On The Pegs November 2018 - Volume 3 - Issue 11 | Page 114

On The Pegs
tween the sections along the road was
freezing cold as you were pelted by
rain drops that felt like icicles. But even
with poor conditions we all put forth
our best effort and never gave up. The
men’s team started out strong we were
posting some very pleasing scores.
They take the best two rides from the
three attempts which allows for one rid-
er to have a bad ride at each section. It
seemed like the three of us were taking
turns on who would have the bad ride
at each section which was good, but
nerve racking as none of us were hav-
ing a spectacular day. The pressure that
is felt when you must compete at that
level and do it no-stop is hard to de-
scribe. We ride lots of sections without
stopping here when we practice, but
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it just doesn’t compare to being inside
the ribbon with three observers hawk
eyeing you for the slightest hesitation.
Nonetheless, we each managed to pull
off some very impressive rides. One that
was memorable for me was section 13
on the first loop. This was a very steep
hill and we had to navigate around
some trees as we climbed nearly 100
yards up the hill. I was the only one to
make it for team USA and it was a mira-
cle of God that I did. We came into the
final section with only a few minutes to
spare and ended up finishing the first
loop with one minute of time penalty.
We were sitting in second place only 15
points behind the Czech Republic. We
had a quick break and set out for the
second loop only this time we had 30
On The Pegs
minutes less, so we knew we were going
to have to keep it moving. The sections
had deteriorated and were significantly
harder with the added moisture from
the rain. But we kept pressing forward
trying to get through what sections we
could and save points anywhere and
everywhere. There were a few sections
during the second loop that none of us
made it through and that was discour-
aging. When we finally finished the last
section, we were tired, and everyone
had mud on their USA gear from tum-
bling down a hill. The FIM official at the
end of the section told us that we were
in second place and were probably go-
ing to finish that way. We were pumped
to hear that as we thought we had
blown any chance of being on the podi-
Vol. 3 Issue 11 - November 2018
P 117
um during the second loop. We finished
second to the Czech Republic with 93
points to their 55. They rode outstand-
ing and very much deserved the win.
Austria came in third with 111 points. It
was such an honor to be able to walk
away with a second place in my very
first year as a member of the TDN team. I
am grateful for all those who have sup-
ported me over the years and especially
everyone that supports the TDN team.
None of it would be possible without
everyone’s donations and efforts. And
yes, my trip home went much smoother
than the journey out. n