I like his thinking...

The Race:

Well, it went like this. Of course all kinds of heavyweights are there, so you know I got no call up and was really far in the back. Field was 70 or so strong. First lap is furious, as I try to attack my way through the pack. The course is good, very technical, and then a long very nasty mud bog. Many in the early races would run these sections. I rode really well in the technical stuff, in the mud bog however I struggled mightily. The start is furious, faster than any start I have had this year, perhaps I invest too much in it. End of the first lap I'm in 16th place. I'm pretty happy with that, but I'm suffering. Through the technical section I feel like I'm making good ground, folks are crashing all around me. Out on the mud bog, I screw the line again. End of lap 2, I get myself gapped in the mud, and the group I'm riding with gets away, no worries another chasing group joins in. In the open sections they are racing very tactically rotating through. The catch me quickly. Lap three is tough, and mid race has been a challenge for me thus far. I latch on to the group I'm in. There's 8 of us, If I can hang I can move up. Lap 4, a couple of attacks from the group 3 get away, I can't cover. Through the technical stuff, many of these guys are fumbling. One dude belly flops on the barriers. This is good in my mind, the lap ends with the most technical stuff, and I should be able to attack the group here. Final Lap, I tell myself just get through the bog and then set 'em up. At the top of the bog, attacks start, I'm sitting in the back sucking wheel. I blow the line, take the worst one of the race, and instantly get gapped. I burry myself trying to get back on in the next open section, but it's too late. I missed it. I blew it. I listen to the Richard Fries. Dale Knapp has just won. Great, I just let 8 guys roll away from me. Fuck.