Major Taylor Cross Cup

Major Taylor Cross Cup, nothing better than racing 45 seconds away from your dorm on your home course!

On Friday and Saturday morning conditions were a little slick but as the sun came out and the temperature warmed up, the course transitioned to being nice and tacky. With the hero dirt and lots of nice ruts in the corners, it was perfect for my Challenge Chicanes.

I had a second-row call up but had a rough start. I opted to take the far-left lane and avoid the mud pit planning to slot in after the first sweeping right-hand corner. Instead, there was some carnage and I was stuck back near 15th. Luckily the next few sections were open, and I was able to move up into 10th after pit one. I maintained my position through the technical upper section of the course and hit the gas again going by pit two and into the finish straight.

Drew Dillman was off the front and Jamey Driscoll was moving up a few seconds ahead of me. I chased after Driscoll and by the third lap we worked through the top group of five. I tried to latch on to Driscoll but just couldn’t close the gap. Luckily, while working to catch up I created a sizable gap between me and the group fighting for 4th. I spent the next five in no man's land to take third place, my first UCI podium!

On Sunday conditions were just as tacky and the course was almost identical. This time I lined up on the far-right side. Things went more according to plan and I was well inside the top ten by the time we hit pit one. On the pavement before the upper hilly section, I hit the gas and moved into fourth wheel.

By midway through the second lap, I was sitting securely in the lead group of four with Driscoll, Dillman and Eric Brunner. We got away cleanly from the field and the other three in our group started launching attacks. For the rest of the race I was on the edge, continuously getting popped off and then catching back on. I was never truly fighting for the win, but I was up at the front of a UCI for the very first time.

In all the weekend was a huge success for me and Emma, who took 2nd and 3rd. We both took our highest UCI finishes yet and had strong, smooth races at our home race. It felt great to regain some confidence after a little bit of a mid-season slump the past few race weekends. Now time for plenty more training and one more race weekend before cyclocross nationals in Louisville, KY! 

As always thank you to my team, Linear Sport RT and our sponsors: Trek, Bontrager, Wheel & Sprocket, Styled Aesthetic, Kettle Moraine Preservation and Restoration, and David Hobbs Honda. Thank you as well to Trek Race Shop, Challenge Tires, Englewood Grass Farm, Mike's Mix, and Sram. Thank you all for reading and be sure to follow along on my social media @cswartzz

Pan-American Championships

Quick Pan-American Championships report coming at you!

After class on Friday Emma, Ben and I loaded up the minivan and mowed down the nine hours drive to Midland, Ontario.  We arrived late and went straight to bed. Saturday we pre-rode in some sloppy conditions, dialed in our pressure and did some openers.

On Sunday I pre-rode again in the morning and settled on Challenge Chicanes for my tires. Then it was all down to business. I had a second-row start but missed my pedal coming into the first corner towards the back of the field. Luckily the legs were fresh and I was able to move quickly on the power sections throughout the first lap.

I was able to move up into the top ten but made a few mistakes that cost me. Earlier in the race, I let Gunnar Holmgren who ended up fourth slip away and later in the race Spencer Petrov who took fifth dropped. Both were great tickets to the front of the bike race but I missed the bus!

In the end, I finished up 8th. Another somewhat lackluster result, and falling short of my personal goals but there were plenty of positives to the race. The fitness was good, I hit my lines but things just didn't quite click. On top of that, the course was fun, the racing was a blast and Canada did not disappoint.

As for the other Swartz, Emma took 4th place in the u23 women's field.

Special thanks to Ben for traveling with us all the way to Canada and wrenching for me! Thank you as well to Tom Price for tent space and support as well.

As always thank you to my team, Linear Sport RT and our sponsors: Trek, Bontrager, Wheel & Sprocket, Styled Aesthetic, Kettle Moraine Preservation and Restoration, and David Hobbs Honda. Thank you as well to Trek Race Shop, Challenge Tires, Englewood Grass Farm, Mike's Mix, and Sram. Thank you all for reading and be sure to follow along on my social media @cswartzz

Cincinnati UCI Cyclocross Weekend

Here is a quick write up on Cinci last weekend, then go ahead and read my Pan-Ams post!

After racing in Montana and Colorado the past weekends it was nice to be able to drive to a race the morning of, and sleep in our own beds. Emma and I kitted up and hopped on course, immediately determining it to be a Challenge Limus day. The soaked golf course made for an incredibly slick course full of tricky off cambers, fun sections in the woods, and plenty of ruts.

