The course was fabulous! I got to pre ride the day before and the off camber sections weren't too hard and the rocky boulders that served as a natural stair case were uneven and fun. There was a section up top that was flat and fast. I was nervous when I lined up on Wednesday for the non championship race because the field size was one of the largest I have ever raced against. I ended up pretty close to the front on the starting grid (2nd or 3rd row) and the start was a long paved section that kicked up before you took a left into the grass. I had a great start and hit the grass top 5. We pulled away from the rest of the field. Two girls went off the front and left me back with a junior phenom and another. One of the girls in front had a mechanical so she was out of the race.
The other girl remained ahead by herself for the whole race. Me and the junior lost our third girl and battled the rest of the race for second. I stayed ahead until the last runup where she came around me like I was standing still. She kept the gap to the finish line where she took 2nd and I took 3rd. I was excited to do that well in a race with that many strong girls from all over the country. I am excited for the Masters Championship race on Friday and feel like I will do well.
