Michigan CX State Championship - Bloomer Park

Its coming down to the wire. The CX state championship has already came and went! This is a race that I look forward to every year, but is not always kind to me. And Worst yet, I often don't seem to have enough gas this late to finish it off. But in the past few years, I have been slowly figuring out the recipe to get it right on this one time shot of a day which is the CX State Championship.

This year I was hoping to show better than in past years. With some left over Iceman Fitness, the race moved up a few weeks, and at Bloomer Park - one of my favorite venues. I was confident and ready to go.

In the days leading up the race, Mother Nature was playing all kind of tricks. Rain, Snow, Cold Warm, she threw out everything. This made training difficult at best. And it was sure to leave the course a mess come race day.

And a mess it was. We don't often get muddy races for CX in Michigan and when we do its usually the splashing, and slippery time... But for Bloomer it was thick peanut butter mud. I don't mind racing in the mud, in fact I think I have a little advantage over most guys when it comes to handling my bike in the stuff. But lets face it, I'm not a little dude. So when the peanut butter mud comes out, I sink in it. So knew I was going to be difficult and was up to the task.

It was finally to go, and we were off. I got a good start and settled near 5th behind Andy who already had an enormous lead, Brian W, Simon, and Alex. I inched my way up front to avoid any crashes. By the time the 2nd lap rolled around. We pulled back Andy's lead and were in striking distance of catching him. I was feeling really good and decided, it would be a good time to test some legs and see who was ready to play. I surged and came around Brian. Within a few seconds, caught Andy and passed. Soon after, it was only Simon and myself. We had a sizable lead and just traded pulls for the next few laps. Around the 4th of 5th lap, we could see Tim Saari clawing his way back to us with Todd Greene in tow. Ugh. No matter how hard Simon or I tried to push we could not keep Tim from coming. When he finally caught us, he stood up and put in about 10 hard pedal strokes in one of the few long straights. That was it. Simon and I were fighting for 2nd place!

We battled lap after lap. I would attack in the technical sections and then he would attack in the really thick stuff. With 1 lap to go, I tried to make one last move to pop him in the start/finish straight. I came by quick and soon opened up a small gap. I knew I had to try and stay in front of him in the slow thick muddy section leading up to the barriers and into the 2nd 1/2 of the course. I knew that the first person off the slippery velodrome hill and into the final turns of the race would have the advantage. This was my goal.

As I approached the muddy chute leading up to the barriers, I pedaled my ass off! Legs were burning, as were my lungs. But I was only inching my way forward. I could hear Simon slowly closing the gap I opened up just minutes before. In a matter of 100 yards., we went over the barriers side by side. He clipped in first and now was in front. I tried to get around before the velodrome, but just could not find a clean spot through all the twist and turns or put in any more power to go by him. We both made it off the slippery hill without issues, and I tried to keep the chase close. It was not enough. I watch him ride across the line in 2nd, and I grabbed the last State podium spot for 3rd.

I had a solid smart race, and just got beat by 2 better racers on the day. I was very happy with the result, and what I have been able to accomplish so far this year.

I have to say that Simon rode what might have been one of his best CX races ever. He handle his bike in the mud and technical sections like I have never seen him do before! Great Ride!

Also, I want to congratulate Adam York and an awesome ride and winning his first Elite State Championship. You came a long way son. Very happy for you.

Lower Huron CX

With Iceman out of the way, and some built up fitness, it is time to turn all my focus back to CX. Especially with only a few races left. The points series is going to be close, and I really wanted to get at least 1 CX win before the end of the season. I figured the next few races would be my best chance, so heading into Lower Huron I was confident, motivated, and ready to go all in.

Lower Huron has always been one of my favorite venues to race at. When I think of cyclocross I think of this place. It just has everything. And this year did not disappoint. A few new changes to the course and the familiar sections made for a great race!

