Justin and I traveled to the famed mountain bike trails of Moab, Utah, to compete in this three-day stage race. Moab is famous for slick rock trails where the route is over long sections of sandstone where the only way to mark the trail is to paint arrows on the rock. We arrived in Moab the day before the race, which gave us time to pre-ride the stage one descent down Porcupine Rim. It was good to see the trail and learn the lines down some of the more difficult features like the “Snotch”. Justin had installed a Rockshox Pike fork on his BMC Fourstroke, which stepped up the travel to 130mm, and he was pleased with how it soaked up some of the vibrations on the chunky descents.
Justin writes:
Stage 1 began with a neutral rollout out of downtown Moab, but it was not long before we hit the base of the long climb up to the top. Unfortunately, my derailleur stopped working, and I stopped on the side of the road to swap batteries but couldn’t get it functioning again. I was stuck in my hardest gear but was able to grind my way back to the group, and my dad offered to swap bikes so he could try to sort out the issue. We made a quick exchange, and I took off on his bike, chasing down the lead group again. I managed to bridge to the leaders and recover before launching my own attack on the top half of the climb. I went into the descent first with a 20-second gap, but knew that they were chasing hard from behind. I was able to ride the Snotch under pressure with videographers behind me, but Macky caught and passed me not long after. I tried my best to follow his wheel, but he took some crazy lines, and I lost sight of him a few minutes later. It was a challenge riding my dad’s bike, which was a little too big and stiff for me, but it would have been worse if he didn’t save my race, and I was stuck single-speeding. I tried my best to be smooth and steady, not wanting to risk a crash or a flat. I managed to hold off the other riders and came across the finish in second, 2 minutes behind Macky.
Stage 2 was a new day, and I rode the last few miles of the course the previous evening to make a plan for the finish. The day started with a loop out in Klondike Bluffs, but the lead group of four stayed together as we raced through the twisty single track. Then the course returned to the Bar M trails for a second loop on some slickrock trails. I followed Macky and Peter down the gnarly descents, and then attacked on the final bike path climb a few miles before the finish. I pulled the gap out when we hit the last single track, and managed to hold them off by a few seconds for the stage win!
Stage 3 was my last chance to take back two minutes in the GC overall. I raced offensively and attacked right before we hit the long single-track climb. I tried hard to gap Macky and Peter for the next hour, but couldn’t get separation so they were able to follow my lines through the blind sections. When we finally got to the long descent, I let Macky lead since he has done this race 5 times and knows every trail. It was a huge advantage to follow through the technical sections, and I was able to save energy by smoothing out the lines. The three of us were still together when we hit the final dirt road climb and Peter attacked. I was able to follow and we dropped Macky, but I barely had anything left so just had to hold on. Peter won the sprint for the stage win and I was right behind him, but we only pulled about thirty seconds so it wasn’t enough for the GC win. I am still happy with 2nd overall after the mechanical issues in the first stage, and had a good time racing on the best single-track in Moab!
Chris writes:
Stage 1: After the bike swap with Justin, I was able to get his bike functioning properly, but this took three separate stops, including one stop to raise his seat post. I was still able to take the lead for the 50+ men by the top of the thirteen-mile climb, but I was by myself and unsure if I could hold the lead on the descent that included some drops and technical lines. I was barely able to hold off former MTB Olympic athlete Travis Brown by a few seconds by the finish!
Stage 2 was on less mountainous terrain in the Bar M and Klondike Bluffs area with a mix of loose single-track, double-track with deep sand, and slick rock sections with lots of technical ups and downs. It was a mass start with 400+ riders and I got caught in traffic as people had issues in the deep sand and were crashing and dismounting. So I lost contact with the front couple of groups and committed to a long chase over the next two hours. But I never regained contact with Travis and he went into stage 3 with a one-minute lead.
The final stage did not seem to have much climbing with a published 2,300 feet over 28 miles, but I knew it started with a fire road climb and I was determined to start fast and hopefully get to the single track ahead of my competition. I accomplished this first goal and entered the single track in about 12th place, ahead of the other 50+ men. The next part of the race was a long, gradual climb with a mix of tight turns, rocky outcroppings, and slick rock. It took 100% focus to not make mistakes and lose time in this technical terrain, and I felt fairly fast on this section. The stage concluded with a 10-mile technical descent followed by a climb to the finish, and I was able to win the stage for the 50+ men and also win the overall GC!
