Fontana Triple Crown U S Cup 2011

Last weekend I traveled to Fontana, California to compete in the US CUP #2. This "Triple Crown Event" offered the xc and Super D on Saturday followed by Short Track Sunday afternoon. This was to be my first Big National Race as a Pro and I was hoping for a top 40 finish.

Saturday I arrived just in time to the overcast skies and cool temps. The venue was on a mountain right in the middle of suburbia. If you watch the videos you can see for yourself what I am talking about. After the old registration and warm up routine I lined up with about 100 of the fastest racers in the country. There were teams from several other countries as well. I actually got a call up although it was at about 60th position on the line so it was little help.

Before long we were off and racing! The start was a quick series of S turns that caused a huge "yo yo" effect in the pack. Back at mid pack where I was we came to a complete stop at the first few corners while the leaders sailed through and were gone.

The course was rocky and flat near the start but quickly led up to an extremely long and steep climb. It was sandy, rutted, relentless. We were all in our lowest gear grinding up at near max effort. Some of the guys ahead slipped mid way up and we were all forced to dismount and run the remainder. As if my legs did not hurt enough already! Within a few steps the burn was intense! More than the normal amount of pain for sure. I made a mental note to stay on the bike at all costs on this climb the remaining 4 laps.

Finally near the top of the mountain the climb leveled out and we were up to speed on some really sweet packed-sand singletrack. There were plenty of boulders here and there and the course followed the ridge of the mountain for a while before the downhill. What a downhill it was! High speed, swoopy, scenic, two wheeled fun! Then a little bit of road leading to the start finish where we would do it all again.

Our class was extremely spread out, there was little passing opportunities and I took the first two laps just sitting behind people much of the time. Lap 3 was better, I finally rode the whole giant climb now that the pack was thinning. I was feeling pretty good, the bike worked great. I ran the new bontrager 29-2 tires. While they are optimized for loose conditions they work well just about anywhere and were a huge help on that long sandy climb. One slip and a racer is off the bike and walking to the top!

Lap 4 was going good, I was getting optimistic as I saw the guys ahead of me starting to fade back. Although I was moving up it was not enough to keep me from getting lapped by the leader just before crossing the line for my final lap. I was forced to abandon and scored in my place at 66th out of around 100 guys. Not the finish I had hoped for but wow what a fun race and insane competition!

Later that day was the super D event. It was a downhill course with one small climb in the middle. We not only competed against the top xc guys but also the top downhill guys at the race. I dropped a chain and was forced to dismount to fix it during the race but still placed 29th which I was quite happy with. The course was really fun with some pretty scary drops near the bottom, I nearly lost it near the finish to the delight of a large crowd that had gathered there. It was cool to nearly crash then save my own ass to the cheers of so many spectators!

Finally Sunday night closed with the short track. Race. A twenty minute race around a short loop. The course was very roadie friendly and I knew I would be in trouble when I got another way back call up. I was starting near the rear and a crash at the start brought my group to a screeching halt in the first corner. By the time we got moving the leaders were way gone and the panic ensued. Our group stretched out to a single file line as we all sprinted hard trying to catch up. I was redlined beyond the redline, I blew and struggled alone a couple of laps before latching onto a rider and getting some air back into the lungs. I hung on for a couple laps, made a move to pass, and just as I was getting tired again we got pulled as the leaders approached from behind. I was not sure what to expect but I made it 16 minutes before getting pulled which I was not totally disappointed about. Overall for the weekend's Triple Crown I managed a 45th place which I suppose would be categorized as an honest ass kicking. What a humbling experience to line up next to legends and really see where I stand.

Next up is the Whisky 50 where I will again be battling with the big guns in the Arizona high country. I suspect it's going to be Epic!

Check out the two videos below, they give a glimpse of the giant climb and the awesome trail conditions, as well as the insane speeds we travel at on our bicycles.

Watch more video of US CUP PRO TRIPLE CROWN #2 FONTANA on cyclingdirt.org

Watch more video of US CUP PRO TRIPLE CROWN #2 FONTANA on cyclingdirt.org

MBAA Race #4 Foray at the Fort

Foray at the Fort, MBAA race #4 was probably the most important race of the Arizona series for me. This race was worth "points and a half" so it was a good opportunity to get a good finish and some much needed points toward the state championship.

I had trained well, stayed healthy, prepared my bike, arrived on time, all of the requred stuff to have a good finish. Located just a few miles from Mexico on a military base this course was just too far for me to make the drive down for a preride. Luckily I arrived early enough to scope out the first 2 miles of the 6 mile loop. It was all uphill, starting with a false flat and slowly working up to a loose, techy climb near the top.

I finished my warmup and devised a psuedo race plan. Then, just as I was approaching the line and making final adjustments to my gear I broke the zipper on my jersey. Crap on a stick! The temps were cool and the course was fast so I really did not want to compete with my jersey open and flapping in the wind. Near the starting line I struggled for several minutes to repair it. I could hear the announcer over the loud speaker "pro's you have 2 minutes til start" I though for sure I could zoom over with 20 seconds til start and still make it.

