Hi all,
I am curious if anybody is racing Bonelli or Vail Lake in the next couple of weeks? I’ll be racing both in Cat3.
Cheers!
Yup, I’ll be racing Bonelli this weekend, Cat 1 30-39. Apparently, @Jonathan plans to be there too.
Sweet! I am in 50-54 Cat3. Have you raced Bonellie before? Any insights if so?
I’ve never raced there but it looks pretty straightforward with lots of punchy climbs. Ben Goyette has some videos on his YouTube and he posted some notes on Strava regarding a pre-ride this weekend. He says it’s a bit muddy and overgrown with some ruts. The weather is supposed to be great the next few days so the course should be dry.
I’ve raced the UCI Juniors race a handful of times, so I do have a bit of input here.
In my opinion, Bonelli is one of the “punchiest” races on the Pro XCT circuit. The racing for me was really characterized by short, intense bursts of power, followed by very brief downhill sections where you needed to be able to recover quickly. Sort of like a series of 3-6 minute, very intense efforts, followed by 1-2 minutes of recovery.
There is one natural technical section on the course and there is another “Pro-Line” section with some weird, janky man-made obstacles that are more annoying than anything else.
Good luck out there!
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I’ll be at both Bonelli and Vail.
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I’ll be racing both as well in Cat 1 30-39.
This will be my third time racing Bonelli and first time at Vail Lake.
Bonelli is always a shock to the system with its punchy course so early in the season.
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Sweet @Jonathan! We should get a TrainerRoad racing pic! Will @chad be bringing the beer backpack for post race gathering?
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Hehe, nah, I’ll be flying solo this time.
But yes, we should definitely get a picture 
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Two practice laps had me back to the truck for a shorter stem. It’s a tricky little course and super punchy. Lots of little exposed rocks too so don’t be stingy with sealant and think about some beefier rubber. I think the cat 2/3 course avoids a lot of the most technical stuff. Definitely a bit of mud that will likely be big ruts after all these pros and juniors are done practicing today and racing tomorrow.
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Awesome. Ty! Flying in tonight and will be there tomorrow to see the pros finish and ride afterwards.
Missed the podium by 1! 4th place.
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Congratulations.
4th for me as well. I can’t complain, it was a strong field.
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It’s less than two hours away so I pulled the trigger on Vail for tomorrow. XC Cat 1 30-39. I’m channeling @Nate_Pearson by crushing a box of Honey Nut Cheerios right now…we’ll see how it goes! I woke up 171 this morning which is light for me so not too worried if that swings up a bit.
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Course is looking good, super fast and flowy, with an awesome berm section at the end. Only two trickier sections.
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Thanks for the info. Any sand? I maybe will have time to preride tomorrow morning but not counting on it
Not really no. There is a section that has some sand after the first single track but there is a hard line down the center as long as you aren’t overcooked.
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TR group pic at ~1:15? (after cat 2/3/endurance awards)?
This race is unplanned for me so I need to blast out of there to get home to wife and kids. @Jonathan and I should be at the finish line around 9:30 so that would be an option. …whatever is better for the group, I may miss this one though. Good luck all