Trek CXC Cup

Trek CXC Cup! Finally, it was time for the Trek Cyclocross Collective Cup. I first started riding the course back in July during Trek World and went out a couple of times since then to help work on the course. I also did an on-course practice the Thursday before the race. Last year the course was fun, but this year the Trek family and race volunteers blew it out of the water. Lots of brand new, challenging features with a whole new lay out made it a perfect test of technical ability and strength.

Photo: SnowyMountain Photography

In addition to the new course, this is one of my favorite weekends of racing because almost the whole Trek CXC squad comes to race! Most of the crew went out to pre-ride in the rain Friday evening but I opted for some leg openers at home since I had already gotten plenty of time on the course. Since I raced at 5:00 PM I went for an early morning spin with my team mate Andy Dietz from North Carolina to wake the legs up. After that I had a big pancake breakfast at home before heading out to Waterloo to watch the pro races.

It was pretty awesome to see the whole Telenet Fidea team rip up the course during pre-ride but before I knew it, it was time to get dressed and start warming up. After my warm I went to the start, lined up and listened for the whistle. Straight off the line I took the hole shot and started laying down the power. I started to get a gap and as I pushed the pace through an off camber section a crash happened behind me giving me more of a gap. I came through at the end of the first lap with a 7 second gap and built on it each lap after that. I hit it out of every corner, railed the technical sections and opened it up on every fast section.

Riding the logs on the final lap. Photo: SnowyMountain Photography

After six fun fast laps off the front I rolled through the finish with almost a minute gap on my team mate Dillon Mcneill who took second. Unfortunately Tyler Reynolds crashed hard on the last lap pushing him from 1st to 3rd in the cat 3s and Andy Dietz rolled a tubular taking him out of the top 10 in the twos.

Sunday morning started off with another early morning spin and arrival at the course around noon. Once again it was pretty incredible to watch the world's best square off on my home course! After staying in the shade for five hours it was time to kit up and do my own lap on the course. This time things were starting to get a little dry and dusty, making turns slippery.

Photo: Anthony James

When they blew the whistle I missed my pedal and didn't get the hole shot, but by the time we came past the pit for the first time I was in the lead and attacked over the flyover. I started to open up a gap but Dillon kept it under 10 seconds through the second lap. I kept up the pace and it started to grow for the rest of the race to finish with a 55 second lead.

Photo: Gary Smits @XTR Photo

It was a fantastic weekend of racing at the Trek Headquarters from the whole CXC crew and it goes without saying that Renee Callaway, the promoter, along with all of the volunteers and sponsors, and everyone at Trek did an incredible job with the race. The addition of live online coverage and the opportunity to connect with so many friends, made it one of the best events I have attended. Next up, Jingle Cross!

Finally huge thanks to my coach Joseph Maloney, my family, and my team, Trek Cyclocross Collective for all the support! Also huge thanks to my sponsors Trek Bicycles, Bontrager, Sram, Englewood Grass Fed Beef,  Mike's Mix and Honey Stinger for all their awesome support!