The cold temps made for a difficult warm up. Nothing like sitting at the start line worrying about borderline hypothermia every weekend. We got the whistle and were off. I had a shity start! completely blown my pedal, and drifted back to the rear of the group. But I was able to recover and fight back as soon as we hit the grass somewhere around 6th. Tom Barrett was already on the front ripping legs off and controlling a sizable gap. Andy, Simon, Brian W, Alex, and Todd Greene followed. I dangled off the back and watched. The boys in the front were going hard! One blow after another. It was hard keep with the group, but I managed and decided to just let it play out and see what happens. The run/ride up was horrible for me. Either I was not committing or I would get botched at the top by other riders. Either way, It was costing lots of time in the 1st few laps, leaving me to chase down the lead group. I finally decided to not be the hero any more and just run the damn thing. In the end I think it made all the difference. We will come back to this.

So halfway through the race, there were signs of guys starting to fade. Andy, Simon and Alex soon fell off pace and were behind me. We were pulling back Tom as well. The around lap 4, Todd made a huge surge. He caught and passed Tom. Brain didn't react. I waited a lap, and decided where I would make my move.

Lap 5 started and Brian, Tom, and myself were within striking distance of Todd. But Todd was not showing any signs of giving up. We came back to the run/ride up. I noticed on the previous laps that although I was getting dropped by the guys riding up the hill, that I would easily catch them again on the long false flat to the bike path and then up the bike path hill. I believe that running was actually less stressful on my legs and thus could continue to lay the power through this section while others needed to recover. So I decided to put it to the test. Todd, Brian, and Tom all pedaled up. I jumped off and ran. About a 4-5 second gap formed, but I closed it down quickly and legs felt good. I followed up the bike path climb and onto the next flat fast grassy straight away and laid it down. I came by Brian and Tom, and closed the gap to Todd instantly. I decided to pedal straight through and push a few more harder gears to see if it would stick. It did! I was now in a good spot with 3 laps to go. I was feeling good and focused on putting out consistent power and riding smart. The gap continued to grow until the then. I was free and clear. My first CX win of the year.

Great racing by all the boys again. Its been close and fun every race. Im sure the next few will not be any different.

Congrats to Jeff Simpson on his first CX podium ever!

ICEMAN - REPEAT

 

The 2014 Iceman is one that will be remembered. Not for the fact that it was the 25th anniversary, but for the epic conditions. And it was these conditions that had me questioning the entire day.

I wanted nothing more than to win this race again. But I knew it would not be easy. My legs needed to show up. I couldn't get sick leading up to it. And a lot of things had to go right during the race. Including the conditions. So as the rain started to come down the night before and into the morning of the race, I started to doubt my chances as actually being able to win again. I felt with the slower slippery conditions, lighter guys with way more technical skills would just shoot me out the back of the group, and I would have to scrap for the last few places on the podium if I had a chance. But some how, It all worked out.

DC and I got to the start line early. We didn't bother warming up. and just sat in the car with the heat on. Finally we got the bikes out and pedaled to the tent just next to the start line. motivation was slowly dwindling. But chatting and laughing with Brad, Joe, DC, and others, some how made it all better.

Soon after the race to the starting grid happened 30 mins before the actual start. Brad, DC, and I all made it on the front row. Plan number 1 - check. We waited in the rain, and It just got colder and colder. FInally we were ready to go. The rope dropped and we were off! DC pulled the hole shot, and Brad followed. I sat about 4th wheel. Plan 2 - Check. Instantly I was blinded by the road spray from tires and grim. We made the sharp left hand turn and into the middle school fence. This is the most critical point of the race. You need to be at the front and I was! Plan 3 - Check! We hit the sandy mud, and now I really couldn't see. It was full on and I was holding my own. The we crossed the road through the ditch and onto the next critical part of the race, the first 2 track section. Then a rider just in front of me touches wheels with another rider and down he goes. I barely miss crashing myself and came to a complete stop! UGH! I watched the lead group ride away. And I was now swarmed by about 20-25 other racers. I did not panic and began to pick off guys one by one.

