MORAN 166 - 66mi (Gravel Race) 2023

👉 Hey! SUBSCRIBE for free WATTS 👉    / @mi-xc   My first overall gravel podium (3rd) in my first year of gravel racing! Tough week leading into the race coming off 2 big loading weeks, possibly a bit too much. My legs were sore all week particularly my hamstrings. Also dealing with some pain in my left knee, combined with I T band issues that have been a problem for me for a couple of months. In any case, really worked the legs all week to get them ready for race day. Not sure I got the Taper right either as it was supposed to be a recovery week and the really hard workout on Wednesday took days to recover from. The morning rain on race day was a bit of a bummer, but roads ended up being ok. The race started pretty chill which I enjoyed since my legs didn't feel great during my shortened warmup. My goal was to stay towards the front this race. Around mile 20 my teammate and 1 other rider got off the front (0:55:20). Everybody looked at each other and they got a gap. I had no intention of getting in a small break and I certainly wasn't going to chase down my teammate. So I waited for the group to get organized but it never did and those 2 got away never to be seen again. There were surges in the group and numerous times a few riders tried to get away, but they were always brought back. For the majority of the race 5-10 racers stayed in the back of the group and would never pull, then try to get in a break. Luckily I was able to win the sprint from a reduced group to take my fist ever overall gravel podium. Very happy with the result and it was very unexpected. The Moran 166 gravel race took place at the Brevort Township Fairgrounds located in Moran, MI, on September 30th, 2023. I raced the 66 mile version as part of the Michigan Gravel Race Series (MGRS) "Long Course". 👉 Hey! SUBSCRIBE for free WATTS 👉    / @mi-xc