The first one hurts the most.

The Mtb bike season kicked off last Saturday with the Gary Fisher Cup in Bromont. About 100 single-track hungry riders showed up for the inaugural event, all anxious to see how their winter training would fare out against last year’s rivals. Four guys from the TAXI team line up for the race: J-F Blais, Jeff Rivest, Eric Lemaire and yours truly (George Visser). J-F Blais, showing excellent early season form, took off from the gun and hung in the lead group, which included a mix of pros and Masters. Unfortunately his impressive ride was short-lived as he flatted on the first treacherous downhill. He decided to pull out since he didn’t carry a spare and his mind was focused on the next day’s criterium in Brossard.

George and Eric started off in the middle of the pack, tasting blood in their throats while hoping that their old World Cup legs would resuscitate as the race wore on. On the first lap George was getting a little cocky and tried to pass three guys using a line that no one had spotted before. Unfortunately he forgot about a tree that gave very little margin of error. His reflexes still rusty, he ended up smacking the bark and cracking his helmet. It took him a while to regain his senses, but around halfway through the race he started feeling better and picked up to pace to pass a dozen guys and finish 8th with the pros. For his part, Eric Lemaire was chasing George and thought he would catch him until he had a biomechanical. His 80 hour weeks handling two jobs caught up to him instead, and he had to settle for a position in the mid-20s.

Jeff Rivest, our main TAXI team organizer in only his second season of racing, had an impressive ride within the Master’s Sport category. He rode in 3rd place for the better part of his race and was heading for a podium. If he would’ve had a rearview mirror, he would of seen a motivated racer also with podium ambitions trailing him not too far behind. As Jeff neared the finish, he slid over a root and lost his balance. His opponent took advantage of the situation to sneak by and in the process reminding him that rookies usually don’t finish on the podium in the first race of the season. So 4th place for our teammate, not bad Jeff!
First one done, bring on the rest of the season (and a new helmet!).

Happy trails, G.