Caleb Swartz: Short Track National Championships

Time for the scoop on how my STXC Nationals race played out! Many of you may already know what happened but here it is!

From the gun things were off to a good start. I was second into the first corner and sitting comfortably near the front. A lead group of 6-7 riders was established and the rest of the field was strung out. The pace was high and other riders started to slowly crack under the high intensity.

At the start of the fifth lap Paul Fabian and Drew Sotebeer bridged up to our lead group of five. Paul went to the front but was hurting pretty bad from his effort to close the gap.

Photo: Kenny Wehn

The seven of us were strung out wheel to wheel and I could tell everyone else was hurting and that it was time to go. Coming into the second to last lap I attacked up the start straight climb. Quinn Simmons stuck right on my wheel and the group started to fracture. I lead through the rock garden and attacked again up the steep as others faltered on the rocks. Only Quinn held on tight and we went into the final lap with a ten second gap on 3rd place.

Photo: Kenny Wehn

I lead down the descent and back up through the rock garden. As we hit the climb Quinn came around me and attacked hard. It took everything I had to hold his wheel and the two of us crested the climb absolutely gassed. I recovered for a moment on the flat road before making an aggressive pass up the single track climb. Quinn passed me right back before the two slalom turns and I followed him closely. As we hammered towards the flyover I rolled right past him and up and over the wooden structure in the lead again. In the back my mind I heard my coach telling me to accelerate hard out of the corners like in cyclocross and that's what I did. One, two, three accelerations out of the last three corners and Quinn was off my wheel.

I rode through the start finish arms raised, exhausted and elated, winning by eight seconds. My parents and Brian Matter swarmed me as I pulled over to the side of the course. It was an incredible feeling, so much hard work and sacrifice all paying off.

Then I was interviewed by the USAC media crew( interview can be found here) which was followed by a long cool down and some Mike's Mix recovery drink.

Pre-podium shenanigans!

After cool down it was time for dinner and podium! It felt like a dream when they called my name and I took the top step on the podium.

Seth, Quinn, Me, Paul, Kevin

This was such a big step for me and there are so many people to thank. To start I'd like to thank my team, teammates and sponsors for making this possible, 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.

Linear Sport RT squad!

I'd like to give a huge thank you to my coach Joseph Maloney for helping me achieve my goals and this level of fitness, I couldn't have done it without him. This was my fourth season working with Joe and achieving a national championship was a huge step! Next I'd like to thank Brian Matter for being such an incredible help this year. Starting off with a spring break training camp in AZ, to race support in Utah and Arizona, and another training camp in Copper Harbor. Brian has been a huge help full of advice and tips that have proved truly invaluable!

Lastly I'd like to thank my family for their never ending support and belief in my dreams and goals!