WORS Cup Pro XCT

After road nationals my sister went off to the tour of rimouski and I went up Appleton to stay with my cousins until Thursday night. My parents left Tuesday to head up to Canada where we would all meet up the next Monday. Our friends the Knowles stayed with me at our house all weekend which was nice because cascade mountain where the race was, is only 30 minutes away. Friday I had the short track race which was only 15 minutes long. The knowles picked me up and we drove up to the race, they had there camper there as well so we could hang out and change in there. I did a few practice laps on the course which took a little under two minutes per lap, then I went over to the start line and lined up in the front row. They blew the whistle and we took off, I had a terrible start and was in 15 going up the first hill. I turned myself inside out the rest of the race and moved up on the climbs every lap. The whole thing was basically a sprint and I ended up 4th in my age group and 7th overall out of 40+ riders.

Saturday was the Super D race which was basically a sprint down the mountain which took 5 minutes. There was a short climb and a flat section right at the start and then single track all the way to the bottom so basically whoever got to the single track first would win because there was no way to pass. My wave went off and I had a fantastic start I was second up the first hill and had a gap on every one else. I tore down the flats trying to close on first but just couldn't quite get there. I dived into the single track and ditched everyone else. I slid out in a corner at one point and lost thirty seconds but still held second all the way to the finish and I ended up 8th overall. After Nate Knowles's race and packing up we went out to eat for Nate's birthday at a fancy restraint where we got delicious stakes which definetly helped me on Sunday!

Sunday was the cross country race which was the real deal, and there was some very stiff competition. Unfortunately my wave went off 4th so we had a lot of traffic. Luckily I got my call up so I lined up in the first row, don did the count down and we took off I took second off the line and tried to stick to firsts wheel. Sam and Blake got by me and I was going as hard as I could to stay with them as we chased down first. A little ways into the single track Sam stalled out and I got by him and ditched every one behind me. Me and another older junior turned our selves inside out for the next lap and a half until we caught Blake who was in second place. But by that time I didn't quite have enough gas left to keep that same pace so Blake and the guy I had been riding with pulled away a little bit. It was a super hard race and I went all out the whole race, I was third in my age group and only 30 seconds behind the winner who just one the 13-14 MTB national championships this weekend. I was 4th overall out of 175+ riders, On Monday I flew to Canada to meet up with my family for a little vacation! Next up is road state championships, a few more WORS races and then cyclocross!

WORS#5 Red Flint Fire Cracker

Well this is definetly my favorite WORS race. My dad and I drove up in the morning and had to leave pretty early and arrived around 10:30. I got ready and tuned up the bike. I rolled up to the start line and got my call up. Luckily my age group wave went off first so I didn't have much trafic. We took off and I sat on the wheel of the leader but he was going to slow so I jumped around him and kept going. I drafted my dad until before the jump section another rider passed me and I jumped on his wheel. I passed him in the single track and rode away from the pack in the lead. My friend Kyle caught up to me and we rode together for the first lap and when another junior caught up I jumped on his wheel and we pulled away when Kyle had a crash. He pulled on the flats and I rolled away from him in the single track. The last few miles were single track so I pulled away. The course was amazing and the trails were perfect. I won my category and was 4th overall out of over 200 riders. My dad also won his single speed division. This weekend is the WORS cup and I will race short track super D and cross country. I can't wait!

Junior MTB Camp, Keweenaw Chain Drive and WORS #4

I fought through finals week and finished my first year of high school,  unfortunately I could not find a ride in time for the first day of Brian Matters MTB camp but lucky I got a ride up from Madison to Hayward with the Jacksons. I stayed overnight at their house and we left for Houghton after lunch. Me and Jeff rode the Michigan Tech trails in the evening despite the mud and had a great time. In the morning I met up with the camp to pre-ride the Keweenaw chain drive course. The course was a little damp but the trails were great and I couldn't wait to race. After lunch we headed over to the Michigan tech trails for the Trek demo. I test rode the full suspension superfly 9.8 and a few others on the awesome trails. Going big on jumps was a lot more fun on a full suspension bike!

The race started at 10 the in the morning and the start was just out the front door of where I was staying with the Jacksons. I didn't have to warm up to much because there was a neutral roll out for the first few miles, I stayed at the front of the pack and once we got to cemetery hill the pack broke apart. I was the first 16 miler into the single track and about 20th overall behind other 32 milers. I was feeling good and hunted down 32 mile racers and had a couple minute gap on the rest of the 16 milers. I would have won overall but unfortunately I flatted and crashed. I put CO2 in it but 6 16 milers got ahead of me and I was never able to close down on them again. I won my age group and my dad got 3rd in the single speed division, my dad and I also won the father son division. The camp was awesome and it was great to hang out with everyone but my dad and I had to hit the road. We went to my cabin near Minocqua which is about a hour and a half away from Sundays race in Wausau. My cousins were at our cabin so we had a nice evening with them and left at 8:30 the next morning. My legs were completely fried but I persevered. I pulled the hole shot and after a few minutes only my friend Sam Spende was still on my wheel. For the whole first lap I tried to drop him but I just didn't have the energy or the power. Also the course was less than 5 miles a lap there was nothing technical what so ever on the whole thing. For the second and third lap I tried to conserved my energy for the finish. I stupidly lead out the sprint and Sam managed to get by me for the win but I was still content for how tired I was! It was a great week and next up is the red flint fire cracker in Eau Claire, after a bit of Tour of Americas Dairy Land!

