Classic Platty to End the 2019 ESC Race Season

We headed back to the Catskills for the last race of the Eastern States Cup season. This would be my third time racing Plattekill and I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Also, I was in a tight points race with my buddy Tristan.

On Saturday, the weather was beautiful - a picture perfect fall day in the Northeast with the foliage just days past peak giving the forest a golden hue. The race course was completely different from previous races and I really liked it. The top half was fast with some rock drops, then was a long flat sprint across the hill to the bottom section that had a couple of steep shoots.

On Sunday, clouds had rolled in and there was a forecast for rain in the afternoon, I was scheduled to drop at 12:07PM. Practice laps in the mornings had revealed quite a different track from the day before. Between the moisture of the morning dew and the hundreds of tires put down in training, new ruts and lines had formed. The roots in the top section had gotten quite slick as well.

The rain started at noon, exactly. Seven minutes later it was torrential. I took off fast and gave it all on my race run. I rode clean, right on the edge of control, hammered through the flat section, and held on tight through the bottom. I was happy with my run though it wasn’t quite enough to beat Tristan, who bested me by a few seconds. I got 4th on the race and 3rd in the Overall. I got on the podium on every race this year (and last year, for that matter) giving me 15 for 15.

The competition was much harder this season, with lots of new kids and most being older than me. In fact, most my competition will be moving into the ESC 13-15 Class in 2020, while I have one more year in U12.

I hope everyone has a great off season and maybe I’ll see you on the slopes.