Vail Lake US Cup 2019

Looking forward to later in the season, this weekend was super important because it would give us call ups for nationals and be a determining factor in our placement. The SoCal Devo team all arrived at coach Jason's trailer at 7:00 in the morning to do team stretches. We stretched for about 25-30 minutes and then realized that we didn't have too long before we started. We got all our gear together and started our warm up. When we arrived at the line there was a tone of people lined up in our group. I was racing the 17-18 category but I also went off with the 15-16 and 19-29 groups so it was a very large wave of riders. I ended up lining up in the very back with only a few guys behind me. I knew that I needed to make my way through the group as fast as possible. I made a couple of good passes and got ahead of a few guys but was still 15 to 20 riders back. I locked bars with 2 people in the start just because there was so many of us and there was no room on the road. Once we were in the first singletrack everyone held their place until we got to another fire road. Every chance I got I would try to gain a few places just to get a little bit closer to the front. The group stayed together for the most part, for the first two laps. Any time a gap would form between two riders the other riders in the back would get around the one that was slowing down and they would push him off the back.

At this point in the race, one of my SoCal Devo teammates, Adin Papell, was right behind me. The second lap was where the front of the pack made there attack and me, not making up enough places couldn't react to there attack because I was too far back.  Now Adin and I were working together making up places in the race. By the end middle of the lap though he fell off my wheel leaving me alone to chase people down. I caught a few adults from the other groups and worked with them for a small amount of time until they couldn't hold my wheel. At the start of the third lap, I was all by my self with a few people just barely out for sight. I was about a third of the way done with the lap going up a fire road when I looked back and saw four or five guys from the endurance category along with another one of my teammate, Hunter Zubick, on the back of their group. I still had a decent gap on them but I knew they would catch me eventually. I got into the decent and to the bottom and they caught me on the next climb. We all stayed together and Hunter and I were trying to hang on as long as we could so we could use them to bring us back to the front of our group.

The fourth lap started and I was still feeling really fresh and good to go. We were about a fourth of the way done with the lap when one of the endurance riders in the front of our group messed up going up a technical climb and everyone behind him, including Hunter and I, all had to get off our bikes and run past him. The riders that managed to be in front of him took off and got a huge gap while we were all trying to get on our bikes. I was right behind Hunter going up the next long fire road and we went right around the other endurance racers and started pacelining with one of them for the whole climb. As soon as we hit the single track though, Hunter And I left the other rider that was with us and took off down the descent. Unfortunately, halfway down my right clip I could fell was loose and I was worried that if I pulled up too hard that my foot would fly off the peddle leaving me no way to clip back in. This was in the back of my head the whole rest of the race and because of that I didn't lay down a big attack to pass Hunter, I was hoping I could save it till the end. It didn't end up working out that way and he went on the climb but didn't get too much of a gap because I definitely hadn't given up. Those few seconds gave him the little edge in the finishing stretch that I couldn't come past him. Little did we know we were fighting for first and second the whole time and I got second. We thought we were mid-pack because of all the other rider in front of us but turns out they were all in different categories.
My first SoCal Devo race of the year was awesome and was only possible because of my amazing sponsors including our new kit sponsor Canari. Thanks to Ellsworth bikes, Rudy Project, Kenda tires, ESI grips, Phyisiophix, Scicon bags, Gup industries, and Dryve wheels.     

  

HS Vail Lake #1 2019

Even though it was my second race in varsity the nerves were still at large as if it was my first. Among sorting through the butterflies in my stomach and the pressure I was putting on my self to do better this race, I had to get my head in the game and get in my zone because this was happening, whether I liked it, or not. I was feeling super excited for this weekend because it is at Vail Lake which is my home course and I know it really well.

