Massi Copa Catalana MTB Race #1, Banyoles
Here it is! The report from Copa Catalana #1 / Massi Cup in Banyoles. Juerg rented a Smart (a four-door, but still tiny) instead of trusting poor Mildred the Ford van (who I drove the other day, but just around the resort). We loaded up the tiny car, scarfed down breakfast at 7:30 and were on the go by 7:45. It took a little over an hour to get to Banyoles, but we had plenty of time to sign on and warm up, as our race started at 10. Registration cost 18 Euros and included another T-shirt -- this time a medium instead of XL.
I opted to warm up on the course instead of the trainer, since I hadn't pre-ridden. The loop, 8 km long, was super dry and mostly double track with loose, sandy corners (still need to work on these)! The climbing was pretty intense -- no super long climbs, but rather short and steep. The course did cut back on itself over and over as it was based on one hill. It was great for spectating though and it was quite fun, especially the one singletrack downhill section that started down two sets of stairs and then took riders down a bermed creekbed -- super fun!
The nature of the course meant pretty much full-throttle the whole time, as evidenced by my average HR of 196 with a max of 204 and the corresponding graph, which doesn't dip below 185.
There were 20 Elite Women at the start, including France's Cecile Rode, former Junior World Champion. There were a few other girls from France, two from Belgium and two from Canada (me and Martina). It was pretty amazing for a race that is equivalent to a BC Cup (a regional race). The size of the expo, high level of organization and large number of spectators were amazing too.
We started off with a shortened lap that began with a couple of kilometres of pavement to sort things out. The group was quick off the line, but eased up on the paved and stayed together. Once we got off-road, things spread out a little more, but never too much. It was great, I always saw two or three of my competitors and we were actually jockeying back and forth. At home, I usually don't see anyone and stay in the same position the whole time. It's only once in a while that I might pass someone or someone will pass me. But in Banyoles, I always had a target and I always knew that if I messed up, there was a girl right behind me that would take my spot.
After the first, shortened lap, we did two full laps, which were tough -- even tougher because I didn't know the course. I ended up placing 6th, which I'm happy with, because the level of competition was high and I felt I gave my best (I have the HR graph and lung butter to prove it)! The top six were all within 2.5 minutes of each other, I think. Once again, it was a short race, only 1:13.
Martina had an awesome start and was riding really strong for the first half, when all of a sudden I caught and passed her. I found out afterwards that her heart rate had dropped suddenly and she just couldn't push it back up. She decided it was pointless to continue on only one working cylinder. She's happy with the beginning of her race, however, and she was well ahead of all the other U23 girls, even when she abandoned. Click here for photos and a report (in Spanish).
Elite Women
1. Cecile Rode (Orbea) 1:13.39
2. Sandra Santanyes (Bicisprint) at 20s
3. Cristina Mascarreras (Tot Vici En Bici) 1:18
Canadians
6. Sandra Walter (AdventureBound.ca)
Men's race
After I cooled down and got cleaned up, I headed back onto the course (on foot this time) with my camera and found Martina and Juerg. I had to chase them across fields and through prickles as they maximized their race viewing time. I took some neat photos. It's always awesome to watch the men's races because they're just so powerful and smooth. The level of competition was also super high, and included World Cupper Jose Antonio Hermida. Canada's Max Plaxton was also pushing the pace near the front and ended up sixth overall and first in the U21 category. I talked to him after the race and he wasn't completely happy with his effort.
"It was my first mountain bike of the season," he said and shrugged, commenting that he just got his new bike and the setup wasn't quite right. He had back pain throughout the race. Plaxton has been racing on the road in southern Spain and has just relocated to a suburb of Barcelona to continue training and racing.
Elite Men
1. Marc Trayter (Haribo) 1:20:28
2. Cedric Ravanel (Orbea) at 3s
3. Juan Pedro Trujillo (Massi Abarth) 5s
4. Josep Antoni Hermida (Multivan-Merida) 33s
5. Ismael Ventura (Haribo) 44s
Canadians
6. Max Plaxton (Maxxis MSC) 1:05 (1st in U21 category)