Photo: Kent Baumgardt

I had a third-row start and was lucky to avoid some of the carnage in the first few corners. I managed to sneak around one major crash and cut in on the inside of the next corner gaining back a few spots. On that first lap, I motored along passing riders who were going down left and right. Then I went down… and then I went down again… and again. Every time I would make a pass I would go down shortly after and lose the spots I’d just gained. In retrospect, I just got a little too excited in the first few laps and kept throwing down watts where I needed to focus on finesse and driving the bike. 

Photo: Jack Zakrajsek

I was hovering around 15th but in the last few laps I just completely lost my mojo and slipped back to finish 19th. Definitely not the result I was hoping for in a big C1 event but I learned a lot!

On Sunday the conditions and the course were completely different. It was now a power course with fewer off-cambers and perfect for some Challenge Chicanes.

As it boiled down to race time the storm that had been on the horizon started to blow in. At the start, we sprinted up the hill against 40mph gusting crosswinds. From the fourth row, I started to move squeaking around a few crashes.

Photo: Kent Baumgardt

After things got sorted I settled into a group just outside the top 15. I worked on moving up but in the last third of the race, I got dropped... right before my group caught the group fighting for the top ten. Luckily a group two riders caught up to me and I hopped on to finish off the last few laps for 19th.

Overall it was a pretty mediocre and disappointing weekend with nothing to really write home about. However, it was definitely not a complete wash as I got some great workouts and still learned a lot! All the travel and racing lately has certainly been taking a toll on me mentally and physically, but that's my job. All I can really say about that is time to get back to work and make things happen!

Thank you to my team, Linear Sport RT and our sponsors: Trek, Bontrager, Wheel & Sprocket, Styled Aesthetic, Kettle Moraine Preservation and Restoration, and David Hobbs Honda. Thank you as well to Trek Race Shop, Challenge Tires, Englewood Grass Farm, Mike's Mix, and Sram. Thank you all for reading and be sure to follow along on my social media @cswartzz. Be sure to check out my report on Pan-Ams!

U.S. Open of Cyclocross

Race weekend number six in a row, Boulder, CO for the U.S. Open of Cyclocross! After a busy weekend of midterms, Emma and I loaded are bike bags into the minivan and headed north to Midway airport in Chicago. From there it was a short flight to Denver, the tram to the baggage claim, and then a bus ride to Boulder. Our longtime family friend Eric Stonebraker snagged us from the bus stop in his Subaru Outback (the official vehicle of Boulder) and then we hit the hay.

Saturday morning, I built up our four Boones while Emma grabbed some groceries. In the afternoon Karl Hendrikse, fellow Wisconsinite and our mechanic for the weekend grabbed our extra bikes and bags to drop off at the course. Emma and I spun over to the venue and hopped on course to pre-ride.

Emma had a solid race, taking fifth in a strong field. Not bad for someone who just got over a bout of bronchitis! I had a slow start getting a little swarmed up the start hill. I made up some ground in the first off-camber, dismounting and running around some carnage.

Photo: Philip Mathys

I came into lap two in around 15th place. Over the next lap, I worked my way into the top ten and settled into a group fighting for 5th through 8th. Garry Millburn, Troy Wells, Yannick Eckmann and I traded off every now and then with varying paces. We started to close the gap on Cody Kaiser and with a few laps to go, I hit the front. In the flat, back section of the course, I had it down to about ten seconds. Naturally, I proceeded to slide out in a corner while on the front bringing the entire group to a halt. We got going again but were never able to catch back up to Cody. We’d lost a little bit of our mojo and Yannick had a mechanical taking him out of our group.

Gary, Troy and I stayed in limbo fighting for 5^th place until the very last lap. Troy put in some digs going into that final lap and on the long straightaway before pit two I counterattacked. Troy lost a few bike lengths on us, but Gary hung on tight into the last two climbs and descents before the steps. Going up the steps it was all or nothing since there were no more opportunities to pass and not much of chance for a sprint from behind. As a result, we sprinted up the steps as hard as we could. At the very top, Gary remounted on my inside a split second faster and got around me, sealing up fifth place.

Photo: Philip Mathys

Overnight the storms rolled in as predicted and when we woke up in the morning there were 6+ inches of fresh snow. The course was an awesome muddy mess with frozen chunks of muddy ice. I had a better start than Saturday sliding into the top ten. after the stairs. From there I settled into the group fighting for 6th through 9th. I felt comfortable at the pace but going into the final third of the race I started to fade. Like many others, my hands started to freeze solid and I had serious problems clipping in. I ended up 12th which was a little disappointing, but there are plenty more races this season and I'm sure I'll be back racing in Boulder again!

