Jingle Cross Rock 2015

There is absolutely no other race in the cross' calendar that gets me as excited Jingle Cross Rock! I have been going to Jingle Cross every year since 2010. Two years ago after being sick all week, I did my first cat 3 race only to end up with six stitches in my forehead and last year I won the Cat 3 overall by finishing 6th, 1st, and 2nd. This year I was hoping for more good results at my favorite race of the season. John Meehan, the promoter, does an amazing job with this race, the courses, the competition, and the atmosphere. I love every single part of it! I believe it is the only full three day race in the United States and the course is brutal and unique every day, incorporating huge run-ups, sand pits, gnarly off camber along with logs, barriers and a flyover. This year it was all that and more with three days of awesome challenging mud like never before! Hopefully the world cup bid for next year will be successful!

Friday
Since Iowa City is only three hours from Madison I went to school in the morning and headed out at noon. After looking at the weather all week we were expecting totally dry races with balmy weather. However, when we got there it was already a slop fest due to a previous snow fall and then rains! I did a lap on the course and that was more than enough for the bike. My dad power washed and revived my B bike while I warmed up on the trainer. I headed to the start at 6:00 PM, got my call up, and ate my energy gels. When the gun went off my good friend Andy Schmidt took the hole shot and pushed ahead opening a gap while I chased hard from fourth. I caught Andy and his two tails at the end of the second lap and pushed through to the front, pulling through the start straight. Unfortunately Andy pulled a muscle in his back forcing him to drop out and sadly need to pull the plug on his whole weekend of racing. Hopefully he will make a speedy recovery and get back to crushing it! Going into this third lap my legs finally opened up and I was able to lay down the law on the Mt. Krumpet run up. I opened up a twenty second gap on second and third place. I rode error free the rest of the lap until I got to the pit and went in for a clean bike. My dad was no where to be seen (the pit was out of water for the power washers which was announced 5 min before the start and my dad was distracted by the chaos) and in the heat of the moment I forgot that you must at least put a foot down in the pit (USAC and UCI rule) until the official was yelling at me to dismount. I did right before the end of the pit but he had blown his whistle and I was unsure if I was disqualified or not. I soft peddled through the next few corners trying to determine if I was disqualified or not, until I was close enough to the official again and he said I was good to go. With my 20 second gap gone and it being the final lap I attacked hard out of anger trying to shake second place again. I sprinted up Mt. Krumpet through the throngs of fans reestablishing my gap before plunging back down the ski hill. I finished out the rest of the lap cleanly and crossed the line winning by 8 seconds, relieved that I held on to the victory.

Everyone else missed the podium!

Saturday
After a good dinner, laundry and lots of recovery we hit the hay. In the morning my Mom and I grabbed a bite to eat at the hotel restaurant while my dad started prepping bikes at the race. When I got there I hopped on the course and did a lap, finding it to be even muddier and sloppier than the night before. The course was similar but instead of the big Mt. Krumpet run-up there was a super long ride/run up on the back side of the hill and gnarly off camber sections back down the front of the "mountain." This time my warm up was a lot better and I took the hole shot right off the gun. I stayed in the lead and started to stretch my gap on Alex Morten, a 14 year old rider who I met this summer at Geoff Proctor's Montana USAC CX camp. I noticed that my front tire was very low on the second lap and went in to pit at the start of the third lap. Chris Schmidt was still power washing my B bike (the lines were super long due to about 120 racers on course and only 2 power washers) and my dad didn't have my C bike in the pit lane, so I had to continue with a flat. Extremely frustrated and worried, I rode the next half of a lap all the way up the climb and back down the massive off cambers with a front flat. I was especially worried that I was going to roll the tire off the rim on the off camber. That said, I could corner very well in the sloppy mud with 3 PSI pressure! Luckily I made it back to the pit and switched bikes. I rode my fourth and final lap cleanly (except for messing up a bit when hopping the barriers) and took the win with a 35 second gap. When I crossed the line I was very surprised to see Geoff Proctor standing just past the line waiting to say hi to Alex and I! He was there inspecting the course for the UCI commission for the possibility of it being a world cup event next year. After talking with Geoff and Alex for a few minutes I advised my dad on tire choice and pressure for my sister Emma's race, followed by a cool down spin. Next, I helped my Dad pack up after my sisters race before heading for dinner followed by swimming and hot tubbing!

