After months of racing and training it was finally time for the season finale. We drove down to Dallas the week before to do the Resolution Cross Cup race. I pre-rode the course on Saturday and it was super muddy and sloppy. I was only racing on Sunday because that's when the 45 min open men's race was. Sunday the course had dried and the mud was sticky like modeling clay. I warmed up (insufficiently) and went to the start, I lined up next to Evan Clouse, one of the fastest guys in my race for nationals. We took off and I would have pulled the holeshot but I pulled out my pedal and was 5th into the first corner. On the downhill after the start climb a guy crashed in front of me pushing me from 3rd to 10th and was about 40 seconds behind the leader, Evan. I went crazy and by the time we were going back through the start straight for the second lap my legs had opened up and I had just blown by the group of three fighting for second place on the start pavement. Our race was only three laps long (it should have been 5) because the race started late but in those 26 minutes I managed to get within 10 seconds of Evan. If only we had one more lap!
Sunday night we drove down to the Gulf coast where we had a house rented. We relaxed on the beach for a few days and then drove to Austin Thursday night. We pre-rode the course Friday and Saturday and rested up in our hotel room for the rest of the time.
We got up at 6:15 for my 9:30 race on Sunday. I pre-rode the course and it was an absolute mess after all the Saturday races in the poring rain. As I rode back towards my car my dad walked up to me, he said he had some bad news... "Nationals was canceled!!" I didn't even know how to react, I couldn't comprehend the idea of 10 months straight worth of work with the hardest training I had done, along with all the things I had sacrificed being for nothing. I was struck dumb thinking about the first time in my cycling career that I was a contender for the podium and that chance was gone. I just kinda wandered around in a trance for a bit and then figured I should still warm up just in case. I, along with many other confused racers warmed up in the Saris tent as everyone tried to figure out what was going on. All anyone knew was that it was suspended and not canceled, but no one knew why, or for how long, or what was going to happen.(Read the full story on what happened
here). All Sunday races were rescheduled to resume Monday at noon. This created an unbelievable mess for thousands of racers and families. We had to cancel plane tickets, miss more school and work, rebook hotel rooms and drive all the way home instead of flying. In summary it was one of the most stressful and traumatizing days of my life but I was just glad I was going to get to race. That night we went to a awesome junior dinner put on by Tim Johnson and then retired to our hotel rooms.
Monday morning (as I should have been going to school) we packed up and got ready to race. My mom, my sister, and I went to the mega Whole Foods a few blocks away for breakfast, which has an amazing selection of hot food as my dad went to the race to start getting bikes ready along with our friend Rob who flew down to watch the races. (Thanks Rob! couldn't have done it without you!) I raced at 12:30 and pre-ride didn't open until 12 which was not enough time to switch bikes and get to staging. I walked the course and looked at all the changes made and then went and warmed up. I went to staging and got my front row call up. We started and I was 8th into the first corner. In the following straight away and 180 turn I moved up to 5th and was about 10 ft behind the lead 4. I feel lucky to be in the front row, especially since there was a pile up at the start!
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| crash at the start |
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| Andy in 4th with me chasing right behind him at the beginning of the first lap |
After we came by the pits for the first time and did an off camber 180 climb I got onto 4th place's wheel. Denzel Stephenson had attacked and was about 15 seconds in the lead. My friend Andy had a brake rubbing and after the first run up and descent I passed into 4th in the off camber running. Denzel had crashed and dropped back to third, and Scott Funston and Evan were fighting for first. I came through the start in 4th place 7 seconds behind Denzel and I caught him right after the first turn. He is super strong and powerful but he wasn't loving the mud so much. I just sat on his wheel and tried to get by him a few times but couldn't, finally I snuck by him and attacked right before the second pit passing. He didn't follow and I instantly got a 20 foot gap. Unfortunately the pit was super long and muddy so he just powered through it and caught up to me again. We dismounted after the 180 and began running but I decided to get on and ride but I got bogged down and all the mud build up around my brakes brought me to a halt. It was so packed up my wheels couldn't even turn. If only I had pitted! I ran the last part of the lap until the start stretch where I got up enough speed to get the mud off. I switched bikes on that final lap and the difference the clean bike made was incredible. If only I had switched earlier! Everyone was so spread out and I had lost so much time I only caught one person. I finished 10th which is my best finish at a Nationals race yet but was so disappointment to lose the podium to the only mistake I made the entire race which was not pitting that lap. My first lap was 4th fastest, second lap was 25th fastest losing over two minutes due to my mechanical, and then my last lap was 9th fastest as I slogged to the finish, heavy with disappointment. I might have been even as high as second because 3rd place who I was racing with finished only 6 seconds behind second and I made up that much time on him when I attacked on the second lap! Then again this is what racing is, you can't control or plan for everything! Even though I don't have the medal in my hand I am still very very thrilled with my best nationals finish yet and mostly to see all the training and hard work I have done this season pay off as I raced with the fastest boys in the country. In Boulder last year after I finished 31st, I never would have thought in a million years that one year later I was going to be fighting for the top 3 instead of the top 30! I could never of had the best season so far without my coach, Joseph Maloney who has truly showed me my potential!(
Click here if you want him to make you faster) I also never could have done any of this without my team
KS Energys Services/ MOSH/ Team Wisconsin who have given me great support this season! Also, huge thanks to
Emerys Cycling and fitness who helped me get my incredible Trek Boone 9 racing machine! Finally I want to thank my family and friends who have helped and cheered me on all season long and especially my mechanic/driver/pit crew/piggy bank/strategist/event planner, my dad! I am already super excited for the coming season and have very big plans and goals in the works! Now its time for a few weeks of rest and then its time for base miles!
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| Fighting for third |
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| Too much mud! :( |
