On The Pegs November 2018 - Volume 3 - Issue 11 | Page 130

On The Pegs
P 132
Sunday morning we arrived to the paddock early for any last minute bike work
and to make sure everything was perfect for the 2-laps of 15 section trial.. For those
of you who don’t know what the TDN is like, it can easily be described as a world
championship trial with a celebratory, almost festival like spirit! This is because the
championship season is over and almost all GP riders are present to enjoy getting
together with friends and have a much more relaxed competition for gloating
rights. As the actual practice area was closed on race day, we had to warm up on
tires and logs in the parking lot; not the best way to start the day. As soon as we
started the event, the rain started coming down which made for a horrendously
cold ride to the first section! The TDN is usually a mixture between relatively easy
sections at the start and a few really technical ones towards the end of the lap.
Every country has three riders where the top two rides in every section count for
the final score giving you a free mulligan. As we have a pretty solid team, we easily
cleaned the first few easier sections as we made our way around the loop. Luckily
during the first few sections the ground was still kind of dry and the ruts were not
too deep. Towards the end of the first lap when we encountered the harder sec-
tions, the weather really started taking its toll as the sections rapidly deteriorated.
The inherently slick terrain became polished when the rain started accumulating
causing our team score to rapidly isncrease. Remember how the czech threw quali-
fying away? Well about a quarter of the way through our second loop we painfully
discovered that this was a huge advantage. The sections
were already difficult in that the line was about three inches wide but with the
rain that margin slimmed and we unfortunately were stuck later in the day behind
many of the other teams that rutted out the sections and allowed for more rain to
saturate the mud. Luckily we were able to kick it into high gear and still clean many
of the sections but also made a few killer mistakes that added up points fast. As
the Czech were already accustomed to riding the terrain and also were able to get
out front, they had created a pretty sizable gap in points that we were not able to
overcome. Fortunately, other teams had a more difficult time with the terrain than
we did and the gap to third place was also pretty large allowing us a comfortable
second in the international class! The women ended up finishing in a respectable
7th place!
After finishing 2nd for the 2nd year in a row, I would be lying if I said i wasn’t dis-
appointed that we couldn’t bring home a win! It is hard to be upset though when
I think about how hard everyone worked to get it done and how much fun it was
representing my country. In retrospect, I wouldn’t have changed a thing… well
besides maybe a few less dabs ;). With that TDN behind me, I have now been a part
On The Pegs
Vol. 3 Issue 11 - November 2018
P 133
of five TDN teams with three podiums, not a bad running record! I love the TDN and
it is definitely my favorite event every year. Even if I were not able to make the team
again, I would go mind for the team just because I love being in that atmosphere.
Next year the TDN is in Ibiza, Spain, an island off the coast known for its beautiful
blue waters and vibrant city! You can bet I will work hard to be able to earn a posi-
tion on this team again! Special thanks to Michel from S3 for supplying the gear and
the Czech GasGas Importer for supplying bikes for Maddie and I!
Keep your feet on the pegs readers!