I was hoping for a top 10 finish for the 70 km race, but no luck. Sure, the legs were a bit lazy after all the flying and virtually no training last week, but I couldn't figure out what was going on. I had real problems holding the corners - I thought maybe I had too little pressure in my front shocks. And I had a wheelsucker from about km 5 to km 20 who was grunting and groaning. Why couldn't I pull away? I finally figured it out at about km 23 - super low pressure in my rear tire (I checked both and pumped them up before the ride). Okay, maybe the valve was loose - so I give it half a bomb, then carry on. But it still didn't feel right. Stopped again just after water point #2 and gave it some more CO2. That's bomb 1 gone. I ended up using 2 bombs (I found the leak just before filling the 3rd time - and tried to get the Stan's Race Sealant to fill the cut near the rim, but I guess it didn't do it). With no pump and no more bombs, I was pretty worried I'd have to walk the last 10 km, but I somehow made it to the end, with the tire on 4 psi. It sure made cornering a bit of a trick, as well as the berms in the single track (despite that, I still got stuck behind a few slower riders - 4 pulled over and let me pass, but I was on one guy's tail for about 5 km before he took the hint...) and riding across the sloped farm field, where the tire kept sliding out from under me. Also had problems with my cadence sensor for the first 5 minutes (uphill, as usual). Time for a battery change. Ay-yi-yi... maybe 90 on a few early hills (it was in the 70's on the hills on the homestretch) - and the heart rate was pretty consistent at 150-160 bpm's. That part was fine. Finished 30th overall and 4th in the Master Men's category (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2K0sY1_SRXHc0diTlFFamVNckk/view). Top 10 was definitely do-able. I guess there's always next year....