I hope this fall is treating you well, at least the same way as it has been treating me. These nice warm days has been great and all the Iceman Cometh 2009 races can confirm that, since we lucked out and had a nice 60 F degree day of the race.

It has been quite a controversy with the ICEMAN name of it, since the I have never myself experienced the snow at this race yet. (I might have just jinxed it for next year, hopefully not...) although couple years ago it has been quite cold. But since I race at 2:30 at the pro race start I don't usually have to worry much about riding during the coldest part of the day. If you ask me that is always a plus for me. I love to sleep in whenever I can.

Here are some pictures from the pro women's start and read on for the full recap!

Start was about 2-3 minutes delayed due to a leadout crash the men's pro field which happened right after the start about 300 yard from the start line. There was about 40 women at the start, they say that it was the strongest pro women's field at the history of the Iceman. Iceman is by the way the world's largest mountain bike race with this years biggest attendance of 4,000 racers and to make it even more intriguing on you, guess what. If you want to sign up you have to do it almost year ahead because normally it sells out 2 hours after registration gets open on line every year.

So, the gong went on and everybody got clipped in. While before the start line I was able to move from the 4 row of women to the second row at the very start. I had a great reflex and went on to strongly hammer the bike right from the start. I didn't want to be stuck on the left shoulder where I started so I quickly moved to the front of the pack. I was feeling great. About a half mile lead out on the road there was a left hand turn. I slowed down a little because at that time I didn't know who was were, so I can make a safe turn. I could hear and in a few seconds also feel the closeness of the others. Right in the middle of the turn my back wheel got quickly clipped from a rider behind me, so I stood over the bike and pushed forward. I through me a little but I was able to stay on the bike. Two seconds later I heard this horrible sound, to tell you the truth until that day I didn't really know what the clashing of the carbon fiber sounded like. I looked back and I saw 2 women on my right hand side sliding in a ferocious speed on the ground and many others went down with them. Everybody was fine in the end, but I some weren't able to finish the race due to the damage on the bikes.

Ok, now I had a race to race. At this point I was still in the lead pack. There was another tricky part before the single track. The course changed a bit this year and about a mile or so was added to it, it wasn't a big deal but sometimes when riding behind a big group and not knowing what to expect is somewhat mind boggling.

The pack separated after we got the the single track and I stayed by myself. I was giving a deeper thought to what Michelle suggested the night before, which was: “ maybe we should ride together, me, you and Sara and work together”. I have told Michelle that I could do it, because I go all the way out from the start to finish. She understood. At this point I passed Sara and knew that Michelle started in the outer lane in the back so if she made it through the crash she must have been in the back.

After this section and single track I started to focus on the proper turnover and time race structure versus power consumption. This is one of those races that is flat and fast, although there is some tight single track (about 3 miles of it) and last 6 miles are somewhat hilly. So preservation of some power is very useful especially if you are riding with someone, because if they have more in the pipes on those last few uphills they will take it home and you won't !

In the middle somewhere around the 14^th mile maker I started to ride with one of the girls. I have now passed at least 5-6 women and once I caught up to this rider, we started to pass and go each other for some time, than we started to work together. I am pretty technical rider and change the gears often and I observe the others well. I believe that the races can be won with the edge and that edge can easily come in observation of others. Some people are mentally more prepared than others, some are more skilled and some are more emotional. Sometimes all it takes to figure out who you are riding with is to watch them from the back for a few minutes. Observe. See if they shift quickly and when, do they “sit” the hills or stand them, do they hit the brakes in corners, what line in the sand do they take, are they strong after the uphill climb or do they take a breather? All this little tale tales will give you hints which you can definitely use to your advantage, especially if the finish is near.

I have separated myself from this races about 4 miles before the finish. I knew I could hold her off and I did, although the very last hill about a mile before the finish my legs started to lock out. I held her off nicely and finished strong in 21^st place. I hoped for a better placement but there is still a next year!

I will try come as close as I can to the 1^st place. Pics shortly after I finished. (taken by Amy Dikema)

XOXOX

Gabi