Deer Valley ended up much better than expected. First, there was the weather. Much like last year the weather was questionable. But based on last year, we were pretty sure the course would still be good. Driving up to Park City the skies were overcast. As we were prepping there was a slight drizzle. Just before the start though the rain intensified just a bit. I started to get nervous--was I dressed warm enough? How bad was it going to get? Then it stopped. The clouds broke up and the sun came out. In fact, I was over dressed in my knee and arm warmers. I ended up pulling the arm warmers down on my second lap.
The course was amazing. The first lap there were some slick puddles that had me nervous. But by the second lap the traffic had dissipated the standing water and a smooth trail was forming. The third lap was even better.
I was apprehensive about the Little Stick climb. I definitely felt it, but I was able to stay motivated and push each time. I made have taken it down just a notch on my third lap. The thought was to ensure I had something left for the single track climb. I did. I kept looking behind me to see if anyone was coming.

I really liked the way Ed started this race. Pro men led out, followed by 30-39 Expert Men, then the 19-29 year old boys and single speeders; we left with the Expert Men 40 plus next. This was great. I had guys in front of me as carrots or guys I was trying to stay in front of during the climbs. It was easy to let them pass when I needed to also. For me it was the perfect starting position at least on this course.

Chris had a pretty decent race too. He really suffered the first lap. He struggles with the starts. It is painful for him to start super hard and that was a necessity on this course. He seemed to feel better as he moved up through the pack.