Cat 2 \ 3
Hunter went down to South Jersey with the Shelbatron to take part in the "Philly to Shore MS Charity Ride" on Saturday. 80 easy miles on the cross bike with road tires installed left him a little tired but ready for Sunday's MAC series race at Bryn Athyn College. About 94 lined up to race. Hunter was called up to second row thanks to the previous week's results at Charm City CX.
The racecourse was thoroughly soaked and being it the last race of the day, very rutted and muddy in a couple of spots. The straightaways were slow thanks to the soft ground, the corners were mostly slick, and a couple of slippery steep riding sections would have to be run if traffic got in the way.
Hunter went with a little firmer tire pressure on a knobby tire and seemed to be hooked up pretty well. He had an ok start and went into the tough sections sitting 6th wheel or so. A lap later, when the leaders got caught up in a muddy ride\run up, Hunter was able to cruise by and claim the lead spot for 3\4 of a lap. With the top 6 guys within 30 meters of each other on the course, no one was holding onto the lead for very long and it changed hands a few time up till the end.
Everyone, including Hunter, had some type of bobble or slip-up on course. Hunter was able though to ride the toughest, longest, muddy to a 180 uphill section every time. With 2 to go, and with everyone starting to feel gassed, Matthew Harris from Philadelphia Ciclismo was able to get off the front for good and start to ride his own race. Hunter was in the chase group with 2nd, 3rd and 4th on course when he got caught behind a bobble on the muddy run-up. 2nd and 3rd places were able to get cleanly away while Hunter had to settle in for an eventual 4th place finish, 8 seconds down.
Hunter will miss the next series stop in Delaware but should be back down at the end of October for Beacon CX and HPCX.
No comments:
Post a Comment