Best XCM result yet.

Lined up in the first start wave at 6:50am, with about 65 other riders... sun wasn't up yet, and with plenty of nervous anticipation and high expectations for the new course, waited for the start. Off we went, with a bit of flat fire trail leading straight into a couple of small climbs. With plenty of dust flying around and a bit of fog about, I had very limited visibility through my dark-tinted glasses. Lesson learned - wear clear lenses next time! I basically held my position towards the back of this group for a while as we rode the first 14km of fire trail and bike paths to Stromlo, but found that I was passing a few people on the climbs. This first section did a great job of stringing out the field - by the time we hit the Stromlo singletrack we were nicely spread out. I maintained a steady pace up the Stromlo climb in a small group, just passing one or two along the way. Then came Skyline and Luge. I love this section, but descending is not my strength - I offered to let a couple of riders get in front of me then chased them down the mountain at a speed that was right on the limit of my technical ability - with no rear suspension I was bouncing around a bit and at one point managed to lock up the rear wheel and ride sideways through a bermed corner, but made it to the bottom in one piece and without getting passed. Whew. Then onto a short firetrail climb where I passed a couple more people, including the top 2 placed female riders. Up til now I'd been feeling ok but not great, so had a caffeinated gel and immediately started to feel better. Feeling very little fatigue and with only 25 km to go I decided it was time to turn up the pace. The second half of the race was a blast - plenty of singletrack, and fast firetrails - it was never boring! I kept setting my sights on groups ahead of me with a goal to catch and pass them. With 5km to go I realised I still had plenty left in the tank, and on relatively easy singletrack decided to keep it in the big ring and crank it up as much as I could. Gave it everything I had and improved my position by a few more places before hitting the finish line. My goal this year was for a top 10 place in my category in one of the major XCM races, so very happy to have achieved it in my first race of the year. I worked pretty hard over Summer (hills, sprints and singletrack technique), and it definitely seems to have paid off. Next race is Convict - cant wait!