Because I am 15th in the cup I was first row again but they had messed things up a lot. The P15-16 class was in front and this could have been a perfect start. I was in the pedals direct and had good speed...enough speed to drive directly into the back wheel of one of the kids who was braking for some reason. So this was a mess and I was last along the start straight once again.

But then came a change. The field part was the fastest and I was still with everyone the whole way. At the short sand section something strange happened and everyone jumped off their bike to run. Why? I just rode directly through and passed a couple of people. They passed again at the löphinder but I was  still in it despite this. Someone from MTB Täby had trouble and was off so I passed him and went into the forest part with the superb banked curves. These were slippery if you hit them wrong but I seemed to be hitting everything right except for a few little slips here and there. In the middle of that section where there was a small drop a guy from OK Tyr was off te bike so I passed him and took my first trip directly through all of the mud puddles. What a feeling! So much splashy splashy!

Next in front was someone from CK Master and I was almost på rulle but he took off on me in the longer straights so this is how Lap 1 ended. Strangely enough, in Lap 2 I was catching up again because I was faster through the banked curves and splashy part but again I lost in the part after. I was pushing on but I could feel company behind me and near the start of Lap 3 the guy from MTB Täby passed and OK Tyr was right behind. So then it was psychology time. Should I rest a bit? Nej nej.  I held him off until one of those forest corners over towards the end of the lap and then I just had to try and catch him. But that was tough.

It was actually Lap 4 and there was still no sign of any fast people so my focus now was to not get lapped. Luckily in this lap there was also someone else in front that seemed to be slowing down. Or? I went all in to catch him because he wasnt slowing down at all. By the forest part with the banked corners I was på rulle but because of a few risky corners I lost a bit of ground and was a bit behind when the track headed over to the pit area. But then the guy seemed to take a rest so I passed and took off. I could hear that he was right there all through those tricky grass turns in the forest. And when i slowed down in the grus corners near the start he was back. But then I took off at max through the start, along the field and back and that opened the gap. But what sealed the deal was when I rode through the sand and accelerated like mad away. The gap was comfortable but I pushed on and suddenly realized that for the first time this year I was not lapped. So this is what Lap 5 feels like. Cool! But I did not to mess up so I kept on at a controlled but fast pace and crossed the line in a beautiful sprint.

And this all happened in the rain. The fact that I dared to do this is a great sign. The SM course is very similar to this...

Edit: Apparently the one I caught up to was in P15-16 class so technically I was last. But those details are not important.