Photo by Jeff Corcoran

Dillon, Me, Alex

Sunday
Sunday morning we ate at the hotel before heading to the course for the final day of this awesome race! This time my dad and I vowed to have an an error free race with no mishaps in the pits! The course was the sloppiest it had been all weekend and for the third day in a row, a single pre-ride lap was more then enough for the bike. Today we ran and rode all the way to the top of the ski hill before descending the run/ride up from Saturday which was incredibly muddy and very technical  When the gun went off I was quick off the line but my legs weren't quit warmed up enough. I was fourth through the first corner and but caught up to first through the next corners and passed into first. Tristan Greathouse, a junior from Michigan, stuck on my wheel through the first lap and pulled through on the start straight going into the second lap. We both went into the pit and when exiting the pit I immediately made a quick pass on his inside and attacked hard. I hammered the next lap and continued to open up my gap. My legs really opened up going into the third and final lap and I could actually sprint full speed in each of the many running sections. My goal was to win by a large margin and it ended up being 1:32, which I did in only two laps of racing!

Photo by Wil Matthews

Photo by JP Brocket

Photo by Roxanne King

Dillon, Me, Tristan

It was an absolutely fantastic weekend of racing, winning all three days was more than I could have asked for! My legs were amazing all three days allowing me to go as hard as I wanted, whenever I wanted. I am also very pleased to have gotten to race three days in my natural habitat - brutal courses with tons of mud! Big thanks to my dad for keeping my running smooth in the pits with the help of Cale Dorn on Friday, Chris Schmidt on Saturday, and Henry Mcalvanah on Sunday! Huge thanks as well to Trek Cyclocross Collective for all their support this season and congrats to teammates Mark Savory, Scott Daubert, and Tom Price for taking the wins in the 35+, 45+ and 55+ all three days, as well as Dillon Mcneil for sharing the podium with me Saturday and Sunday with strong third places! It was such a fun weekend of racing with awesome people and awesome courses! Nothing beats feeling amazing and racing well to get the results you want. Next up is five weeks of brutal training to prepare for Cyclocross Nationals. I can't wait!!!

CXLA!

After packing the bikes Thursday night I slept in Friday morning while my dad went to work for a few hours. Once he got home we hit the road to Chicago for our direct flight to L.A. We shuttled two bike bags, our carry ons and our checked luggage through the airport and settled in for the four hour flight. Once we landed, we collected our bags, got our rental car and wandered around L.A. until we got to my dad's cousin's house. 

Saturday 

After a good nights sleep and breakfast we headed over to the course. It was pretty fun and had some good flow to it but some parts were painfully bumpy. As the temperatures climbed toward the mid 80s I warmed up and headed to the start line. When the gun went off I wasn't too quick off the line, but there were only about 15 people in the race. Cameron Beard went off the front from the start. I caught up to Michael Owens on the second lap, he was in 2nd place with Nick Jenkins in tow. I rode away from the two and built a sizable gap on them over the next three laps and finished about 25 seconds behind Cameron. I rode a good clean race, and it was great to score my first 17-18 UCI podium! I cooled down after podium with Nick and a little bit later I started to get a head ache. I drank lots of fluids and started to feel a little nauseous too. Probably a little dehydration from the extreme heat. When we got home I slept for an hour and a half, feeling fantastic when I woke up. My dad and I grabbed some burritos from a local place before driving to our relatives' house to see some family heirlooms and documents from the Civil War.

