Sundayriders

Tuesday, June 05, 2012

Extrem 2012

This year I picked up a cold a week before we left for Ibiza to ride the Extrem - A 65km mountain bike race around the hills of Sant Josep. So I took a week off and did a couple of steady rides before we left. I noticed a few new guys in my category this year, the youngsters are creeping in :) Particularly Antonio and Agustin who last year were tubby 49 years olds, were now two sleek fit looking 50 years olds :) Once around the football field and we were off through the town up the steep road hill to the first rocky descent. Antonio and Agustin have gone off pretty fast in a small group, I can't close on the hills but catch them fairly easily on the technical descents. It goes like this for 25 km until it's just me and Antonio. He is still pulling hard on the climbs and I'm struggling to stay with him.

At this stage I'm desperately trying to think of a 'Smithism' (Gary Smith has a fabulous list of isms for every situation) Today will have to be 'keep your powder dry' I decide to let him go at the top of every climb and catch him on the descents, I show willing and go through on a couple of the flattish sections too but I'm pretty stuffed and mainly just hang on. On the descent approaching the second to last climb I notice Antonio standing and shaking his legs. On the climb I wait for him to increase speed at the top and he doesn't. On the descent I notice him shaking his legs again. We now have a km of rolling track to the final Check Point and then the last climb,Sa Atalaia - an open 2km of hairpin gravelled firetrack.

I have to attack on the last climb because the following descent is very narrow and technical and that's where I can hope to get a gap. I drink my remaining drink on the rolling track to the CP, I won't need to replenish my bottle for only 2km. I skid to a halt and quickly sign the control, Antonio has signed and is filling a bottle! I quickly push on and start the climb, by the time he catches me I'm a couple of hundred metres into the climb, and he's breathing fairly hard. He starts to pass me and I stand up and turn a biggish gear to match him. At a km to go I'm still with him and I know it flattens a bit soon and decide to go for it! He matches me and I push again and gap him. I get my head down and get to the descent with a 100m lead. It starts with a steep chest on the saddle drop in coated in loose ball bearing size rocks, scary!! :O I had to get off a one point to climb over a fallen tree. The rest of it was rocky steps and roots with a huge drop to the left.

Once out onto the road I got my head down throught the town. I glanced back as I neared the sports ground where we finished and Antonio was bearing down on me. In the sports ground we had to go part way around the running track to the finish line. I almost lost it on the last bend and crossed the line two seconds up on Antonio.