I spied both new and familiar faces as I toed the line with the women’s sport field.
There was Kristen “Koz” Kosloske (who would race to fifth in her age group), and fresh sport racer, Jordan Horner (third in age group) standing together, quietly starring ahead watching as the mens waves cleared one-by-one in age groups.
Beckie Alexander (third in age group) and Janna Krawczyk (first overall) soon rolled up, rounding out the women’s field to eighteen racers strong.
“Who am I going to heckle this year on the start line?” I wondered out loud to Desta Meyer (seventh in age group). “I’m not sure who’ll take it in jest.” My favorite fellow smack talker, Andrea Horner, moved up to the Elite class this season (9th overall).
“I’ll smack talk with you.” replied Lisa Humphrey, who traveled to Afton from Hayward, WI ”Get a good look at my back tire, “ she continued, “ because that’s what you’re gonna be sucking during the race.” I immediately liked her. (Humphrey later rode on to place both second in her age group and over all).
Call ups for our field began and we listened for the start…
3-2-1- GO!
We pushed off as cheers growled from the crowd, making our way into the prologue winding toward the single track. I added gears to get more power, but my thumbs were on the wrong shifters; I was actually reducing gears, leaving me spinning my wheels while the pack surged toward the woods. Once I realized the mistake, I added gears with the correct shifter and powered off to catch the pack on the gravel road ahead.
But I wasn’t the only one spinning my wheels during the mad dash for the single track.
Later that afternoon, Brendan Moore led the Elite field though the prologue, but inadvertently missed a turn.
The gravel road of the prologue split into two roads: one-way lead to the single track and another to the parking lot. The pack continued on the correct road watching silently, amused (and hoping to grab a few minutes over the number one ranked MNSCS pro) as Moore chose the path less traveled.
But Moore, hearing the rolling of knobbies immediately to his side, looked over to find the pack traveling next to him on the adjacent road. He threw his hands in the air as if to say “COME ON GUYS!” while the pack pressed forward, giggling like a bunch of schoolgirls.
After realizing his mistake, Moore’s calves exploded with dragon fire. Soon after there was a sonic boom and he was back in front of the pack in less than two milli-seconds.
But not far behind were Jesse Rients and Jack Hinkens, chasing Moore through the course. Rients and Hinkens entertained spectators as they played cat and mouse, chasing Moore during the entire race: neither less than a minute behind Moore.
Moore rode on to snag the overall Pro men’s spot while Rients grabbed second. Hinkens took third overall and first in the Expert class.
Sara Kylander-Johnson raced to a first place finish in the women’s Pro field while Rebecca Sauber carried home the first place medal in the Expert women class.
Winners were treated to a new concept during the awards ceremony: wooden podiums donated by Jay Richards. However, the top three victors of each class hesitated standing on the podiums. Perhaps they were afraid that they would be dropped through a trap door or beamed up into space if they took their place on stage. After all, Afton is LCR territory - where riddles are abound and alive in the hills.
Janet Frank Atkinson, NASM-CPT is a sport class racer for Peace Coffee Racing. She is a certified personal trainer and owner of Bare Essentials Fitness LLC. She can be reached via her Web site at www.befitwithjanet.com