Sunday

We took our time in the morning, opting to minimize my time out in the hot sun, and headed over to the race around 12:30. The course was more or less the same but just slightly shorter. I did a quick warm up and headed to the start. This time I was much quicker off the line and quickly settled into third wheel. Cameron attacked hard right away and only Michael stuck with him. I kept chasing hard with Nick on my wheel. Michael bobbled in the sand pit losing Cameron's wheel and causing our gap to close a little more. Nick and I chased Michael down over the next two laps. When we caught up the three of us all sat up and rested. Since Cameron had a big gap on us we spun the next lap and half because no one wanted to work. Going into the final lap Nick attacked hard after the start straight but Michael shut him down quickly. After the two sets of stairs I attacked hard, splitting up the group. Michael chased hard from a few meters back and Nick was off the back. I hit every corner and straight away as hard as I could and built the gap up to about 20 seconds over the next 2/3rds of the lap. When I finished I felt like puking due the heat and was glad it was over! After a quick cool down and podium my dad and I quickly packed my bikes back up an headed to the airport, finally arriving home around four in the morning.

Overall it was a great weekend of racing and I was stoked to take second both days. as well as have great legs and to have raced well tactically. I also earned a lot of UCI points securing my front row call up for nationals! Now its time for a huge block of training until nationals with only Jingle Cross the first weekend of December to interrupt!

Indian Lakes Chicago CX and TBD Cross in Madison

My two favorite mechanics!

After traveling for two weekends straight it was great to only drive two hours. We arrived in Chicagoland around 11 and helped Emma get ready to race. She had an awesome race and won the Women Pro/1/2/3 race! I pre-rode, warmed up, and headed to the start. When they blew the whistle I was quick off the line and almost pulled the hole shot from the second row. How ever, I wasn't quite warmed up enough so I dropped back a few spots. A minute later a rider some how went over the bars in an off camber section causing me to crash on top of him. I grabbed my bike and started to catch back up to the leaders. I caught up to the big pack through the start straight but soon things broke apart again. I ended up having to pull myself back up to the front chase group multiple times and had to burn lots of matches that I wanted to save. With Dan Teaters off the front I was settled in a group of four with David Reyes, Brandon Feehery, and Michael Dutzack. I fell off the back part way through the second to last lap and just couldn't close the gap. The rest of the group fought it out for the last two podium spots while I spun in for 5th place. I was hoping for a better result but after a big week of training and it being a course that wasn't well suited for me combined with huge head winds I am happy with my result! After my race we headed out to eat for some pizza before Emma headed back to Indianapolis.

Sunday I woke up at ten, had a big pancake breakfast and relaxed at home for awhile before my race. When it was time to go we hopped in the already loaded car from the day before and drove the eight minutes over to the course -- most local cx race ever! (Usually we ride over!) The course had 200 feet of elevation per lap with lots of off camber sections and technical features. What made it even more difficult was that a lot of the course was on longish, dead prairie grass that was super slick. Because of that, I ended up running more aggressive PDX tires despite it being bone dry. After my warm up I headed to the start. When Rich the official blew the whistle I was quick off the line again and third into the first corner. David Blodget lead the first lap and I sat on his wheel until the ride/run up after a single barrier. I hopped the barrier and rode the steep hill, putting a good gap between us. I stretched my lead to about 35 seconds over the next nine laps. I didn't make a single mistake and rode the barrier and hill every lap, being the only one to do it all day! Bunny hopping barriers is something I have been working on for quite awhile and although I am not yet comfortable hopping double barriers in a race I could certainly do a single.

 

I was super stoked to take my very first Wisconsin cyclocross series Pro/1/2/3 win. I have been racing this series since I was 9 years old and it was great to take the win in front of all the people I have been seeing at the races, and racing against for eight seasons of cyclocross! I also knocked off another season goal! Friday I head to CX L.A.(Los Angeles) for the final round of 17-18 UCI racing before Nationals!

Thanks Honey Stinger!!!

Huge thanks to Trek Cyclocross Collective for their awesome support this season as well as my coach, Joseph Maloney for helping me achieve my goals. Also big big thanks to Honey Stinger for supporting Trek CXC and sending me this amazing package this week, full of some the best and tastiest ride food on the market!

Derby City Cup!

