After the disappointing race #8 I took a couple weeks of rest. My legs still felt dull and I knew I was not going to have the snap after two week so f rest, but it’s better than having no power at all. I’m pretty convinced it was overtraining (or just too much riding) in the previous month.

The course fas super fast, with even less elevation than last time. It was a mass start as there wasn’t a very large number of riders (although my class was crowded with 9 riders. We went off very fast and after less than 5 minutes I thought I was going to puke. Luckily I didn’t, settled back in a more adeguate pace and proceded to close the first lap.

LEgs were feeling good, even too much and I started tinking if the would last the whole race.

Day started to get pretty hot around noon, as I was puttin in the 3rd lap. I got passed by JL and tried to keep up for a short while, but then decided that finishing was more important. I was still able to pass a few riders before finishing the 4th lap, with a 6th place out of 9.

Overall I felt much better than last time and finished strong with still some juice to go. The top 5 guys are also the top 5 in the category, so I really had no chance to catch up.

I finished in 1:39:01 in less than 12′ from the leader.

I think I’ll skip the season finale in favor of a Downieville preride. At this point I’m 8th in general standing and have no chance to hit the top 5, so I’l save the time.