Keyesville Classic
Over the weekend of 10/23/21, I raced in a 3-stage MTB race out in the small “town” of Keyesville. The race had an all-mountain category where results from all 3 stages were tallied to provide an overall winner. I raced in the expert/cat-2 category. The other requirement was that anyone doing the all-mountain stage race had to use the same bike for all 3 races. I was on my XC Canyon Lux.
Stage 1 - Short track: This was a 20 minute sprint type of race around a 1 mile circuit. 1st to cross the finish line wins. I gave it my all and made it to 2nd overall and 1st in my category. There was a jump in the middle of the track that some people gapped and I simply rolled over. If I dared to gap the jump, I could have saved a lot of energy making up ground on the climb
Stage 2 - Downhill: This was a short (~1 mile) time trial down a technical course. Not really my forte, I vowed to make it down safely and not push the pace. It took me around 4 minutes and I placed low (who really knows?). The fastest times were in the low 3 min to high 2 min range. I will have to work on my daring descents in the future
Stage 3 - Cross Country (XC): This was the race I felt best prepared for and most familiar with. The course was about 7 miles long and we did 2 laps in my category. On the road, that would only take 30-40 minutes but in a MTB race, this took around 1.5 hours. I started strong right at the front of the race and was in 1st and 2nd going up the fireroad/climbing section at the start of the race. Going downhill into the first single track is where things went wrong. My dropper seatpost failed to extend again and I was stuck for a while pedaling like a little child. I stopped and took the time to adjust my seat up as high as I could get it but it was still lower than I needed. Fiddling around with my Allen wrench cost me the most time and I never saw the front again. I don’t know how I finished overall but I was 2nd in my category.
After all 3 stages, I had done well enough to earn 2nd overall in my category for the all-mountain classification. I would go again, I would race again, but when they say “camping is the way to experience this event” they really mean, “bring your trailer/van/RV”. I was a tent amongst generators out there. Next time I will know better… or maybe get a hotel.
All-mountain Cat-2 Podium