2022 Lake Tahoe XC Race

I started a few minutes behind the field because I forgot my camelback and a friend forgot their thru axle so we had to go back to our house to get it, but by the end of the first lap I had caught the lead group and felt pretty good.

The group splintered over the next lap but I kept steady and riders who pulled ahead came back and got dropped over the next few laps, until there were three solo riders within a few mins of each other.

By the fifth lap, I was with the lead rider fighting for the win, and managed to pull ahead on the final climb and hold the lead for the win!

- Yumeto

I really enjoyed the Tahoe XC course- I was curious to see what a proper four hour race would feel like on the MTB.

I was shooting to start a fifth lap before 12:00, putting each of the first four laps at slightly less than an hour apiece.I lost some time in the first lap as the course was pretty crowded, but then settled into a rhythm and tried to catch whomever I could see ahead of me. The course was pretty flat, but had a fair amount of loose singletrack that made me really focus on maintaining speed and fluidity.

I unfortunately finished my fourth lap at 12:01, and missed that fifth lap, but now I have a better idea of what to work on in these long the women’s race!

- Isabella