25/03/2026
My Gravel X race did not go as planned.
It was a fast and fun start with one lap around the Batangas Racing Circuit. It felt like a quick crit right before a gravel race. But as soon as we hit the first gravel section, around 5 KM in, I also hit a problem.
My shifter got stuck at the heaviest cog, and I couldn't shift to any lighter gear. At least though, the chainrings could still be changed. I tried to fix it myself, hoping I could still catch up to the lead group. But I stopped when I remembered that I saw of before the race and he said that he'd be manning a mechanical station at Checkpoint 2. The problem is, I didn't know how far CP 2 was. All I could do was to pedal-mash my way to CP2 and hopefully get my bike fixed and still enjoy the ride despite being already put out of contention.
To make the ride tougher, the route was very punchy with a lot of short, steep descents leading to short, steep climbs. Some of these climbs I was still able to power my way, while others, I was forced to get off and just walk. Riders that passed thought I had a more serious problem. I just told them I'm riding a fixie.
But finally after 30 arduous kilometers, just as my knees were starting to hurt from all of the pedal-mashing, I reached CP2. There, Eugene quickly diagnosed and fixed my shifting. The problem was a loose cable by my rear derailleuer. It was so fast that it felt like an F1 pitstop. Kudos!
Soon enough I was racing again. My goal switched to just chase down as many riders as possible. I was able to build good momentum, until a crash. I froze on a steep single-track descent and hit some roots. Luckily I escaped with only a few scratches. And I was soon back on the chase.
The last stretch was an uphill false-flat road section and I found myself in a group of three riders. We drafted with each other as if we were Van Aert, MvDP and Pogi. And in the last 200 meters, I jumped on them.
The finish was two consecutive 90 degree turns. And I got ahead of the two. But, I overshot the first turn, which led to me losing our tiny race.
Despite finishing far from the top, it was a fun ride with an amazing route.