After a solid seven hour drive Friday we arrived at Eva Bandman Cyclocross Park on the banks of the Ohio River in Louisville around 4:30. I did my leg openers on the course and practiced some of the more difficult sections. After I cooled down we headed over to Nick Beirnes' house who we were staying with and then headed over to the big dinner gathering/Pro rider discussion panel at a local orthopedic surgeon's house. It was a fun gathering of the Ohio Valley/Louisville cyclocross crowd plus riders, mechanics, and parents from all over.

The next morning we relaxed because I raced at 4:00. Around noon I started to get a head ache and pretty soon I started to feel a little nauseous. I tried to lie down for awhile but was feeling worse and worse. While my dad and Nick loaded the car I felt like I was dying. When it was time to go, knowing that the movement of the car would certainly make me hurl, I jumped up and down a few times to speed up the process. A few moments later I proceeded to lose my breakfast and lunch and I immediately felt much better! By the time we got to the race and I sat round for a bit, I was feeling myself again. I talked to my coach, Joe Maloney and we decided that I should start and see how it would go. If I wasn't feeling it I could pull the plug. I had a a good start but because I had lost all my nutrition my legs were pretty empty and I pulled out after two laps to save it for Sunday. I spent the rest of the day watching the elite women and men races with my friends from around the country before grabbing a bite to eat and hitting the hay.

Sunday I raced at 2:00 so we headed over around 11:30, this time illness free! When I hopped on the course I immediately knew my legs were good. I did the rest of my warm up, got my call up (yay UCI point!) and ate my energy gels. When the gun went off I was quick off the line and was in a good position through the first corner. I moved up by taking a sharp inside line through the humps and again before the flyover, and I passed into 7th place going by the pit. Cameron Beard came by going past the pit for the second time and I settled into a group with me pulling Noah Barrow and George Schultz. I pulled them around for a lap until Cade Bickmore caught up and pulled through. George and Noah got between me and Cade, and as Cade pulled away I couldn't get around them and on his wheel. On the third lap I started to drop Noah and George and on the fourth lap I had a good gap as well as caught Evan Clouse because he broke his chain. Going into the second to last lap Spencer Petrov caught up to me after some mechanicals at the start of the race. He pulled George and Noah back up to me but when Spencer hit the gas after the flyover I was the only one who could hold his wheel. I sat on Spencer for the rest of the lap putting twenty seconds on the group behind us, setting my fastest lap of the race and almost making me bonk. He surged ahead through the start straight and caught up to Cade and Cameron who were fighting for fourth. I kept on the gas for one last lap and took home 7th place, one of my best finishes in the 17-18 UCI series! I was glad to show what I can do after missing the Saturday race! Now it is time for some local races this weekend and perhaps LACX in two weeks, along with some serious training! Big thanks to Trek Cyclocross Collective as well as my family and SRAM components for the awesome support this season. I cannot wait to see what else it has in store!

Kings CX and Pan-American Championships

This weekend we had to drive a lot farther for the races. We drove three hours Thursday night, stayed in a hotel and drove the next five hours Friday morning. I decided to check out Sunday's continental championships course instead of Saturday's course, knowing that it would be the more difficult and demanding course. I did a few laps with Wisconsinite Isaac Neff and dialed in some of the more challenging features. Afterwords we headed down town Cincinnati for dinner and then back across town to our family's house who we were staying with.

Best CX bike on the market with the Cincinnati Skyline!

Saturday - Kings CX UCI Boys 17-18

After a good night of sleep and recovery we headed over to the course. It was a major power course with a few off camber sections and it felt like riding in a sponge. Unfortunately I got unlucky in the call up draw and was stuck with a fourth row start. When the gun went off I was near the back through the first corner and managed to get through a few traffic jams. I started moving up from about 25th place. I hammered all the way up to 10th place by the end of the fourth and final lap. I pushed it through every corner dropping three of the four riders on my wheel and catching Jack and Cade. I pushed as hard as I could through the final lap holding Nick Jenkins off. I gapped him in the last half of the lap and put five seconds on him up the finishing straight. I crossed the line cross eyed but happy with how hard I worked for where I finished and to have brought back so many riders on a course that was somewhat unsuited for me.

