After a good week of training post Downieville, it was off by train to Granby CO for the national championships. I must say, taking the train is the way to go. The ability to walk around and stretch the legs without the stresses of driving really was a pleasure. Not to mention, 1 out of the 10 stops from San Francisco happened to be Granby, how convenient is that! We got there Wednesday which left plenty of time for practice for my two events, cross country and super downhill. Lodging was already taken care of (thanks Shelly) at the Silver Creek lodge so we were a convenient 10 minute ride to the mountain. Starting off the day with a bowl of oatmeal, fruit and nutela, b-fast was typically followed by a mid day training ride. After shredding the gnar at the Sol Vista ski resort, pool access at the resort was in order as they offered outdoor swimming and some tubs to loosen up. To top this off, joint dinner efforts were made with the roomies offering a variety of pasta and salad options every night.

Racing began on Friday for the roomies and central coast locals Brie Spiersch and Brett Butler really represented with a podium ride for Brie and solid finish for Brett in the sport class. Saturday’s racing started early with local talent Brian Butler racing to 6th in the highly competitive Cat 1 field and Shelly Monroe rockin’ a podium finish at 3rd in her Cat 1 field, way to rep the coast guys! Even a buddy from school back east made it out to race the Slolom race and killed it, nice work Geoff!

Next up was the Pro XC race at 2 pm. I got a decent night sleep, solid breakfast and the legs felt ready to take on the 5 laps of the 4.5 mile Pro loop. From the gun the course drag raced up a 18-20% gradient climb for a couple minutes before leveling off on a fireroad offering some passing. This was short lived as we continued to climb for another 12-15 minutes up steady switch backs before cresting the top for some technical downhill sections. The main crowd pleaser came only a minute or so into the decent with a technical switchback section followed by a “yard sale” section. The yard sale section was fittingly named due to many of the riders going over the bars and stacking up on the steep grade. This area had a large cheering section due to the nature of its location. In practice I found a line on the right side of the downhill in which you hop over a pile of logs, dodge a few trees, drop off a couple rocks and you find yourself set up to make the sharp lefthander at the bottom. After this, the downhilling continued with some switchbacks, a quick climb and some more wide open descending back to the resort to start another lap. Lap times were around the 24-26 minute mark and totaled 1000 feet of elevation each lap.
I had a great call up for the start and found myself being staged behind Ned Overend, not bad. It was an event free start and found myself in the top 25 hitting the first section of trail. The whole first lap I pushed it as hard as the legs would let me but my motor wasn’t there and my legs never came around. I rode a few laps cruising up the climbs and ripping the descents until calling it a day. Not the race I wanted to have at nationals but sometimes that is how it is, though was a good warm up for the super D following day.

The super d, or super downhill, started Sunday 9:30 at the top of the mountain. Practice consists of taking a ski lift chair to the top of the mountain and riding what I call the fun bike. Thanks to Dane, I had a Specialized trail bike to use which had 5” travel and was perfect for the course with wide open, high speed downhill sections mixed with rocks, logs and jumps while snaking through trees to the bottom of the run.
Borrowed super-d bike, this thing rips!
Times were in the 6 minute range making for a short but sweet race. We used the LeMans start format meaning the race was started with riders lined up and at the sound of a whistle, sprint by foot to our bikes which were placed 25 yards away. After some pushing and shoving in the mad dash to the bikes, I found myself in 4th. We meandered through a number of 180 degree turns which then funneled us onto the first section of trail. By this point I found myself sitting third. The first three minutes of the course was littered with jagged rocks and trees to dodge in and out of. Vivolo got the hole shot but soon flatted, leaving West at the front of the race. It came down to the lower section where West pretty much left the door open and I got around. I guess I incorporated all those years of slolom racing while in college and made a quick pass on the inside of a right hand berm. There was some contact but pretty smooth considering and neither of us went down. After this it was on the gas trying to fly low and not get bucked over the handlebars as the trail pass a series of high speed table top jumps and fun berms. Following the lower section turns it was a sprint to the finish and I found myself alone crossing the line. If someone was to ask how I figured I would finish on the day, I figure I would up on the podium but never would have guess I would be on the top step.

To sum up the week of racing in Granby Colorado, I had a great time. For the next year of racing, I have more motivation than ever to dedicate to the sport of cycling. After a mechanical free race, I have to thank from Sonny at Enduro and Jason at CrankBrothers, you’re what make this possible. The train, excellent riding, and good food all contributed to a memorable trip with people that all have one thing in common, a passion for bikes. Now I just need to learn how to pop the cork off a cheap bottle of champagne.