Ore to Shore 2016

Well this one is a fair bit late but better late than never! This was my second time racing Ore to Shore and my first time racing the 48 mile category. I knew that it was going to be a brutal race with some seriously heavy hitters from around the country, and it turned out to be one of the hardest races I've ever done.

Right off the line everyone pinned it and I was spun out at 28mph within seconds. I focused on staying protected and moving up which was very tricky. By the time we were off the pavement and approaching lucy hill I was sitting 10th wheel out of a 800 person mass start!

However, moments later we reached Lucy Hill and then my team mate Brian Matter along with the other top riders just floored it up the climb making me realize I did not have the legs I needed to stick with those guys. I stayed in the top 15 but a small gap started to form and I missed the cut.

That turned into me and a chase group killing our selves until mile 12 of the race (most of which was wet grass, wet sand and mud) when it came back together. At this point I felt like I was already bonking and was going to be totally screwed for the next 36 miles of the race, thankfully the front group stayed together for awhile and I got to sit in and recover. After a few miles of that we reached a large puddle (lake) in the middle of the trail with a slippery single file make-shift wooden bridge to cross it on. This turned into a mess as people skidded and crashed trying to go one at a time onto this bridge. Once again the front group got away, which was probably for the best since I most likely would have blown up at their pace.

I settled in with a good group of ten and we stayed together for the rest of the race. We ran up misery hill, crushed gravel, and flew down the sand dunes until we neared the end. In those last few miles of the race I heated things up and shelled some riders but burned some important matches that would have allowed me to follow people when they jumped the group. 

I ended up crossing the line in 20th place snagging the last spot on the podium! It wasn't quite what I was hoping for but since it was my first ever Ore to Shore Hard Rock I'm happy with how it turned out. I can't wait to do it again next year despite how bad it hurt.

As always huge thanks to my coach Joseph Maloney and my family for all their support. Since this was my last mountain bike race of the season I really want to shout out my team, Team Wisconsin presented by KS Energy Services/MOSH for all their amazing support support! Also huge, huge thanks to Emerys Cycling, Triathlon and Fitness, Midwest Orthopedic Specialty Hospital, Trek Bicycles, Bontrager, Englewood Grass Fed Beef, ESI Grips, Wolf Tooth Component, Mike's Mix and Honey Stinger for all the awesome support! I really can't thank them all enough for helping me do what I do!

Well, now it's cyclocross season so stayed tuned! It's going to be a big season!!!

 

WORS #7 Hixon Forest Epic

After almost a month off the mountain bike for a cyclocross camp in Montana and a CXC team camp in Madison it was time to return to the WORS scene! The Hixon Forest Epic was new to the series last year and it was my first time racing this course. The race consisted of a mile long grass section, then a four minute gnarly descent on a dirt road(max speed of 36mph!), followed by a massive climb with some more single track before the finish.

As usual we lined up,Don did the count down, and we took off. Right away I missed my pedal and even worse shortly after I got clipped in somehow both feet shot out of the pedals! Now sitting in 25th place and quite angry at myself I focused on putting down the power and moving up. In the mile until the descent I managed to get back into the top five. We charged down the winding road, skidding through the switchbacks before popping out onto the flat rode before the climb. People launched attack after attack but I made it into the single track fourth wheel and quickly passed into second wheel.

Pete Karinen led the whole first lap putting in some gnarly attacks and taking the downhill single track sections scary fast. Coming into the second lap David Carew took a secret line and passed into the lead. He attacked on the dirt road descent with Pete right on his wheel. Ben Senkerik put in a monster pull that shot us right past Pete and David. Again I settled in on Pete's wheel up the climb until Dominic Talerico from Minnesota went to the front and turned up the heat. Only Pete could stay with him, leaving me, Ben and Casey Hildebrandt together.

I pulled away on the last steep climb of that second lap but Ben and Casey caught up again right before the finishing straight, at the same time we caught back up to Dominic who had gotten a flat. This time Ben attacked down the big descent putting a gap on me and Casey. I chased Ben hard all the way up the single track climb but never quite made contact. With just a mile left in the race I saw Dominic chasing back hard. He came by me and made it up to Ben passing him seconds before the line!

It was a brutal race with over 3000 feet of climbing and I'm happy to have taken my best WORS result yet! Although I did miss out on the top three by mere seconds I did manage to race in the top group for the first time and race with people who have always been ahead of me! Next weekend is Ore to Shore which will probably be my last MTB race of the season!

As always huge thanks to my coach Joseph Maloney, my family and my team, Team Wisconsin presented by KS Energy Services/MOSH for all the support! Also huge thanks to Emerys Cycling, Triathlon and Fitness, Midwest Orthopedic Specialty Hospital, Trek Bicycles, Bontrager, Englewood Grass Fed Beef, ESI Grips, Wolf Tooth Component, Mike's Mix and Honey Stinger for all the awesome support!