Well, apparently they did not use the loud speaker to send off the first wave of racers because when I finally gave up on the zipper and lined up there were no pro's on the line.

"where is the pro class?" I asked the racer next to me. "They left already!" he replied. I cursed and jumped off the line, heading up the road and into a headwind all alone. So much for my race plan!

For the first several minutes I was all alone, could not see anyone. Then I caught the first guy in my class struggling up the steepest part of the first climb. I passed him and moved on into the singletrack that I had not ridden yet. It was very loose and rough, I had thoughts of my bike breaking from the beating it was taking.

The rest of the lap was more of the same, tough, lung burning climbs at altitude followed by steep, loose, rough downhills and finally to the only short road section through the start finish. 1 lap down, 4 to go!

Lap 2 was more of the same, I was moving up and gaining time on second place slowly but surely. He did not see me creeping up behind him and I was just about to make contact, pushing myself hard, riding on the edge, when I lost it in one of the many loose corners and went down hard!


The crash tore a hole in my shorts, bloodied my hip, elbow, shin, and tore my rear shifter housing which eliminated half of my gears. I had no idea I was bleeding and had torn shorts. Too much concentration was needed to keep my chain on a usable cog. I had to hold my shifter between gears on some of the climbs and I dropped my chain several times the 3rd lap, having to stop, dismount, and reinstall it.

Now my hopes of 2nd place were pretty much gone and I just tried to keep my bike together and not crash for the second hour of the race. It was a disappointing feeling to be racing at less than my maximum speed but I managed to keep it upright while navigating through the lapped racers.

"The Fort" was easily the most difficult course I have raced this year, mainly because of the altitude, difficult climbs, and teeth rattling downhills.

I finished 3rd and that was good enough for a podium spot and some valuable points in the series. Currently I am leading the points race but that could easily change considering we are only halfway into the series. We now have a 5 week break in the AZ series. This weekend I intend to travel to Fontana to compete in the US Cup Triple Crown. I will be lining up against the fastest racers in the world in the xc, super D, and short track events! Should make for some good stories at least!

thanks to Barry Hart Photography for the awesome photos!

Double Blog Throwdown! White Tanks vs Sage Brush

White Tank Mountain Competitive Course was the venue for the 3rd issue of the Arizona State Championship Series. This 7 mile loop was mostly fast, rocky doubletrack although there was about one mile of rather technical trail sprinkled throughout.

Temps were on the chilly side again, about 60 at start time. There were quite a few racers on the line this time and I had only raced against about half of them. The rest were guys I have never seen or heard of so I had no idea what to expect. Coming off a killer cold for the past two weeks I was feeling weak on race day. Had I not pre-registered I would have skipped this one all together.

After a half arsed warm up the gun was fired and we were off and racing. The first mile was slightly uphill leading to the "tech section". The guys at the front were extremely fast and I lost contact falling back to the group of locals I know from the previous races. Speeds were high enough that I was able to draft and work with some of the other guys on the first lap. I turned an extremely fast first lap compared to my practice times and was suddenly feeling optimistic.

Well into lap 2 of 4 I was feeling ok and probably somewhere near the top 5 when I hit the bedrock on a fast G-out and heard the too familiar hiss of air from my rear tire. I rolled on but all the air emptied and I was forced to put a tube in























The rest of the race was spent playing catch up and battling lapped traffic on the course. On my final lap I began to feel the fatigue from the previous laps but still managed a top 10 finish...barely.

The next morning was the first Kenda Cup West Race near San Diego. As I drove into the mountains just outside of the venue I was shocked to see snow everywhere, icy roads, freezing temps, yikes! Arriving at the venue was more of the same, snow and mud and a bunch of mountain bikers.

The xc course was covered in 6 + inches of snow and the organizers decided to close the course, and instead have an abbreviated course around the parking lot. The course layout was lame, but I think the organizers did what they could considering the conditions.

Arriving on the start line late I was again offered a prime starting position right up front and happily inserted myself there.
















Bang we were off and racing! I actually led the pack down the first quarter mile of road before they swallowed me up so that was completely unexpected and kinda cool...until we hit the water crossing. As the officials re routed the course all the snow up in the mountains was quickly melting and flooding the stream we would cross five times during the race. This was possibly the deepest water crossing I have ever experienced in an xc race. Completely rideable but freezing cold and extremely deep.

















By the second lap every wave of racer had been sent out onto our short track cyclocross mud fest! So besides the river and giant mud bogs I was now battling 400 racers all on a single 5 mile loop. In all my years racing I have never done anything like this in my life.




















I think the pics from this race tell the real story. Basically my bike stayed together, my body failed, and I finished near the rear. Not my best results but a very fun weekend of racing anywho and a truly crazy race experience.

Next weekend's race in near Tucson on a military base, rumor is it's the funnest course on the circuit!