I lined up on the second row for the Sport class race, and chatted with Jody until seconds before the start. This was nice because it takes my mind off of the stressful start. The race starts with a pack of racers about 6 wide and 6 deep. You have to hammer up a washed out gravel road that can handle about 4 wide, then into singletrack. Starting the initial climb I settled into 5th. This is right where I want be. I'm surprised I'm in this position, as last week in the Masters 35+ race I was hammering much harder and was only about 15th up the hill. Into the singletrack in fifth. Another surprise, the two people in front of me were slowing me down. At the first straightaway I put down the hammer and passed #4, but #3 knew what was coming and pushed hard to maintain his lead. At the second straightaway I hammered again and took the #3 position. The two guys I passed faded. The #2 guy was in and out of sight. At the long straightaway on lap 1.5 I glanced back and saw a ...