WORS #4 Mount Morris Challenge

Time for a recap of round four of the Wisconsin Off Road Series!

The Mt. Morris wors race used to be home to the Subaru Cup UCI race a few years back. Today it still uses the same rad trails making it a challenging and fun course with a decent amount of climbing.

This time around I nailed my warm up and was sure not to miss my call up. When Don finished his countdown I pulled the hole-shot and then Cole House shot by me taking an early lead. I headed the
chase group of five riders through the fast flowy lower section of the course until the pack came around me.

As the course went uphill things for me went downhill. My legs were hurting and I started to lose time on fifth place as everyone hammered hard to catch back up to Cole. However other's misfortune ended up working in my favor. Near the top of the ski hill Ben Senkerik had a small mechanical and we started working together to try and catch back up. Then, 3/4 of the way through the first lap Pete Karinen had an issue with his derailleur which ultimately caused him to drop out. On top of all that Corey Stelljes got a flat and had to stop and fix it which cost him some time.

So by the end of the first lap Ben and I went from fighting for 5th to fighting for 3rd. We rode together for the next two laps or so until I started drifting backwards from him. I rode the last lap solo staying focused and keeping on the pace to make sure Corey didn't catch me.

I was hoping to be up fighting in the top three for longer but I just didn't have the legs. I'm still happy to have finished fourth continuing my consistent streak of staying in the top five. The real cherry on top was that because of my consistency the past four races I am now leading the WORS overall points series for my first time ever!

I couldn't do it without the help of my team and sponsors so huge thanks to Linear Sport, Trek Bikes, Bontrager, Wheel & Sprocket, Styled Aesthetic, Kettle Moraine Preservation and Restoration, and David Hobbs Honda, as well as Honey Stinger, Mike's Mix, Englewood Grass Farm, Wolf Tooth Components and ESI Grips for all their amazing support. I am proud to represent such great companies!

In other life news... when I got home from the race Sunday night my family had a new puppy! Meet Milo!

WORS #3 Battle of Camrock

Time for a quick update before WORS #4 this weekend!

This was the first hot race of the year which meant lots of ice and a short warm up to minimize my time out in the sun. I accidentally cut it a little too short and missed my call up. Luckily my competitors and friends let me slide into the second row.

Photo: Kari Lewis Scheppman

By the top of the start hill I was sitting comfortably in sixth place but needed to be farther up. I came around Ben Senkerik in some tight single track and around Corey Stelljes in an open field section. Nathan Guerra and Isaac Neff hit the gas and started to open up a gap while I worked hard to stay on Cole House's wheel.

Photo: Gary Smits

I took over the chase going up the start climb trying to close on Nathan and Isaac. I pulled until the halfway point when Cole took over again.

Photo: Gary Smits

He kept the pace high and consistent and by the end of that lap we caught back up to Isaac! Unfortunately right as we made contact, I had a mechanical. I jumped off and fixed it as quickly as I could but still lost about 30 seconds.

Photo: Anderson Bortoletto

I chases hard but couldn't catch back up. I ended up riding the next two laps solo to finish in fourth place a minute behind Isaac and thirty seconds ahead of Corey.

I was pretty happy to take home fourth in one a fully stacked field. Despite my mechanical I would probably consider it my best WORS finish yet this year! Stoked to see what I can do this Sunday at Mt. Morris!

Huge thanks to my family, my coach Joseph Maloney and my team, Linear Sport Racing as well as Trek Bikes, Bontrager, Wheel & Sprocket, Styled Aesthetic, Kettle Moraine Preservation and Restoration, and David Hobbs Honda, as well as Honey Stinger, Mike's Mix, Englewood Grass Farm, Wolf Tooth Components and ESI Grips for helping make it all happen!

In other news, I graduated from high school!