Got to Las Vegas and rode up to the Cross Vegas course on my road bike early afternoon. When I got there, I quickly realized that the race was going to be super hard. 2 inches of bermuda grass that was thicker than thick carpet. Like riding in sticky mud, with virtually no bike handling involved. I was riding pretty well, so thought that it was fine.

The race was up at the soccer complex and started at 9:30pm under the lights. Super cool venue. About 9pm, the taxis started pulling up with industry spectators from interbike. It was a pretty unusual scene.

I got a OK call-up from the UCI points from last cross season. Somewhere in the 3rd row. I think there were about 100 starters, so I can’t complain. Anyway, I got a good start and rode most of the first lap in the tail end of the top 10. That is when everything started going downhill.

I felt/taste that blood, burning thing going on in my throat. I have a little history with exercise asthma, but this was different. The next lap, I was fading into the teens. And and was getting less air to my lungs. And it snowballed from there.

Halfway through the next lap I did a U-turn when I got to the paved section of the course and quit. My throat was burning like crazy. I was coughing like crazy. Plus, I was getting super dizzy.

I’ve only experienced anything close to that feeling. At the start of a World Cup MTB race in Hofalize, Belgium that went up a road climb covered with new powered cement.

Anyway, I went from thinking that I was going to have a stellar result to watching the last half of the race. But, it was super interesting/exciting/etc.

Ryan Trebon was throwing down attacks at the end that were almost unhuman. He is super fit right now and is unbeatable on a riding course like that.

I was hurt. Badly. I was coughing a bunch of badly colored lung stuff up. And sleep deprieved. The next night was the USA Criterium Finals at the Madalay Bay.