Catharine took home her second World Cup victory yesterday. Katerina finished 3rd, and Georgia in 7th. What a great day for LUNA!

My race: 38th place. Not the result I’d hoped for but not entirely bad considering it’s been a couple years since I’ve had to contend with mud and roots. The world cup course required constant focus to keep riding instead of running. I actually did quite a bit of both and am now paying for all the running/bike pushing with a sore back, arms, butt, and calves.

I was called up in the fourth row, and found my preferred start position next to the fence on the outside of the first corner. I took the first corner wide and found myself in a good position up the start climb–which was short. As we entered the singletrack descent, a couple riders slipped by me (which was only the beginning, I should have known). I heard Waldek yell at me that I was 23rd. Then I got passed by about 20 people over the next two laps. Which sucked. I pretty much forgot how to ride my bike.

Then I passed a few riders on the last two laps. The plan for next weekend: I need to calm down for the start and not panic when I made mistakes.

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