VOL. 53 ISSUE 28 JULY 19, 2016 P95
KTM into this section, I was pit-
ted alongside Kawasaki's Bruno
Langlois, and aside from a quick
handshake and a "good luck,"
we never again spoke to each
other.
The race start was delayed a
half-hour due to the mountain
seeing a dumping of snow over-
night. I was warned by many a
competitor that the course would
be different to how it was in
practice, but nothing could pre-
pare me for what lay ahead. The
final two miles were completely
waterlogged. Cycle World's Don
Canet got the worst of it. As the
fastest electric bike, he was the
very first rider to set off, cop-
ping all the water and snow as it
melted down the mountain. I re-
ally felt for Don, because he was
the fastest rider there across
the entire course, despite what
qualifying said, and had he had
the conditions I raced in, I have
no doubt he'd have been the
race winner. But I figured by the
time I set off, the track would
have dried significantly enough
to post a fast time.
The classes were rattling off
nicely. Pikes Peak Challenge
Electric, Exhibition, Lightweight
and Middleweight, they all
seemed to be running relatively
smoothly.
Then, another red flag.
Connor Tonner, the young
Scottish lad one half of the
father-and-son team entered in
the Middleweight division, hit
trouble at Elk Park. In fact, he hit
more than trouble. Conner had
gone off the edge after hitting
the guardrail, he and his Aprilia
SXV550 tumbling down into the
rocky abyss below.
I didn't know who had
crashed. All I knew was the air
ambulance had been deployed.
That alone tells you it's serious.
There was another Middle-
weight class rider scheduled to
take the start before me, but for
one reason or other the organiz-
ers decided to run him last and
put the Heavyweights on show.
Meaning I was up.
GAME TIME
To be honest, I don't really
remember heading through the
throngs of people and well-
wishers to the start line. What I
do remember is feeling ready, as
ready as I'd ever be. I'd relaxed,
the heart rate had gone down