 Sunday- Pan-American championship - Boys 17-18

After eating as little Halloween candy as possible and getting lots of sleep, I fueled up and we hopped in the car. When we arrived I was ecstatic to see the large amounts of mud covering everyone and their bikes. I kitted up while my dad got my bikes ready and did two laps on the course. It was very muddy with a lot of off camber sections that were made much more difficult by the slop. I went back to the Trek tent and relaxed for a little before putting on my non muddy kit and starting my warm up. My sister took home 6th in the U23 Women after hugging a tree while fighting for third.

I was hoping for better luck in the drawing but got 25th. I was third row which wasn't too bad and when they blew the whistle I was quick off the line. We charged down the start straight and around the first off camber before the tundra twister. I took a sharp inside line into the twister, passing a few people before attempting to sprint through the carnage on foot. I slid down the off camber into the snow fence but fared better then most. I moved up quickly and soon found myself on the wheel of the 10th place rider. I got around him and we dropped the rest of the riders behind us. After the second lap they took out the Pan Am Plunge after a Canadian rider apparently crash and broke his collar bone. I was fighting for my first UCI point and on the second to last lap I started to ride another Canadian rider off my wheel. I was also very close to catching 9th place and I was building a good gap but in the off camber section before the first time through the pit, I slid out. I didn't lose much time but when I dropped back down the hill I shifted and because I had bent my derailleur hanger, it shifted my chain into my wheel. Luckily I was literally 30 meters from the pits and sprinted down the hill not even needing to shoulder the bike. I grabbed my pit bike and entered the course just ahead of 11th place. I started opening up the gap again and held it for the next lap and half without making any mistakes. Shout out to Andrew Allwein and my Dad for a great bike exchange and for being in the pit for me. Thank you!

Evidence of my slip in slide on the first lap!

I was super stoked to get my very first UCI point, meaning no random draw for call ups this coming weekend in Louisville as well as better staging for nationals! I was a little disappointed with the legs I had, especially on a course well suited to me and when the wheels of 7th, 8th, and 9th place were right ahead of me midway through the race. I just used a little too much juice trying to move up on Saturday's power sucking course! Regardless, I am pleased with my consistency and majorly looking forward to the races in Louisville on a course also that I am well suited for! Big thanks to my parents, Trek Cyclocross Collective, and Lizards Skins bar tape, as well as my awesome coach Joe Maloney!

Riding the "Pan Am Plunge" at Devou Park, Covington, Kentucky

From Sun Prairie to Chicago - My first Pro/1/2/3 win!

After traveling all the way to Colorado the weekend before, it was a nice change to only have to drive 15 minutes to Sun Praire. It rained cats and dogs Friday and overnight. When I went and did my first practice lap it was nice and slick. I did the rest of my warm up, did a second practice lap, and this time the course was nice and tacky. I rushed to the start and ate my gels.When the gun went off  I pulled the hole-shot and led for the first half lap. Isaac Neff and another rider came by me on a long downhill and got ahead and I couldn't quite stick with them. Dan Teaters and Alex Martin were right behind us, so I got on their wheels. Shortly after, Tristan Schouten and Casey Hildebrandt caught up and went by us. Isaac, Tristan and Casey dropped us and were fighting for the win. Big gaps opened between the lead group and our chase group, and also between us and 7th. We rode together the rest of race with both Alex and Dan mounting a few attacks but all were brought back until the final lap. Dan attacked hard and Alex and I lost his wheel. I took the lead and drilled the last couple of technical sections before getting out onto the long bike path section (with a nice head wind) that led to the up hill start straight and finally the finishing straight. I hit the bike path section as hard as I could and managed to hold Alex off until part way up the start straight. Lucky for me he sat up, and after the pavement I hit the last 90 degree off camber turn as hard as I could before giving it everything I had to sprint. I finished a wheel length ahead for the final spot on the podium in 5th. It was super fun to play in the mud and even more fun to race hard and tactically with so many great riders. Also nice job to Trek CXC team manager Scott Daubert, for getting 9th!

