WORS #2 Crystal Lake Classic

Once again I took to the mountain bike and headed up to Rhinelander for the second WORS race of the season. I was going to stay in Appleton with my cousins and drive up in the morning but unfortunately my mom had not been feeling well for a few days and so I ended up going with my coach Joe Maloney. We were a little behind schedule and arrived at 10:50 for my 11;30 race. It was tight but Joe got mu bike ready while I registered and got dressed. I did a short warm up and tried to open up the legs, they didn't feel ready to go hard but as it turned out they were! I rolled up to the start line and took my gel, Don did the count down and we took off, I went pedal to the metal and immediately took the lead and opened up a 25 foot gap on the field and stayed ahead all the way through the first couple miles of flat two track and got away even more as we hit the first big climb. From there I plunged into the single track and took off, I went full gas for my two laps and pushed as hard as I could. I was feeling great the whole race and ate up the single track and the hills, the trails were fantastic and I was hungry. It was a perfect combination and I won my age group and finally did get the Cat 2 Sport overall win! It was a amazing race and the entire race had been super fun and I was thirsty for more. Next up is Cam-Rock, my home course!

WORS #1 and a New Coach

Finally the first mountain bike race of the year! I am so pumped for the mountain bike racing season to start. I rode up Saturday morning with my new coach Joe Maloney, I have been working with Joe for about a month now and it has been awesome! He has really helped me take my racing and training to the next level and I hope to work with him for many years. If you are looking for some one to help you become a more complete and faster cyclist you should seriously consider Joe! 

I rode a couple of preride laps and got the secret lines down. I hung around until the Schmidts got to the race and then I rode a lap with them. I left with the Schmidts and we went out for a fantastic dinner and then I stayed with them for the night which was fantastic because then I didn't have to drive up in the morning. Me and Andy Schmidts race started at 11:30 so we had plenty of time in the morning. Andy and I warmed up and headed over to the start line. Don did the count down and we took off, I was 3rd up the first hill and stuck on seconds wheel as we flew down the first couple of hills and into the bowl. Andy was in the lead but slid out in the 180 in the bowl. I briefly took the lead but Andy and the other guy caught back up and passed me. I passed second place in the fist section of single track and dropped him. Andy took off and I didn't see him again. My legs did not feel great and I could not get any speed going even in the single track but I made due. It was all single track for the second half of the lap and 3rd place caught up to me every lap on the first climb but I would drop him again in the single track. He finally held onto my wheel part way through the last lap and I knew I could beat him if I could be ahead of him going into the single track. I jumped ahead right before the single track and took off, I got a few seconds on the guy in 3rd and finished strong. It was a fantastic first mountain bike race of the season and look forward to many more! I was second in my age group and 3rd overall in the sport category out of over 200 riders! Huge thanks to Joe Maloney and the Schmidts for helping me to be able to race this weekend!