Hi Team,
This weekend I traveled to Wisconsin for the 4th round of the Life Time Grand Prix at the Chequamegon MTB Festival. This mass participation event takes place on the nordic ski trails of the Birkie classic, which are 50ft wide grass covered rollers in the summer. The race is a 40-mile point-to-point from Hayward to Cable, WI. There is only one signifiant climb, but the constant rolling terrain adds up to over 3000ft of elevation gain over a ripping fast 2hr race.
I started with the elite Grand Prix field but was racing against the other young riders in the U23 category. The start was like a traditional xco, except with riders 15 wide as we sprinted for position. Although the trail stayed wide for the first 15 miles of the race, the grass was thick and there was a single burned in line that everyone was fighting for. I defended my spot in the middle of the pack and tried to stay on the fast line to conserve my energy as much as possible. However, the rollers created a yo-yo effect where the group would bunch up on the uphills and string out on the downhills, making it hard just to stay in the peloton. The lead group was thinning out rapidly, and I found myself pinned as I tried to hold on to 700w accelerations over and over again. After 20 minutes a group of u23s all got popped at the same time as we watch the remaining leaders sprint away. We chased as hard as we could to close the gap for several minutes, but when we realized we weren’t going to make it back we took a quick reset and settled into a hard pace.
I tried to ride consistently and focused on carrying momentum down the short descents to fly up the rollers. We had a strong group working together so I tried not to spend too much time on the front, but led through most of the muddy and rocky sections to pick my lines and help the group make it through smoothly. Eventually we got caught by the flying crit racer Michael Garrison, who towed us across the fast gravel sections before the Firetower climb. Knowing that it was my only opportunity to make a move, I entered the climb on the front of the group and let it rip. After an all-out 3 minute effort I had dropped about half the group and was starting to catch more riders who had dropped back. I was at my limit but tried to rest my legs as I flew down the descent and made the connection to Russel Finsterwald and Dylan Johnson.
A few riders caught back on and we had a strong group rolling towards the finish. It took everything I had just to hold on to the wheels of the pros on the next climb, but I knew I was making lots of time so I dug deep. A few minutes later we caught Toby Hasset and my u23 competitor Griffin Hoppin, which gave me extra motivation. He had been riding solo for a while, so right when we caught him I put in a big attack on one of the final grass climbs. We distanced a couple other riders who were suffering, but Griffin held strong and I knew that group would go to the finish. The finish was a 2-mile long straightaway of grass rollers, gradually downhill to the line. I tried to sit in and recover to prepare for the sprint finish, but Dylan Johnson took us by surprise with a flyer and Griffin hopped on the wheel. I couldn’t quite make the initial jump and found myself chasing with Sam just a couple meters off the wheel, but we closed it slowly. We all came charging down to the line together, but I spun out my 34T and couldn’t compete in the final sprint, spinning across the line in 31st overall and 4th in the U23s.
It was good to be back to full gas racing on the mountain bike after all of these longer gravel events. I definitely left it all out there, my average heart rate was 191 bpm for the full 2hr race, and I had nothing left at the finish. While I was hoping for an even better result, this 4th place should help me secure an overall podium in the U23 Life Time Grand Prix (best 4/6 races, results TBD after Little and Big Sugar). Overall I had a good time in Wisconsin, spending time with friends and riding fun singletrack back to the beautiful lake house we were staying in. I am looking forward to some more real mountain bike racing on trails in my final collegiate season this fall!