Photo: Kenny Wehn

First and foremost, thank you to Eric Stonebraker and Carrie Morrill for generously hosting Emma and I. Next up, thank you to Karl Hendriske for helping transport our gear to and from the races as well as amazing work in the pits. Huge huge thank you as well to Greg Keller and the Boulder Junior Cycling crew for letting Emma and me crash in their tent all weekend. Massive thank you to Greg as well for taking on the frigid pit work for me on Sunday so that I could keep racing hard on clean equipment!

Finally, thank you to my team, Linear Sport RT and our sponsors: Trek, Bontrager, Wheel & Sprocket, Styled Aesthetic, Kettle Moraine Preservation and Restoration, and David Hobbs Honda. Thank you as well to Trek Race Shop, Englewood Grass Farm, Mike's Mix, and Sram. Thank you all for reading and be sure to follow along on my social media @cswartzz. Next up, Collegiate MTB Nationals in Missoula, MT!

Jingle Cross

It's the most wonderful time of the year... the Kerstperiode of the Midwest. Trek CX Cup followed by Jingle Cross. After a hiatus last year I was stoked to be heading back to Iowa City, Iowa for my 8th year.

After our physics class, Emma and I loaded up the car and trekked the five hours to Iowa. I got kitted up while she set my tire pressure. The course was just like I remembered, hard, technical, euro and the mud felt like home.

The start went off clean and I moved up the left side on the long finish straight sneaking up a few spots in the first few slalom corners. When we came through pit one I was in sixth place and moved into fifth place before going into the second lap. Along the start straight I moved into third position following a French rider and then into second place going past pit one.

On the third lap our group of six had a sizable gap on the field and I felt comfortable in fifth. On the fourth lap Diether Sweeck lit it up shattering our group. I pulled away from Gunnar Holmgren on the runup and finished off the last few laps solo to take fifth as the top American, my best UCI finish yet.

Check out the video below for a post-race interview with Wisconsin friend and Cyclocross Magazine writer/videographer/cx coverage extraordinaire Zach Schuster.

Also be sure to check out this amazing race coverage video by Bill Schieken from In the Crosshairs!

On Saturday it was all about Emma. I rode in the morning and headed to the race just in time to catch the last few laps of the men's race.

WVA

Then the women took to the course. Emma had a solid start and was in the low twenties for the first lap or so.

As the rain kept falling and the race got harder Emma continued to move up.

In the final descent on the last lap the u23 rider in front of her took a tumble(I watched this happen and was jumping up and down because I was so anxious) and Emma was home free to finish 16th overall in a World Cup and was the second u23!

I sprinted to the finish line and worked my way over to the podium tent anxious to find her. Eventually, she came out so I could hug her and a few minutes I got to watch my big sister stand on World Cup podium for the first time.

On Sunday it was time for the C1. I had a rough start almost getting caught behind a crash in the first corner.  I started to work my way up but plateaued in the first race hovering in the low twenties. Around the halfway point Jamey Driscoll came around me and I hopped on his wheel. He set a hard consistent pace that made me suffer but brought us into the top twenty. With two laps to go he dropped me.

In the final lap I passed Eric Thompson and finished half a wheel behind Gage Hecht. The picture above is me helping Gage up after he took a spill in a deep rut after crossing the line. In the end I finished 17th overall and was happy to snag the third step of the u23 podium with Gage and Brannan Fix.

Overall I'm pretty thrilled with how the weekend went. Took home my best results yet in a C1 and C2 and am happy with how I raced and felt. Cyclocross is so incredibly fun and I cannot wait for the next four months of racing!

As always big thanks to my team, Linear Sport RT and our sponsors: Trek, Bontrager, Wheel & Sprocket, Styled Aesthetic, Kettle Moraine Preservation and Restoration, and David Hobbs Honda.
Thank you as well to Trek Race Shop, Englewood Grass Farm, Honey Stinger, Mike's Mix, and Sram. Thank you all for reading and be sure to follow along on my social media @cswartzz. Next up, Collegiate MTB Regionals in Copper Harbor, Michigan!

Trek CX Cup

Trek CX Cup! The first cross race of the season is always a cause for celebration and especially when it's back home in Wisconsin at Trek HQ.  Thursday after class I caught a ride with the Conaway's up from Indianapolis, since Emma needed to be at Trek on Wednesday. 

cx caravan 

On Friday I got to wake up in my own bed and hang around before heading to preride in Waterloo. The course fun, fast, tacky and perfect for a Challenge Grifo. After warming up with Brian Matter we rolled to the start and I got ready to suffer.