Me, Isaac, Casey, Tristan, Dan

After a relaxing Saturday evening and a good nights sleep, I ate some pancakes and hopped in the car for the two hour drive to Chicagoland. When we got there we shuttled our gear to Nathan and Morliegh Schneeberger's tent where they kindly let us hang out. Thank you Snowy Mountain Photography!

We prepped the bikes by dialing in the SRAM disc brakes and setting tire pressure then I did a lap on the course. It was super fast with lots of very high speed turns and a few off camber sections as well as some logs. I did the rest of my warm up and headed to the start, where I had a second row start position out of almost 50 riders. When they blew the whistle I got caught behind some people who were slow off the line and other riders swarmed around me. I almost came to a stop in the first corner when a bottle neck happened. I was in about 25th place and seriously worried about the outcome of my race as I saw the leaders carving through the turns ahead of me. Although there were a lot of people between me and the top group, everything was wheel to wheel so there was not too much of a time difference. I immediately started moving up but it was difficult because of how fast the course was and everyone was sprinting for every corner. By the end of the first half lap I was in 16th and I moved up more through the finishing straight. As I was going into the woods section Michael Dutczak was in front of me all of a sudden. He had been leading until he slid out and bent his derailleur hanger, I hopped on his wheel and we worked as hard as we could to bridge up to the front group.

We finally latched on to the front pack and recovered a little bit, while David Reyes and David Lambardo continued to push the pace. Luis Camacho, who finished 6th, crashed in the first woods section and never recovered from it. The crash caused a minor split between the group, and Michael and I, but we quickly closed it down again. Our group of five hammered on, with me mostly sitting fifth wheel. The Davids were first and second with Michael and Brandon Feehery bungee cording back and forth a little. Since I was sitting 5th wheel I got the worst it because I had to accelerate more out the corners rather then maintain my speeed. I knew I wanted to be sitting third wheel expecting that the Davids would be the ones to make moves, so I moved up into 3rd with 2 laps to go.

Michael and I hunting down the leaders

Our group of five, David R., David L., Me, Michael, Brandon

Michael, who had won the previous week, attacked towards the end of the second to last lap and started to put the strain on the pack. He burned too many matches and going through the finishing straight David Lombardo attacked and I was the one to respond. David L. kept hammering, and the group started to break apart, but going into the first woods section he sat up and was a little fried. A few moments later we exited the woods and this time I attacked! I went as hard as I could and only David held my wheel close I kept putting down the power trying to lose David L. We had a slight gap over Reyes and Feehery and Michael was popped off of our group. We hopped the logs faster than ever and in the immediate left hand turn I slid out and went down hard! Because I slid out there was no avoiding me and David crashed too. Brandon managed to squeaked around the pile-up and unfortunately David Reyes got tangled in the tape and went over the bars trying to avoid us. I hopped back on and sprinted down the hill with David close behind, we caught Brandon in the 180 turns and David passed me. We dropped back down the hill and onto the bike path. I accelerated hard and moved past them. I kept drilling it down the long straight away and hit the slalom turns as fast as I could expecting David and Brandon to come by me. It didn't happen and I railed through the last two 180s and sprinted up the quick bike path climb and gave it everything I had to the finish. I went so hard I couldn't even post up and keeled over shortly after the finish from fatigue and disbelief. I won by two seconds! David Lombardo followed Brandon in by 4 seconds more. 

With roughly 300m to go, I (Madison, WI) had National U-23 Crit champion David Lombardo and Pro road racer Brandon Feehery hot on my heels. ©SnowyMountain Photography

It was undoubtedly the hardest I have ever raced and I was, and still am, so happy to win my first Pro/1/2/3 race and achieve another season goal! It was such a good race with such good competition and it was awesome to fight from so far back and take the top spot. The deciding factor for me was when I finally settled into the front group and told my self that I had just as much of a chance to win as everyone else and there was no reason not to try. Big big thanks to Trek Cyclocross Collective for all the support this season as well as my family, friends and Lizards Skins Grip Tape! Next weekend I head to Cinncinati for the continental champioships and to score some UCI points! Also, here is an awesome article on Cyclocross Magazine about the race!

