5th guy and created a little space. He started pulling closer to the 4th place rider and was obviously riding the corners smoother and much faster than him. He finally bridged up to him and passed him to open up yet another gap eventually coming across the line in 4th place for his first well deserved podium appearance. Thanks to Chris from team sponsor Sublime Athletics for working with Jake on getting him up closer and closer to the front.
Thanks to everyone that stopped by the tent. We're looking forward to our next stop just a few miles from Ian Mackayes neighborhood. See you there!
~SM~
Photos courtesy of the Brennemans and http://brokenspokephotos.com/
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
