A Note From Derek Brauch:
1989 Cat's Hill
When the juniors' category was much more robust
than today Cat's Hill was the first race I ever
won, a day I will never forget. I believe the
junior categories back then were split 14-15 and
16-17 with your racing age you age on the previous
Jan 1.
I did the 14-15 race. I still have a copy of
the results (see attached). It was the first
race my dad missed due to work (or course)
and this was way before cell phones etc so
I had to wait until he got back from his trip
to show him my gold medal.
It was the first time I did the race and the
plymouth reebok junior team, which was dominant
at the time, had a good five riders in it.
They sat at the front and every lap I attacked
just prior to the hill. Eventually just Todd
Hennings and I were off the front. I was a
far inferior sprinter to Todd but the short
sprint played to my advantage; coming down
the back straight I led, and let Todd start
to creep up the inside but as we neared the
corner I took the apex, forcing Todd to have
to brake, lose speed, and have to cross to
the outside to start his sprint after the corner.
Even after all that he nearly beat me.
I'm nearly positive Huber won the pro race
that year, I see there's a gap in your winner's
timeline for '89 pro winners.
Derek Brauch, July, 2012
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