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WORS #3 Battle of Camrock

For this race compared to the last race the travel time was greatly diminished from 4 hours to 25 minutes. Finally WORS had arrived at my home course! I slept in late, had a big breakfast and jumped in the car. I got dressed on the way and jumped right on the bike as soon as we parked and started warming up. I could see the storm clouds rolling in as I warmed up on the road and about 15 minutes before the start it began pouring. Unfortunately it turned a lot of the trails to mush, but luckily the rain stopped right before the start. The first few waves went and I got my call up, Don did the count down and we took off, I pulled the hole shot and was first up the big start hill. My friend Andy and another guy passed me on the first flat and I tried to stick with them. We immediately started to catch lap traffic and we slowed down to a stand still. Most of the first lap was like that and I stayed within eye sight of Andy. It was quite a struggle to not be able to go full speed on the trails that I know like the back of my hand. I had to be very aggressive with my passing which led to a few slide outs in corners. Towards the end of the first lap my right shifter gave out and I could only use 2/3 of my gears. This made it pretty hard to climb the monster climb at the start. The second (and final) lap continued to not go well as another racer crashed me into a spectator on a straight away, luckily he sort of caught me and I continued on my way. The rest of the lap was a struggle with minimal gears, the muddy trails, and the numerous crashes really worked against me and I was feeling very discouraged but I finished strong and ended up 2nd in my age group and 5th out of 210+ starters. It was not the race I was hoping to have on my home course but it was still pretty fun!   

WORS #2 Crystal Lake Classic

Once again I took to the mountain bike and headed up to Rhinelander for the second WORS race of the season. I was going to stay in Appleton with my cousins and drive up in the morning but unfortunately my mom had not been feeling well for a few days and so I ended up going with my coach Joe Maloney. We were a little behind schedule and arrived at 10:50 for my 11;30 race. It was tight but Joe got mu bike ready while I registered and got dressed. I did a short warm up and tried to open up the legs, they didn't feel ready to go hard but as it turned out they were! I rolled up to the start line and took my gel, Don did the count down and we took off, I went pedal to the metal and immediately took the lead and opened up a 25 foot gap on the field and stayed ahead all the way through the first couple miles of flat two track and got away even more as we hit the first big climb. From there I plunged into the single track and took off, I went full gas for my two laps and pushed as hard as I could. I was feeling great the whole race and ate up the single track and the hills, the trails were fantastic and I was hungry. It was a perfect combination and I won my age group and finally did get the Cat 2 Sport overall win! It was a amazing race and the entire race had been super fun and I was thirsty for more. Next up is Cam-Rock, my home course!

WORS #1 and a New Coach

Finally the first mountain bike race of the year! I am so pumped for the mountain bike racing season to start. I rode up Saturday morning with my new coach Joe Maloney, I have been working with Joe for about a month now and it has been awesome! He has really helped me take my racing and training to the next level and I hope to work with him for many years. If you are looking for some one to help you become a more complete and faster cyclist you should seriously consider Joe! 

I rode a couple of preride laps and got the secret lines down. I hung around until the Schmidts got to the race and then I rode a lap with them. I left with the Schmidts and we went out for a fantastic dinner and then I stayed with them for the night which was fantastic because then I didn't have to drive up in the morning. Me and Andy Schmidts race started at 11:30 so we had plenty of time in the morning. Andy and I warmed up and headed over to the start line. Don did the count down and we took off, I was 3rd up the first hill and stuck on seconds wheel as we flew down the first couple of hills and into the bowl. Andy was in the lead but slid out in the 180 in the bowl. I briefly took the lead but Andy and the other guy caught back up and passed me. I passed second place in the fist section of single track and dropped him. Andy took off and I didn't see him again. My legs did not feel great and I could not get any speed going even in the single track but I made due. It was all single track for the second half of the lap and 3rd place caught up to me every lap on the first climb but I would drop him again in the single track. He finally held onto my wheel part way through the last lap and I knew I could beat him if I could be ahead of him going into the single track. I jumped ahead right before the single track and took off, I got a few seconds on the guy in 3rd and finished strong. It was a fantastic first mountain bike race of the season and look forward to many more! I was second in my age group and 3rd overall in the sport category out of over 200 riders! Huge thanks to Joe Maloney and the Schmidts for helping me to be able to race this weekend!

Barry Roubaix 2014

We returned to Barry Roubaix for a second time to take part in this epic gravel road race. About 3500 people raced total in the 24, 36, and 62 mile categories, I raced the 24 miler and my sister raced the 36 miler. I went off in wave 14 and unfortunately I did not start with the men but instead started with the women and kids. I had a great start and led out the entire wave by 50 yards, after a mile or two I went onto the gravel and started to catch up to the next wave. I rode solo and pushed as hard as I could up every numerous monster climb, and kept on hammering. Right before I turned onto the last 2 mile pavement stretch before the finish, the top 5 rider from the 36 mile category caught up to me and I drafted them all the way home. I won my junior category and got a $250 scholarship and a bunch of great prizes. I also was 2nd overall out of 489 finishers, to my dismay the leader was 1.16.12 and I was 1.16.17, I was only 5 seconds out of the overall win! It was an amazing race and I got a huge amount of prizes. My sister Emma Swartz won the womens 36 mile overall which was fantastic as well!