NUE 2010 Stop #1 Cohutta

First 100 miler of the year in the books. What a crazy race! The rollout up the 3 mile paved climb was just as fast as usual. I surged to take the wholeshot at the top, but Jeff Schalk shut me down and I took 2nd wheel going into the singletrack. Things were pretty calm as we snaked through the Tsali trail system. The dirt was a little moist from the rain overnight, but for the most part the trail was in good shape.

We continued to whittle down the front group as we head out onto the fire roads. Josh Tostado was pushing a torrid pace which left a 5 man group to duke it out. It was Schalk, Peariso, me, Tanguy, and Tostado. By the time we reached aid 3 at the top of Big Frog Mt, it was just me and Jeff left at the front. I encountered a little tire trouble on the descent, and Jeff rolled away. Thanks to a little help from Chris Peariso, I limped into aid 4 where I was able to completely fix my flat for good. I lost a couple spots and was sitting in 5th. As I continued on I was able to take back the couple spots I lost.

Then came the rain and thunder. I kept thinking they were going to call the race at aid 6 and just send us down the fire road to the finish. The lightning and rain was hitting us full throttle and I could barely see as the mud flung up onto my glasses. I finally got to aid 6, where I realized they weren't going to call the race and we were going to have to finish the full 100. Good thing my brake pads held out on my XX brakes! I pushed to the finish were I rolled in for 3rd place!

Overall I was pleased with my performance. The legs felt solid. It's 100 miles and 9 times out of 10, you're going to have something not go to plan, like a flat, a mechanical, or the dreaded bonk. Thanks goes to all the sponsors for the support. It's a good start to 2010 and there will be more good things to come! Take care and thanks for reading.