Poland results
Yesterday was the race in Poland and although it didn't go perfect for me, it was great to be there with so many fans and the promotion of my Mastering Mountainbike Skills book that has just came out in Polish.
It started with qualifying at 1pm where I finished 2nd by only .07 seconds and my run was far from perfect. In fact I almost had a crash off the last jump that could have been a bad one, but I managed to pull it off. Joost from the Netherlands took the top spot and Kamil from the Chec. was 3rd about half a second behind. Unfortunately having the inside was where you wanted to be for this short first straight with only maybe 2 or 3 pedal strokes being taken, so not having that lane choice was tough.
I breezed through all my rounds right into the final. Joost took lane 1, myself in 2 and Kamil in 3. I knew I had to get a good start if there was any chance of taking Joost on this short start and I went too early, hitting the gate. That pretty much ended all chances, especially on a course as fast as this one that didn't offer really any place to make a clean pass.
The gate was one like I have never seen before with only 3 lights and the location of them was only about 1 foot in front of the gate right between lanes 2 and 3. It was definitely a slower gate, but I guess it really doesn't matter much coming into Vigo with the random start coming into effect.
I hear Dale has went out and purchased a random gate, so he may be one of the few that has actually tried one of these out before Vigo. Dale must be rolling in the cash to go spend 4 grand on a gate that you really just have to use your reaction time on. No more sling shots Dale? ha, ha... yours were minor to say the least.
The crowd was great and it seemed though the fans were stoked I was there. It's great to race in a place like this where they are appreciative of you coming opposed to a race like the sea otter where the fans are accustom to seeing you. I signed more autographs here than I will in all the US races combined probably.
I'm spending a few days here before leaving wed. morning for Vigo. Looking forward to the new track I have been hearing about. I like the sounds of big jumps and a bit more mountain bike than the bmx style. Should be fun...
Posted by Brian on May 6, 2007 07:22 AM