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!