I started towards the back but moved up down the first descent to pit one and kept on the gas up the climb to the first flyover. My cross skills were a little rough but the fitness was there and legs felt good! I kept moving up until midway through the race when I found myself fighting for 13th with Jack Kisseberth and a European rider. We stayed mostly stayed together but as the race went on I found myself struggling to stay right with them. Not far behind was a group 4-5 riders including Matter, and they were chasing hard. That motivated me to keep hurting and I stayed ahead to take home 15th, as the 3rd American.

PC: Mark Zhao

On Saturday I rode the hour from Madison to Waterloo to race the P/1/2 race. Brian got away early and I got away in the last two laps to finish second in an exciting race. Then I rode back to Madison to call it a day!

On Sunday it was all about the World Cup. I got up early and did a big endurance ride out to Trek. Then I got changed, grabbed my camera and enjoyed the races from the other side of the tape.

WVA

Go Emma!

Fans!

Great to see the Linear Sport RT crew.

Overall it was a fantastic weekend of racing and a great way to kick off the cx season. Trek absolutely knocked it out of the park with this event! Nothing better than racing at home in front of the entire Wisconsin cycling community.

Lastly, I am very excited to be riding for Linear Sport RT and our sponsors: Trek, Bontrager, Wheel & Sprocket, Styled Aesthetic, Kettle Moraine Preservation and Restoration, and David Hobbs Honda.
Additionally, I am proud to be working with the Trek Race Shop, as well as representing Englewood Grass Farm, Honey Stinger, Mike's Mix, Sram and more to be announced soon. Thank you for reading and be sure to follow along on social media @cswartzz.

Ore to Shore

Here is a quick and very late race report coming at you! My family and I drove up to the U.P. Friday morning. Emma, Ben Schmutte and I got out for a quick preride/spin.

Saturday morning we were up early and headed to the start. I lined up front row with my teammate Brian Matter and got ready to suffer! Unfortunately, my potential for a great race was cut short, when my chain exploded eight minutes in. I didn't have a chain tool and was stuck waiting until a kind person threw me one. Another friendly dude from Broken Spoke stopped to help as well and we got me up and running again. At that point, I was 17 minutes behind the leaders in last place(667th) with 40 miles to go.

From there I just buried myself. I worked my way through huge groups of people desperate to catch my sister and help her win the big check. With 9 miles to go I finally caught her and told her to hop on my wheel. She already had a few minute gap on second place so I towed her all the way into the finish. It was pretty special to cross the line with her.

Although my race was shot the weekend was still a blast. I got to race with my sister, go cliff jumping with great friends and spend some time up in the North Woods. This pretty much concludes my "pro" mountain bike season for 2018. Now it is time for collegiate racing and cyclocross! Announcements about cross will be coming soon so stay tuned.

WORS #8 Hixon Forest Epic

Last WORS race of the season for me! Hixon Forest in La Crosse is one of my favorite courses and a little rain made for perfect conditions. Per usual I drove up the morning of, warmed up and got my call-up. Right from the gun, I settled in on Cole's wheel and he set the pace.

Photo: Janice Jedlicka

We entered the first single track section together and started to pull away from the field throughout the first lap. We established a solid gap and heading into the second lap I put in a dig before the first single track section taking the lead. Cole closed it down on the descent and heading into the first singletrack climb I gave it some gas to test the waters. I got a small gap and Cole closed it down passing me back midway through that second lap.

Shortly after he passed me back Cole dropped his chain through a rocky section and I hit the gas. I figured he would lose 20-30 seconds and catch me after a little bit, so I decided to at least make him work for it. I kept the pace high expecting to see him coming but it never happened for the rest of that second lap. I realized that this was my opportunity to make a win happen and I continued charging solo.

I rode the next three laps totally solo, growing my lead. My legs felt fantastic, I kept my technical mistakes to a minimum and I never let off the gas. I ended up crossing with over a two-minute lead to win my first ever Pro WORS race!

Photo: Janice Jedlicka

I've been racing WORS for ten years now and racing in the elite race for about four seasons now. I've wanted to win an elite race as long as I can remember and finally checking off this goal feels amazing.