Brandon Feehery, Me, David Lombardo at ABD Sunrise Park ChicrossCup race.

So fun to be featured with the likes of Sven Nys in the Trek Newsletter!

U.S. Open of Cyclocross

Friday after some fun leg openers on some trails in the woods, I spun home, finished packing, made dinner and scooted on over to the airport. Flying out of Madison can be expensive but luckily we got our tickets super early and cheap. My mom dropped off my dad and me, and we worked our way through the very short security line. Thankfully we found someone driving back to Colorado from CXC Cup so we didn't have to fly with my bikes. This makes everything easier and cheaper. After the two-hour flight we hopped in the rental car and drove over to the home of Eric and Carrie, our Boulder friends. The next morning we woke up, ate, and built my bikes. Being the wonderful bike friendly city that Boulder is, I spun the 4.5 miles over to the course all on bike paths and rode the course. It was very dusty and dry with lots difficult features like the long climb after the run up and the 5280 stair set.

After my warm up I spun over to the start. Once again I sat around a little too long (race started behind schedule) and my legs cooled down too much. Thanks to good luck in the random drawing for people with no UCI points I was front row. When the gun went off I was quick off the line but people were going by me on both sides down the start straight and up the stiff climb. I was about 14th into the first sandpit out of 16 riders and was seriously worried about the next 40 min of the race. Going through the start straight into the second lap my legs started to open up and I hit the climb hard and started to move up. Going into the start of the third lap I drilled it up the climb and latched onto Jack Tanner and Cassidy Bailey with Cade Bickmore a little bit ahead. I got around them and lead for the rest of that lap. At the start of the fourth lap I again hit the climb as hard as I could and made contact with Cade who was in 5th. Going through some of the off camber sections I lost a few seconds to him and Cassidy got around and blocked a little bit. Cade started to slip away and Jack caught back up to Cassidy and me right before the start straight. I sat up and let the two of them pull me into the start of the fifth and final lap letting myself recover. Right as we hit the climb I attacked as hard as I could and opened up the gap on the two of them, Cassidy was gone but Jack chased hard. We stayed together until right before the second time past the pit where I gave it everything I had and managed to ride Jack off my wheel and finish 6th with five seconds on Jack. It was a super hard race and the elevation made my whole body feel like lead but I was happy to have ridden a clean race, and raced well tactically. It was a little bittersweet to finish one spot away from getting my first UCI points but the great improvement over my races in Providence made up for that.

I watched the rest of the pro races with my friends who I had raced against that day and had also attended the Montana cyclocross camp with me this summer. After that most of us went over to race winner Eric Brunner's house for a barbecue.
   

The next morning I met Jack, Cassidy, Eric, Jordan and Denzel at Denzel's house and we headed out for a ride. We climbed for two hours up through the mountains before descending for forty minutes back into town after a snack break at a Cafe in the middle of no where. It was super fun to ride in the mountains and with such good company.

Can't beat the views!

Monday morning we packed up the bikes said farewell and thanks to the Stonebrakers and drove to the Denver airport. We got home around eight and I cranked out as much home work as I could before crashing.

It was a fantastic weekend of racing, riding and hanging out in one of my favorite places and I am very happy with my results. Huge thanks to my parents as well as Trek Cyclocross Collective for all the support and opportunities to go to these races and ride the best equipment available! This coming weekend I have some local races and then in two weeks it time for the continental championships in Cincinnati!!!

The Trek Boone is the best cyclocross bike on the market.  Hands down!

Trek CXC Cup!

Thursday night was a big night! My sister came home from college along with her friends/ Marian team mates Ian and KK. Also Courtenay McFadden who stayed with us for a week flew in, so we had a very full house! Friday, Emma and I drove out to Trek HQ so she could get a fitting and so we could pre-ride the new course. The course was super fun with a new fly over, run up, jump and lots of other new sections.  I got things dialed in the technical sections and headed home for a huge dinner.

