GMBC You Yangs FlatTrack Handicap

Today saw 3 of the 4 members of Felt Racing get out amongst it at the Geelong MTB Club FlatTrack Handicap event. Jason, Jack and Ash fronted up the the line, with only Ash silly enough to start off scratch, Jack off 2 minutes and Jason off even earlier than that. Competition is always fierce at an event like this as everyone has a theoretical chance at the overall win, so passing and pleasantries seemed to go out the window for some (read: one)particular riders. Nevertheless, the racing got underway on the great 12km circuit, devoid of any hills, and inclusive of obstacles befitting the North Shore of Vancouver. A great boardwalk was in place, as well as a log ride, and some about 10km of pristine singletrack. With a mere total of 2km that was not true singletrack, it was always going to be a fun course!




Jason was off first, and truly took the race to the field. After shaking the rest of his group, he proceeded to basically solo time trial the course, riding alone for most of the 1.5hour race, ever mindful of the bunches hunting him from behind. This hardwork paid off for Jason as he came in at the conclusion of racing to claim second spot overall, a great effort and just rewards.



Jack also put in a good effort today, being off two minutes proved to be a handy assistance, but by no means made his job any easier. Aboard his RXC Team, Jack rode away with his group, and together they all rode a great tembo, taking a lap and a bit for the scratch riders to make contact. With the bunches combined, traffic and passing proved to be nothing short of nightmarish, and in the wash up, Jack and 3 riders ended up getting clear of the bunch train, leaving Ash going slightly crazy watching the masses ahead. Lifting the tempo all the way through to the finish, Jack rolled in behind Spink and Dan McConnell, a top effort given both those riders have recently returned from racing World Cups in Europe.

And finally, Ash started off scratch for the day, having already ridden out to the race course from melbourne (full story). Lining up with 4 other elite riders, the race was started and it was furious from the start. On the RXC Pro, Ash rode within the scratch bunch until they caught the traffic, where the difficulties of a predominatly singletrack handicap course became apparent. With the 2 riders in front of Ash making it into the traffic, Ash was left at the tail end of the bunch waiting (and waiting...)for a gap to appear, and by that time, the leaders had shot off up the road. The rest of the race was a formality, and they hammered around the course until the sprint at the end, where he was just pipped in a fun sprint by Joel Read (SpecializedConceptStore).





In all, Team Felt had a great day, a great showing with almost a full team present, and some really good results. The bikes worked without fault, the RXC Team's were the perfect weapon for getting up and ripping up out of all the corners, the fast open fire roads were a snack aboard the lightweight weapons, and the trail smoothed out beneath the compliant carbon rear triangles. The next race we look foward to is the Officer 6 hour, so until then, we have a few more Dirt Crits, and we shall see you all out there. Thanks for dropping by, and I'll leave you with a picture of our new (nude) baby- she'll be getting artwork real soon, but its still exciting!!