GARBANZO DH

Yesterday I raced the gruelling Garbanzo DH race, this is know as one of the longest and toughest DH races in the world.  I decided to tackle it a bit differently this year and only did 4 practice runs, in previous years I've spent at least a week on it practicing.  I decided to just keep it simple up top in the wet rocky and rooty sections and then as I got lower I would ramp it up and pedal hard.
I was nice and relaxed before the race, it wasn't freezing cold at the top of the mountain like usual so that was a bonus.  Due to the record winter there was still snow on the top section surrounding the track so the already technical track covered with roots and rock faces was soaking wet.  I managed to keep it up right in the upper technical sections, I wouldn't call it a clean run but I stayed on the bike.  Once I got around half way down I began to ramp it up a bit and push a little harder, my hands and lower back were starting to hurt but I kept pedalling where I could.  I went into the final drop to the finish line a bit too quick and landed past the landing which was a bit harsh.  I crossed the line in 14:41, 30 seconds quicker than my time last year.  I ended up in 16th place which I was really happy with.  After the race when I went to wheel my bike to the shop I noticed the rear end had a bit of play in it, I looked down and some bearings in the linkage had collapsed from the constant punishment the brutal track does to your bike.  Luckily the local Commencal lads helped me out and we put in a new linkage last night.  Really stoked that they helped me out so I can race again today.
The Air DH is on today, down the infamous A-Line trail, I love riding this trail so it will be fun to race.  The live webcast will be from 3:30-5:30 CANADIAN TIME which will be 8:30am-10:30am AUSTRALIAN TIME, my race run should be around 9:20am AUS time.