Justin, Heather, and I all raced this past weekend in Missoula, MT where Justin had both UCI XC and short track events against a stacked field of riders. I won my age category in Sunday’s XC, finishing 4th overall and Heather won her age group as well. The course had over 1000 ft of climbing per lap with basically one big climb and a fast flowing descent. Temperatures were only in the 50’s and Heather had some rain and hail during her Sunday morning race.
The pro races were live-streamed each day and are still available for viewing. The short track race might be a good one to watch since it has lots of coverage of Justin and is only 20 minutes long. It is not quite Eurosport quality, but there are commentators, a couple of drones, and a fixed camera. Skip to 3 hours and 29 minutes and that is the start of the men’s elite race.
https://m.youtube.com/live/UeJcGi9LdhA?feature=share
This past weekend I returned to XCO racing for the annual Missoula XC! This is one of my favorite bike races of the year in a beautiful town in the mountains. It was even more special this year as my parents drove out to support me and race!
This year’s course featured a new long double track climb with the same fast and fun single track descent. The course conditions were perfect during pre-ride but a short downpour just before our race turned the single track sections into slippery mud. I had a good start and knew that the race would split when we hit the mud, so I worked hard to defend my position all the way up the long climb and entered the single track in 4th. The leaders were riding smart so I was happy to ride behind them and learn the lines on the first lap down the descent. The lead group of four of us rode away from the rest of the field on the second lap, and although the pace didn’t feel too hard I was content to stay in the group as I tested out the traction limits in the muddy conditions. By lap three I had enough confidence to go to the front and accelerate up the climb, and only Toby was able to follow as the other two dropped back. I ripped the descent that lap and got a few seconds ahead, but Toby came right back at the bottom of the climb. I knew he was stronger than me, so the only thing I could do was ride as hard as I could and push the downhill in hopes that I could open up a gap. Despite my best efforts, Toby stayed on my wheel and sprinted away at the top of the climb on the last lap. I had given it everything and was starting to cramp, but I survived the last descent and came across the finish line in 2nd for the U23s!
Less than a day later it was already time to race the short track! They combined the junior, U23, and elite fields into one race with 64 riders, but I had enough UCI points to start on the second row. I happened to pick the best wheel and was able to sprint off the line straight into the top 10 before we dropped down the dual slalom course. Coming out of the woods on the first lap I got caught behind a crash and was gapped by the lead group. I pulled hard and a couple riders came around me but we weren’t able to bridge up to the leaders. I found myself dangling off the back of the group, and I was on the limit as I tried to close the gaps in the woods section. Eventually I got there and was able to recover for a lap before going on the offense. A lot of the riders had blown up from the effort of the first half of the race, and I picked them off one by one as I moved from 9th to 7th to 6th. Finally on the last lap I sprinted as hard as I could up the hill and made one more pass to claim the last podium position in 5th!
I am very happy with how this race weekend went. Missoula has always been a good one for me, but this year was my best UCI result yet with 2nd in the U23s! I forgot how hard a 20 minute short track could be after months of longer gravel races, but I was stoked to make a comeback in the second half of the race to finish on the podium. Next up is Soldier Hollow, another short track this Friday and then a U23 continental series race on Sunday!
