SoNoMas 2017: 3rd Place

[Carson Benjamin]

I learned that SoNoMas isn't a race for position, it's a race of survival. It was one of the few mountain bike races in Northern California I hadn't done, so I had no idea what to expect besides a long day in the saddle. 

I had completed a hard block of training the week before the race and barely ridden in the days leading up to it in hopes of a good result. The list of registered riders, which included the likes of Ted King, Peter Stetina, Barry Wicks, and my teammate Jim predicted that the pace would be intense. My goal was to finish in the top-5, if not on the podium.

Like the Grasshopper two weeks prior, the race started up a paved road to the lake's dam. My group of Pro and Expert racers got some separation from the rest of the field by the time we crossed the bridge over the lake. The first singletrack  section began with a sharp right turn onto a climb off the paved road. I was fourth wheel, after Stetina, Jim, and Wicks. Jim and Wicks sped away on the first descent, while Stetina, a World Tour road racer with Trek-Segafredo, seemed way over his head. He pulled over a few corners later to let myself a few other riders past and joked, "We're going to be doing this all day."

I closed the gap to Jim and Wicks, and got a lead on the rest of the field. Ted King was on my wheel, and Stetina caught up on the next climb. This was the group for a few miles until Jim lost contact and Stetina attacked to gain a gap on a climb. King, Wicks, and I stayed together to chase him until around mile 10, when the course reached the lake itself. 

My group yo-yoed as Stetina gained a gap on climbs, Wicks descended like a maniac, and I was forced to run steeper climbs after bending my derailleur hanger earlier and losing use of my easiest gear. I was running so much that my calves and hip flexors began to cramp about 2 hours into the race, and grinding a big gear up climbs didn't help, either. 

This group was together until the aid station on the backside of the creek when Ted attacked, Stetina followed, and I did my best to chase. Wicks was able to ride every climb I ran, but I slowly got away from him through sheer willpower. With 6 miles to go, he was out of sight. I spent the rest of the race alone and did my best to power through progressively worsening leg cramps. 

I knew that I had my 3rd place position locked up at the road descent to the finish, and I came across the line in 3:14:15. I'm very satisfied with how I performed, and it's now time to look ahead to Sea Otter in three weeks.