Event: Spring Mountain

Name: Caitlyn Tuel

City: Lyndell

State/Province: Pa

Country: US

Age: 17

Place: 1st

Category: Expert

CLASS +/or Age group: Women overall

Team: Shirk's Bike shop

XC Race Bike: K2

Tires: Kenda Super lite Karisma's

Conditions: Dry

Email: tuelbrian@aol.com

How was your fitness level going into this race?

Good, I've been training a lot and doing a lot of races the whole summer.

Were you happy with your position going into the singletrack?

Yes, I got into the singletrack first and held my position for almost two laps. Then I moved into second, but by the third lap i had caught back up with Karen, who had about a thirty second lead on me.

Were you strong from start to finish?

Yes, I felt really good which was surprising to me considering the heat.

When did you put the hammer down?

I tried to "put the hammer down" on the downhills and singletrack. I knew the course pretty well because i did a pre-ride earlier in the week, so that definitely helped a lot.

Did you have any unusual problems?

I had some trouble with shifting but that's about it.

Were you happy with the way the race was run?

Yes, everything was really organized, and there was no problems with the results afterwards, so everything was great.

Did you have any interesting experiences during your race (exchanges with competitors/spectators)?

Not really.

Anything you would like to add?

I just wanna say thanks to everyone that has supported me this year; my coach Katie Compton, my family, the whole Shirk's team, Jon Pozner and the Trek East Coast team. Also thanks to Don Morrison for running this awesome series! And last but not least, to you Bill Deputy for having this excellent web-site where you really support and promote racers of all abilities and mountain bike racing.