After the pre-ride on Saturday, I wiped down my bike and made sure it was running smooth. Later that night all the Devo team met coach Jason at his campsite to go over the plan for the weekend and to give us some new gear for the year. (Devo kit release coming soon, Made by Canari). It was about 11:30 race day morning and I had 2 hours till my race went off when I got all my feed bottles with physiophix and nutrition ready. By 12:20 I had all my new top of the line awesome Rudy Project gear on and I was getting on my Ellsworth to ride over to the pits to warm up. Once I got over to the pits I walked a short distance over to the feed zone to give them my bottles. After that, I was on the bike for my warm up and soon after that I was at the line waiting to be called up. I had the last call up in the varsity field and lined up in the second row. Once at the line, we waited there for about 10 minutes before the race actually started. Go!! I stomped on my right pedal while trying to clip in my left foot and it took me way too long. By the time I was clipping in half the field that was behind me was now in front of me. I got clipped in and knew that I needed to get to the first single track in the top 5. I made a big effort to get back up there because I knew it was now or never. I got to the top 5 working my way through traffic and was in 5th before we go to the first single track. I got through there without losing a spot and made it into the tighter section in the same good position. Now making our way up the fire road climb we were all trying to get into a draft. I kept my 4-5th position and no one attacked going into the single track so I stayed where I was. We came out of the decent right through the next part of the course with a ton of speed into a momentum climb called air force. For this climb, it is imperative that you are in the right gear and this first lap I just so happened to be in too hard of a gear. I got to the top of the climb and tried to pedal and my foot flew out of my pedal. I had to get off my bike, losing at least 10 spots that I had to make up. After that the next road took us to a steep climb and right to a chattery, switchback descent. The next section of the course we had the option to go left or right. The right was easier but much longer while the left was harder yet shorter. Every lap varsity went left because it was faster, and from there we went right into a pump track in front of the venue and announcer. The whole group was still together as we made the last turn and headed to the finish.

By the time we started the second lap I was in about 7-8th place and was trying to get settled back on the group. I took my feed extremely fast and didn't take my second bottle at the end so that I could gain a few spots in the pack. I was trying to recover when at the front of the group, as soon as we hit the first steep climb in that single track,  two guys took off. Me, being too far back to react, I had to let a few of them go. From there on out the whole varsity pack was splintered into groups no bigger than three people. Me and two other people were working together to catch two people ahead of us that were too far apart to be working together. The rider that was in the front sat up and let the other person catch him so they could work together. It was much harder to catch them after they came together but we ended up catching them after one of them blew up at the beginning of the third lap.

The third lap we added one person to our group and lost one other and the three of us that were left all knew each other because of previous years of racing. We decided to work together to catch other riders and keep other ones off of our group. We stayed together taking turns pulling and worked together really well for the rest of the lap. By the time we came around for the final lap, it was getting really fast and harder to hold on. I didn't take too many pulls that lap because my fellow riders realized I was having a hard time holding on and wanted to keep me with them so I wouldn't work with the person behind us at the time and catch them. Every time a small gap formed between us I told my self that all I had to do was catch back up and I'd be able to catch my breath and if I was to fall off now there was a larger chance that I would be caught from behind. So with all my effort every time I would bridge the gap back up to them because I knew how important it was. I held on right till the end and fell off the back for the last about three minutes of the race. I was able to fend off the rider behind me to put my best varsity finish so far in the books with sixth place.

I can't end my blog without giving a big thanks to Kenda tires for the new tires I put on a few days before the race. My tires never lost their grips and they are truly an awesome product for racing. Once again My Ellsworth bike never fails to deliver and has made this result possible. Thanks to Phyisiophix for the nutrition keeping me going during the race and training. Thanks to Rudy Project for the awesome protection with there helmets and glasses. Thanks to ESI for the super comfortable grips that take away the brake bumps. Thanks to Dryve wheels for the amazing support and products they have provided me. Thanks to Gup industries and Scicon bags for their support with their products. Don't forget to go check out my teamates blogs at the SoCal Devo website. All you have to do is click on the riders name.