I have nothing to base it on compared to previous years, but that was awesome. Some of the trails were incredible (compared to what we have in the UK), riding them blind at full speed was a proper buzz. Lucky for me our local trails are sandy, so the surface was not an issue, we just lack the elevation.
Happy to say TR delivered me a great set of legs, completing the XL in 5hrs 49mins and placing 40th in category and 222 from 514 overall.
I didn’t know what to expect for the XC but I surprised myself with a 1hr 44min and placing 24th in category and 189 from 743 overall, setting my fastest time up lookout from 3 efforts.
Really impressed with the event and TR, well worth the trip over.
@DudenAus went sub 6hrs for the XL. Good enough for Purple Corral but he did not get a coin.
My Head hasn’t been in race mode for weeks. Long story short, despite having good legs and feeling well fueled, I just mentally didn’t have a second lap in me. Nothing quite as negatively motivating as finishing a 2nd lap at 5pm when the expo is closed and all the course marshals have gone home.
Yeah, not really a fan of the new video format. Last year was light on race coverage and seemed like it was more about the athletes, backstories, and the events in general. This year, a totally different format where it almost felt like a replay/highlights of live coverage with commentary. That format would have been great to have live and I like some additional focus on the racing, but I think they went too far eliminating all the other stuff. And I would think the prior format would have broader appeal and help promote the events for amateurs. But I like that they are trying different formats, still in the learning curve I guess.
I’m looking forward to watching Keegan and Alexey a lot more than the official race video. I haven’t watched the video yet but I remember Keegan and Sofia were not giving interviews because of some stuff they said about Sofia I believe, did they appear in this year’s video?
Sofia did a post race interview, I can’t remember if it was Lifetime content or some other source. She was pretty complimentary of Lifetime making some of the changes that the women have been asking for (separate starts, no drafting rule this year, etc.), so it seems that the relationship with Lifetime might be better now.
The Alexey/Keegan thing doesn’t seem connected to lifetime in any way, so I assume that’s just a new collab between the 2 of them. No clickbait titles, no need for fancy production or epic drone shots, just a couple dudes talking bike racing. My kind of content.
I haven’t listened/watched the new Alexey/Keegan podcast thing, but I really like the Gravel Kings podcast. It’s with Ted and Laura King and Stu Streeter, and they talk bike riding and racing, and they take questions from listeners too. I’ve been a huge fan since the start, and highly recommend it.
Nice job for Alex Wild! And on winning the Fuego XL
Bummer for Hannah… I had to read her blog to see what happened. Odd that she wouldn’t have encountered that issue before the race…
Yeah it happens. The tolerance for tires isn’t the same as silicon wafers. (I’m a former wafer fab metrologist, so my rough measurements start with tolerance of +/- µ inches) tires tested might not have fully seated, or just been on the small side of manufacturing limits.
But yeah That’s something that should have been obvious at the start because it doesn’t sound like it was a heat expansion issue.Very much a lesson learned.
I really liked that Keegan actually seemed pretty pumped about the discussions in the cool, laid back way Keegan is. To the point where Alexey said he didn’t plan to do one after Levi’s, but Keegan wanted to.
Keegan seems naturally to be a person to not say a lot, which makes him not seem super into interviews. Not that he was a chatty Kathy here, but seeing how he was actually looking forward to them and wanting to do an additional discussion was pretty cool.
Regarding Hannah’s tire. Anyone know what she was running and what her Scott is rated for? With a new bike sponsor this year - tire rubbing like that is not a good look…
Well, could be the $ and general sponsorship support she receives vs other offers she had.
Rubbing that severe is a pretty elementary mistake.. you’d think, knowing it’s rated for 45’s, that she would probably over obsess about what she could properly fit.
