Book of Chad

I didn’t have the best prep coming into nationals weekend. The previous weekend while out on a training ride, A stick found its way into my front wheel. Breaking a valve, and a spoke, and sent me flying over the bars. Besides the broken wheel I also had a broken helmet and a mild concussion, which kept me off the bike for the week leading up to the pre-ride on Friday. On Friday I was to test my head by getting my heart rate up and seeing if I had any worsening symptoms. I completed the pre-ride and had no new or worsening symptoms and was clear to race. The only question now would be how would the body respond after a week of being off the bike.

I lined up on the second row for nationals and was on the side of the course that I preferred. When the start horn went I hit my pedal and was off to the race. I had a good start and was easily in the top ten through the first section. The course suited me well which helped keep me competitive. On the long straights, I found I was down on power and it allowed stronger riders to get past some of which I then would have to pass in the next section of corners. The back and forth went on for quite a while with one rider from Alberta, until I finally was able to make a gap on the first part of the final lap.

The final result was that I beat all my expectations coming into the race. Everyone that I had been competitive with throughout the year I had been able to finish ahead of and even a few surprises. I couldn’t have been happier with my result.

Race: Canadian National CX Championships
Time: 53:05
Laps: 11
Avg Heart Rate: 185
Max Heart Rate: 194
Place: 11th

I have never raced two days in a row and had no idea what to expect from my body. I was on the second row again today, this time I had the worst start of the year. I missed my pedal and once I got that sorted the guy in front of me had a poor start, I had to avoid running into the back of him and got stuck in the middle of the group. As we hit the first corner a rider in front of me hit the deck and I found myself shuffled back. I saw my buddy Andre was ahead of me and knew that couldn’t be good for me. Andre is good competition for me, every time we have raced against each other I have started in front and he slowly reels me back in. I felt I had to get ahead of him as soon as possible to have a chance to beat him. I surged up to his back wheel and waited to dive through the inside of the next slippery corner.

Throughout this race, I felt like I was pushing and riding well. There was always constant pressure from behind from Andre and an Alberta rider. There was also a juicy carrot ahead of Matt Hornland who was giving me some motivation in the turns. In the end, the only movement was from Halldor on a single speed, who after a bad start managed to claw through the field to finish one ahead of me.

Race: Bearcrossing UCI C2
Time: 42:59
Laps: 11
Avg Heart Rate: 184
Max Heart Rate: 196
Place: 8th