Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals

Time for a delayed write up on Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals in Missoula, MT!
Things kicked off with a 6:30 am flight on Wednesday the 18th. Our bikes and gear had left in a box truck on Sunday so it was *just* the 20 riders and two coaches who commandeered most of each plane we boarded. We landed around noon in the Missoula airport and drove the hour to where the whole Marian team would be staying for the weekend. We were way up in the mountains and the views were unbelievably stunning

The view from our cabin's back porch.

We eviscerated the box and got kitted up for a nice easy spin in the mountains where we enjoyed even more stellar views.

A chilly team ride on Wednesday afternoon.

Thursday morning we all headed into Missoula to pre-ride the course. It was similar to what I raced in the summer of 2015 but with significantly more climbing, 1400 feet per lap to be exact!

Photo: Dejan Smaic

Friday morning race day kicked off by waking up at 4:30 and heading to the venue at 5:30. It was dark and chilly while warmed up and our race started as soon as it was light enough at 8:30. From the third row I had a great start and worked my way into six wheel but started to feel the effects of the blistering hot pace soon into the 20+ minute climb.

I faded back quite a few spots up the rest of the climb but started to find a decent rhythm near the top. I dropped into the descent close to a group of riders but lost some time to them on the way down, and as started lap two with out a wheel to follow.

Photo: Dejan Smaic

Unfortunately my back started to tighten up more and more making the rest of lap two and all of lap three a big struggle. Luckily for that final third lap I found a good wheel to pace myself off of and hung tough to finish in 16th place. I was pretty disappointed in my result but considering all the factors that played into it, I'm at peace with how it played out.

After some weather related schedule changes our short track race that was suppose to happen on Saturday, was moved to Sunday so that the downhill event could be finished before the bad weather rolled in.

I started third row which was less than idea for a 25 minute race but when the gun went off I made the best of it taking alternate "lines" which consisted of hacking through tall grass to make passes while following the eventual winner.

From there it was an all out brawl to the finish. I came through the start finish at the end of the first lap probably near 30th place. I kept the pedal down for everyone second of the next 20 minutes consistently moving up until I finished in 10th place.

Photo: Dejan Smaic

It was a solid but frustrating result for me because I held pace with leaders for almost the entire race but was simply cut off from the pack because of my poor start position and bad luck on the first lap.
I was still extremely proud to have given it my all along with my teammates to show what Marian can really do.

After my race I got changed and went to watch Emma's race as fast as I could. For the whole 20 minutes, I along with almost everyone on the team who was done racing ran alongside Emma and the other Marian riders on the climb each lap screaming our heads off.

It all came down to the last lap, Emma was in third going up the climb and the CMU rider made a mistake, and went into the tape. It then came down to a sprint for the win from behind against Lindenwood where narrowly missed out on the gold.

In the end Marian took third overall in the team omnium. We raced our hearts out for four days straight and I couldn't be more proud to be a part of this phenomenal team. Huge thanks to our team coaches and staff, Dean Peterson, Michael Kubancsek, Natarsh Burke, Jason Blodgett and Danny Gerow for the amazing support and leadership that makes this program so great.

A true team effort.

Third place in the team omnium behind CMU & FLC.

2017 Marian Collegiate MTB Nationals Squad

With Collegiate MTB Nats finished my 2017 MTB season is officially wrapped up! I am unbelievably happy with how this mountain bike season played out. I accomplished almost every single one of my goals including winning a national championship and racing in the world championships, in addition I traveled to some incredible places, rode many amazing trails and made countless new friends. I am so, so grateful for everyone who was a part of this year and helped me make this huge leap forward in my cycling career. To list a few of those people... thank you to my Mom, Dad and Sister, my Grandpa Bill and Grandma Diane & Grandpa Ed, my coach Joseph Maloney, my teammate/unofficial skills coach/mentor Brian Matter, along with Steve Welk and my team Linear Sport RT. Lastly thank you to my amazing sponsors: 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! If I failed to mention you, my apologies, just know that I am extremely thankful for your support.

Thank you all for reading and for being a part of this fun season. Keep up with my cyclocross adventures for the rest of the year as I take on my first year in the Elite UCI field. Be sure to follow along here and on my social media @cswartzz on Instagram/Twitter and @Caleb Swartz on Facebook!