I used all the 2 track to power as far up as I could. It sucked at first, as I would get stacked up in the single track, and could not help but think that the lead group was slipping farther and farther away! Worse yet, I had no idea who slipped away with the lead group. I continued to lay it down as hard as I could and was feeling good. The trail was finally beginning to open up and riders were already falling away. By the time I made it to Dockery Rd. I was was making good progress. I was starting to see a large group of riders just ahead of me. Then finally realized it contained Lako and Jeff Whitbrott. This was good news! This had to been the tail end of the lead group. This helped me push a little harder and I was soon on the back. I chatted with Brad and Jeff a bit and told them to hop on. I pulled hard for several mins. and soon after, I was just us 3 chasing down the next group. We worked together up until Williamsburg road. A few younger riders caught us, and we hopped on their train. Jeff 1st, and then I followed. We hung on to the wheel and enjoyed the ride. Jeff and I were sharing the work with the other 2 guys, but they were a lot more skittish in their riding then we were. Soon after we were getting into some of the fast technical downhill just before Anita's Hill, and one of the guys fish tail in the sand next to the other and they both went down going about 20 MPH in front of me. It was bad! Jeff was in front so he got away. I had to lock up the brakes to avoid it. Some with Brian Harville who recently joined us. My first concern was that the riders were both ok. Before I took off, I made sure that both riders told me they were fine. They were, so it was go time again. I had to push hard again to try and make up as much time as possible. Brain was sticking to my wheel. When we got to Anita's Hill, Jeff was just cresting the top. I pushed hard and spun up. Brain had to dismount and run. Soon after I joined Jeff again and Brain was off the back. Jeff was happy to see me, and began our train again! On the Icebreaker, Jeff got unhitched, but now I had Joe Seidl in site. Joe had a stellar race. I was also able to join Don Hackney. This was good company and by now knew I was somewhere in or near the lead group. My legs were still strong and feeling good. I pushed through the slimy single track and into the final KM's. I knew I had another good ride, but boy was it one of the hardest and nastiest racers I had ever done.

After some waiting for the next few waves, it was finally clear, I had just won my 2nd Iceman! I actually couldn't believe it! I knew I had good fitness for the day, but I really thought the conditions would be the equalizer. In the end I proved to myself that I can still win a race like this even if it doesn't favor my all of my abilities.

No its back to the regularly scheduled program... See you at Lower Huron CX!

Exit Stage - West

While everyone else in the Michigan Scene is racing in Ohio at the UCI, I decided to stay home and focus more on what is going on next weekend. So in order to do that, what better way to get that last hard race effort before the big show - than do a CX race?

It's been a few years since I have done a kisscross race, so it was the perfect time to make the journey over to the West side, and enjoy some low key grassroots racing at it's best.

The race was at Cascade Park just outside of Grand Rapids. This place was the perfect place to race CX. Rolling hills, woods, sand pits, Pavement, and endless acres of nice grass! I fell in love with the place as soon as I pulled in the drive way. The course was great too. Lots of long power sections in the grass and pavement. A nasty, rooty loose run up in the woods, followed by another grassy run up with a set of barriers. and a second set of barriers in the middle of the course. And in typical kisscross fashion, a small log to bunny hop. All this made for a very hard and fast race, as you had to stay on the gas the entire time, and dismount 3 times per lap! So we got on and off the bike 36 times!!!!

The race went well, and I got out of it exactly what I wanted. I felt awesome, and was able to attack and create gaps when needed, and recover. I stayed on the sharp end of the race for the entire time. I started about 4th place and Soon Shawn Davison and Steve Bartzen Had almost a 20 second gap after the 1st lap. Earl Hillaker and myself began to chase. I soon after made a move to get around Earl and finally rode him off my wheel. Then I was able to pick off Steve, Shawn was all that was left. But he just dangled out in front of me. I was never able to make contact. Near the end of the race, the double run up was slowly taking its toll. By this time Earl had found out how to ride the rooty loose wooded run up and began to eat into my gap. But I had enough at the end and was able to hang onto 2nd place.

Lap times were rock solid, and I felt like I had the extra gears today. Time to rest up a bit more, and prepare for Iceman.

Crazy Busy.... and racing

Man it's been hard to keep up. Work has been crazy busy for me resulting in lots of OT. Including weekends. Not the norm for me. But through it all, I have maintained all my hours on the bike and racing is still going well. With a pair of 4th place results (in some close hard races), I finally did well at Mad Anthony and Was in the hunt for a win in the lead group at Vets park until a hamstring Charlie Horse stopped me dead in my tracks on the run up. But I clawed back to the tailend of the lead group and just finished out of top 3.

This is all good news heading into Iceman and the next few races. I just hope that life around racing slows just a bit, so I can keep better focus.

So for now, I will just hang on for the ride...