I'd like to thank the whole WORS community for their endless support in me and to my amazing team, Linear Sport RT and our sponsors: Trek, Bontrager, Wheel & Sprocket, Styled Aesthetic, Kettle Moraine Preservation and Restoration, and David Hobbs Honda. Thank you as well to my personal sponsors, Englewood Grass Farm, TOGS, Fox Racing Shocks, Honey Stinger, Mike's Mix, Wolf Tooth Components and ESI Grips for helping make this happen.

2018 Mountain Bike National Championships

Time for a nationals roundup! I rolled out on Tuesday the 17th and headed for Milwaukee where I picked up fellow WORS racer and friend Ben Senkerik. We then headed for Indianapolis where we stayed the night with my sister's boyfriend and Marian grad Ben Schmutte. We had dinner, spun out the legs and the next morning we were back on the road early to finish the drive.

Snowshoe never disappoints! 

The rest of the evening was spent riding, getting to know the Bear Development crew I was staying with, and hanging out at the Wisco/AZ cookout. One of the things I love most about cycling is all the friends you make and one of the best parts of nationals is reuniting with those friends from all over the country.

Hanging with the Bear Pro Team boys and Specialized Racing interloper Chris Blevins

Thursday I pre-rode more and got a few hot laps in. I felt fast and fluid on the course, but I made the mistake of going back to hit the big manmade rock garden one more time. On the exit I was I was just a few inches off my line and slammed into a rock super-manning over the bars. I got scraped up all over my body and hyperextended my left elbow. Overall I was in one piece and Ron Funston (Scott's dad) checked me out and taped up my arm.

Trek Top Fuel dialed and ready!

The next day I did one easy lap and then hit the rock drop a few times to regain my confidence before spinning out the legs. Then there was nothing left to do but rest, recover and focus!

The A-line over the rock drop. Photo: Jack Looney

Cross Country

Saturday morning, the Bear Pro crew and I all went through our race day rituals. Breakfast, coffee, watch the tour, second breakfast, and legs up until it was time to kit up. Then warm up and roll to the start. I lined up second row on the far right and charged up the start hill in the top ten. When we popped out onto the first climb people went around me like I was standing still. I tried to kick it into gear but things just wouldn't click.

Photo: Calder Wood

I went into lap two near 20th place, but this time when I got to the first climb it felt like a switch had been flicked. All of a sudden I was actually racing! I started to make up a few spots. At the end of the third lap, Cooper Willsey caught up to me. I hopped on his wheel and we started making moves. He had a very smart strategy, fast but steady on the climbs so that you weren't too gassed to put it down in the technical sections.

Photo: Calder Wood

By the final lap we worked our way almost into the top ten, Coop had a little gap on me after the last descent but both of us were clear from the rest of the group. Cooper finished in 9th just eight seconds ahead of me in 10th.

It was my first u23 nationals and earlier in the year I set the goal of cracking the top ten, but I was still disappointed. You know what really good legs feel like, you know decent legs feel like, and you know what bad legs feel like. On this day my legs were just painfully mediocre and far from what I needed to attain a big result. On the bright side, I was the top finishing first year u23 and my fellow Trek family members of the Bear Pro Team claimed six of the top seven spots!

Short Track

On Sunday we had to wait around all morning since we didn't race until two. That meant more Tour watching, lots of food, stretching and tired dudes talking about how much the short track was going to hurt.

I did a long warm up and got my call-up to the fourth row. I started hard trying to make up as many spots as I could quickly before I lost too much time. The pace was blisteringly hot and I struggled to hold on to my teammate Brian Matter's wheel as he moved up through the field.

Photo: Janice Jedlicka

He still helped me move up a few spots through the field and at the halfway mark of the race other races started to blow sky-high. I started making up spots passing the blown riders.

I worked my way close to the top 15 but lost some spots on the last two laps fading back to 20th place. Again, I was hoping for a better result but I really had no clue what to expect in my first Pro STXC nats.

Photo: Janice Jedlicka

In all I had a great week in West Virginia. The riding and racing was fantastic and I came away with some solid results and learned a lot. I have to give a huge thank you to Julia Violich and the Bear Devo program for hosting me for the week and making me feel so welcome.

Now finally I want to thank my amazing team, Linear Sport RT and our sponsors: Trek, Bontrager, Wheel & Sprocket, Styled Aesthetic, Kettle Moraine Preservation and Restoration, and David Hobbs Honda. Big thanks as well to my personal sponsors, Englewood Grass Farm, TOGS, Fox Racing Shocks, Honey Stinger, Mike's Mix, Wolf Tooth Components and ESI Grips for making my season happen. I couldn't do it without them.