I just got back from The National Mountain Bike Championships at Mt. Snow Vermont. I had a great time for my first national event. The weather for the weekend was pretty hot, high 80's for race time. Not as humid as the southeast but just as hot. The Semi-Pro XC race was 4 laps of 5 miles each. It doesn't seem like much until you factor in over a thousand feet of climbing per lap! The race was Friday morning. 

 I warmed up then headed to the line with almost 70 other racers from around the country.  I was a few rows back when the announcer began calling the top 10 Semi-Pro racers in the country to the line. I got called out 7th on the line. They called my name, location and sponsor, Dedicated Athlete! When they blew the whistle we started to climb straight up for twenty five minutes then there was about a five minute technical downhill section to the finish.

I was feeling good and was about 15th but then on the start of the last lap my hamstring started to cramp up and I was forced to slow my pace. By the end of the last lap I lost some ground but fought to the finish in 29th place. I totally underestimated the heat up north and didn't have enough Rapidade in my bottles.

  Greg Derosa, Dedicated Athlete Mountain Bike Team