 

Day 1 

The ride/ run up

With the natural chaos of having four extra people in the house my dad and I left a little late and arrived only about and hour fifteen before my race. I met some of the other awesome people on Trek CXC before kitting up, doing a lap on the course and completing my warm up. I almost missed my call up but slotted into the front row on the far right side. They blew the whistle and we took off, I didn't have a great start and was sitting sixth wheel. I moved into third and started chasing down first and second through the start straight I caught up soon and when third bobbled right after the pit it was down to me and Oliver Evans, who was the 2014 17-18yo Canadian national champion and went to 2015 Junior Cyclocross Worlds. He went out hard and I stuck on his wheel, I wasn't feeling great and wasn't really accelerating out of corners. We worked together a little bit and I was better then him in the technical sections so on the fourth lap I started accelerating out of corners and hurting him a little bit. Going into the big off camber section on the second to last lap he bobbled and I attacked hard over the ride up/run up for him. I kept up the pace and continued to open the gap on him through out that lap and into the final lap. I rode a completely mistake free race and was super happy to have raced well tactically to take the win in the cat 2 field! My team mate Dillon McNeil took the win in the 3s along with Scott, Tom and Julie all have great rides as well! Russel Stevens scored a 10th in the UCI C1 mens event and former team mate/Wisconsin world champion Brian Matter took fifth! Mark unfortunately broke a derailleur hanger and had to fight back for 6th and Nick who is still recovering from a broken leg had a great time spectating. Emma had some issues and finished 26th in the elite women but still made the Under-23 Womens podium with Ellen Noble and Laurel Rathbun. It was a great day of racing and it was fantastic to meet so many of my fellow Trek CXC team mates who live all over the country! We finished off the day with a awesome team dinner in down town Madison.

Post up for my first win of the cx season! Photo: Gary Smits at XTR Photo

Day 2
After a big pancake breakfast my dad and I hopped in the car for the short drive over to the race, this time in a much more timely fashion. I did a lap on the course, cheered my team mates on and relaxed a little bit before starting my warm up. It was a beautiful day, almost 80 degrees and the course was pretty much the same but starting to get dusty and loose. I ran a psi lower than Saturday and felt way faster and smoother through the corners and technical sections because of it. This time when they blew the whistle I took the hole-shot and lead until after the run up. Oliver Evans caught up and took the lead, I stuck on his wheel and he went out super hard again. I sat on his wheel as he tried to shake me but I didn't give up. At the end of the third lap another rider bridged up to us and I sat up hard. We spun through corn field section and through the start straight until the rider who bridged up attacked. We both went with him but Oliver was on his wheel through the big off camber section. Oliver squeaked through it and since I was stuck behind, the guy in first started to get a gap. I passed Oliver and kept chasing hard trying to close the gap back down. The gap was about ten seconds but going through the corn field section and start straight I drilled it as hard as I could and closed six seconds on him. He wiped out at the bottom of the big off camber and I passed him. I rode the hill while he ran it and I attacked over the top. I kept up the pace and suffered through the last lap to finish with a 14 second gap on him. I was super stoked to have ridden a completely clean race again and fought back so hard to take the win! It was fantastic weekend of racing and it was such a amazing experience to double up and take the win both days in front of more or less every person I know that races in Wisconsin and has been watching me race since I was nine. The whole Trek Cyclocross Collective squad had an awesome Sunday as well with multiple wins, podiums, and stellar performances all around. It was a super fun weekend of racing and it really was great to meet so many of the people that make up this awesome team. Big thanks Trek race shop for all the awesome support as well lizards skins! Most importantly thanks to my parents who are always my biggest supporters/fans/chefs, couldn't do it without you! Finally thanks to my coach, Joe Maloney for helping me achieve my goals and allowing me to race at this level and know that I can do even more. Next up 17-18 UCI round two in Boulder this coming weekend!!