These XC racers in Virginia got a bit more weather than they bargained for on the 1st of July, with flash floods in the space of a lap turning tiny stream crossings into raging torrents:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cum8DE-VPSk
(The impatient among you can see before and after shots of the same crossing at 0:55 and 4:48. Shots of the flooding start at 2:27).
Luckily no one was hurt, and lycra is almost certainly a better choice for swimming than your baggies, but the decision to continue the race was controversial enough that the Mid Atlantic Off Road Enthusiasts issued a statement on their Facebook page, including these corkers:
“MORE neither endorses or condones riding or racing on muddy trails.”
“We will work with [Potomac Velo Club] to ensure that any damage to our trails as a result of their decision is addressed and corrected as soon as possible without the need for extra volunteer work.”
That trail damage horse might have bolted at the commencement of flash flooding, and as this Reddit commenter points out, if the race had been called off the hazards would still have been in the way of riders trying to clear the course. US mountain biking seems like a very different world to the UK, what with our eight months of rain. They’ve never done Mountain Mayhem, have they?
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Used to live in VA, summer rain could be amazing, that looked more like a triathlon