Da Cooley Thriller 2013 - Race report

Wow, what a day it has been! I've raced Da Cooley Thriller 2013 today and the first lesson I've learned today is that this race doesn't get any easier. I raced here last year, so I kinda knew what to expect, but still! Man, it was a hard day in the saddle!! 

Wet and misty morning in Carlingford

Even on the way from Dublin to Carlingford the weather was pretty grim, and this hasn't changed after I arrived: damp & misty morning it was, the clouds were sitting on the mountains. Didn't look too good, but at least it wasn't cold. After I picked up my race number and dropped off my drink/food supply at the registration I was pretty much all set. 

All good to go, bring on the mountains! :)

The start was at 10:00 am sharp and we had the usual spin around Carlingford Village before we turned towards the nasty looking mountains. That few minutes through the village was great, lots of people were cheering us on as we cycled by. Cool! 

After we left the village and the race has really kicked off I started to set my own pace on the first long fire road climb. Felt great, enjoyed myself. Luckily I managed to get through the first tecty section without any problems, I "hated" that bit from last year: tons of exposed rocks & even more super-mega slippery roots. Got it done anyway, happy days! 

Climb after climb, little downhill here and there, rain on and off. The conditions were alright but when we got up to the top of the first big mounatin things have changed. We had about 40 meters vision in the thick fog and the trails were pretty challenging also.

Descending from the Mast (photo by Pixels Pro)

Wasn't easy up there but managed to enjoy it as much as it can be enjoyed. Had a great time on the bike up until about the 30 km point...than I hit the wall, just like I hit last year. Was drinking and eating well during the race, didn't start too strong either, so everything was ok...but somehow I was suffering big time. Just couldn't find myself, no power left at all...

To top that I managed to get lost on the perfectly marked course, so I had to turn back and try to catch the guys I've already passed before...it was absolutely bad. I had some dark moments the least to say! 

At the second feeding station I picked up my own stuff and carried on toward the final big push up the last big climb. But before I did I surprised myself with a 1/2 cup of Coke. Oh Mother of Sweet Jaysus, it was sooo good, I can't even begin to describe! :)

Luckily after this I started to pull myself together slowly and I even got to the point where I actually enjoyed the last big grassy climb with all those little technical rocky sections. By this time all the rain has disappeared  and we got pretty much roasted! On that climb (I know it doesn't sound right) I wished to have rain instead of that stone splitting sun. 

On the final downhill I felt like I was under some pressure from the rider behind me, so I had to let it fly pretty well all the way to the Finish. Man, it was some rough trail there! 

Superfast downhill bit just before the Finish Line (photo by Pixels Pro)

After this mad run I crossed the Finish Line and bagged my second Cooley Thriller Experience. I finished the race with 4 hours and 5 minutes racing time and finished 3rd in my category (Experts). Am I happy with how things went today? Sure thing!! The goal was to try to do my best to get a Podium place and also pull the race time under or close to the 4 hours mark. Goals are accomplished, so I'm happy! :) 

After the race: tired but happy

The bike was amazing today, no techical issues whatsoever, although the single ring setup was maybe a bit too extreme on a course like this.

My race in numbers:

     50.1 kilometers

     4 hours and 5 minutes

     1655 m elevation gain

     1854 calories burned

     2 litres of drink

     4 gels

     1 bananas

     0 mechanical problem 

     tons of fun / suffering
      
     3rd place in Expert catergory

Prize giving after the race

 
This year's race was very hard again simply because of the massive amount of climbing and the challenging conditions. The course was marked very well and the organizers put a fantastic race together once again! Well done and thanks for everything today! Oh, and the chicken curry after the race was absolutely amazing, loved it! :)