quebec city day two, series finale

Day two in Quebec City was to be the final race of the year on the Quebec Calendar. I had only done one other series race (Laval) so for me, this would be a day to show off the "Bleu et Blanc". To be honest, wasn't sure how the legs would hold up from the previous day, and was fully expecting Michel to take a run at it. He is leading the series, with a solid lock on it, so I was rooting for him to take it home in style, BUT, I also have a bit of a streak going (in the province of Quebec) and wasn't quite ready to hand someone the opportunity to end it!
Weather was good, really close to the previous day, maybe a degree or two cooler, overcast and dry, a bit more wind too. Oh wait no, there is a big difference between 2 and 4 degrees! The course was a bit modified from Saturday, but a lot of the same features repeating.
Off the start I had a good jump, took the holeshot and pinned it hard. I vividly remember thinking why am I going so hard, but kept pushing harder.. odd. We had a larger gap between starts so we didn't plow into the back of the elites, which was nice.
Halfway through lap one I was already distancing the field and had a 10 second lead. Also, by the end of the first lap I could not feel my fingers, literally! I went gloveless, maybe a bad choice. I knew I was shifting well and pulling the brake levers, but braking was weak, at first I thought cause I froze my fingers, later realizing it was cause I was jamming my ring and pinky under the brake lever stopping full force. Yeah, that cold, I was crushing my own hand and didn't feel it! I tried the only two methods I know, as I couldn't just pull off at the car and grab my gloves, breathe on my hands (warm air is nice) and go harder (to get the blood flowing). The latter worked somewhat, except going harder often means going faster, which in turn ups the "wind-chill" factor.. catch-22. By the third lap I had gained a significant 25-30 second lead, and was getting feeling back in my fingers. The lead held there for a couple of laps. I was feeling strong, and although I was watching behind, I kept the pressure on hard for the first 40 mins.I had thoughts about the upcoming national championship race, which is, 40 minutes vs. the normal full 60. After 40 min, I figured I'd just take it as it goes.
Fortunately, the legs held, and I was feeling stronger as the race went on. I kept the pressure on, and by the final lap kept the lead going. The last lap was fast and fun, almost felt like cruise control, and my fingers were happy to know it was almost over. I finished off a nice wire-to-wire win, by 45seconds. A good day, and a nice topper to the weekend!
National Championships in Toronto next weekend. Hoping for good sensations, a podium would be beauty, but maintaining last years 7thish is the primary goal.
Until next time...
(pictures again by sharron harrison)