Major Taylor Cross Cup

Now that I go to school at Marian University the Major Taylor Cross Cup is my home race! The race is held right on our home trails where I ride all the time and it was a bonus to be able to help design the course.

On Saturday things were a little unusual. Due to extremely heavy rain and lightning our race was delayed but thankfully still happened! I started second row but didn't have a great start, coming into the first corner around 20th. I went through pit one and took a bike to avoid a large mud puddle and made a pass or two. I moved up into a group fighting for the top got onto Drew Dillman's wheel. After another lap or two we got away and were fighting for 8th place. Over the next few laps I lost time to him on the big run but gained time back in the lower power section balancing things out to a 5-10 second gap that I could never quite close. I ended up taking 9th place in the extremely muddy, technical race, making it my first C2 top ten!

On Sunday the weather was very different! The temperature dropped from near 60 to the upper thirties but thankfully there was no rain. 

In the early afternoon I did the collegiate race to try and earn the Midwest Conference call-up spot for collegiate nationals.

I started third row and was fifth off the pavement but unfortunately a rider came up from behind me and cut across my front wheel when they hit a rut wrong, breaking a few spokes in my front wheel and causing me to dismount. 

I worked my way back to the front from the mid-twenties and caught up to first place (Marian team mate Cade Bickmore) by the start of the second lap. I started to put on the pressure and slowly got a gap that I extended over the next few laps to take the win.

It was great to race with all my Marian team mates and the squad is looking super strong for nationals in January!

Cade, Me, Nick

After the collegiate I cooled down, spun my legs out and the thirty minutes later I kitted up again to do the UCI race!

I started second row again but this time I had a great start, coming off the pavement in third place! Once we got around the first corner it was a running race to pit one and I dropped back a few spots.

I was in a big group fighting for the top five but doing two races just wasn't agreeing with my body. I tried to fight but I just couldn't stay with them.

My body just felt like dead weight as I slogged through the mud and as the temperature dropped I started getting colder and slower until it was almost a relief when the official pulled me.

I hate to get pulled but I still finished in a decent 14th place, which in retrospect wasn't too bad for it being my second race of the day.


As always huge thanks to my family, my coach Joseph Maloney and to my sponsors Trek, Bontrager, Sram, Honey Stinger, Mike's Mix, Challenge Tires, and Englewood Grass farm for their great support! Next up I'm headed to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma for the Ruts and Guts UCI race! Thanks for reading and be sure to keep up to date on my social media!