The American Mountain Classic for me was a journey to say the least. I pretty much experienced every single human emotion over the course of the past 4 days. I try not to write a whole bunch about my personal stuff here but I figured this race would provide some good stories so why not.
Elation
One of my main goals coming in to this race was to win the opening prologue. This is as about as close to a grand tour as I will ever get and the fact that they were awarding a leaders jersey gave me a ton of motivation. I knew Tinker was racing and winning would be hard but if I was going to beat him it would be over 20 minutes in the prologue not over 4 hours on the first stage. I admit I got super lucky and won because Tinker crashed but still, I had my jersey. I felt so pro.
Frustration to Vindication
The first real stage was a point to point 52 mile affair. After the first climb I was about 30 seconds behind Tinker and about 5 seconds behind Hub of Aspen rider http://www.aspenathleticclub.com/staff.htm. In the descent I passed Ted and was feeling the flow until my rear tire started going soft. I rode it as long as possible befor stopping and blasting it with a can of Big Air hoping the Stan’s would work it magic. It did for about 2 miles. After what felt like the slowest flat repair ever I was back on couse. I knew we had a ton of racing left and decided to put the blindrs on and ride a pace I knew would take me to the finish with some gas left in the tank. With about 3 miles to go I was amazed to have caught Ted again. I asked him if he knew what place he was in and he was not sure. Either way I was relieved because I knew from the way he was climbing earlier that he must be pretty far up in the standings. As soon as I caught him I could feel my front tire going soft. You have got to be kidding me. I rode it until we started to descend and jumped of to put some more air in. I managed to get back to Ted just before the mile long descent to the finish. I managed to hold on and get 2nd behind Tinker with Ted one second behind.
Optimistic
I knew from yesterday the Ted could climb really well. I also knew that based on yesterday I was a bit faster in thsingletrack and the DH. Today’s stage started with a 30 minute road climb. The Rev is 6′7″ and 195lbs. long sustained climbs are not a specialty to say the least. Ted was out of sight by the time we got to the top. I needed to stay focused and hope I could claw some time back wherever possible. At one point there was an out and back section of the course meaning I would see everyone in front of me coming the opposite direction. I got to the trun around and never recalled seeing Ted. I figured either he had a mechanical and was out or I was not paying enough attention (I was not paying attention). I also knew that there was a BIG gap between me and the next group on the course. Really though my strategy remained unchanged, keep hammering! I was really hurting the last hour. I was cramoing in both legs and had to walk up the steeper hills. All I could think about was finishing, eating, and sitting in an ice bath. This was the hardest day I have ever had on a bike.
At the finish I got the bad news. Ted has taken 12 minutes out of me. Ouch. Still though I figured if he could do that to me then I could do it to him the next day. In my mind we were even.
Perspective
The night before Rachel had been having some stomach problems throwing up a few times in the night. She is about as tough as anyone you will ever meet and though I was concerned she said she was ok and gonna race. After todays stage (Stage 2) she was in bad shape. She had not been able to eat at all during the race. She felt pretty awful and then it got worse. When she finally said she wanted to see a doctor I knew it was bad. Rachel asking to see a doctor is like Palestine inviting Israel over to watch “America’s Next Top Model”. We immediately drove to the nearset hospital in Cedar City, fast. They pumped 3 litres of fluid and potassium into her over the next 8 hours. The entire time she is telling me to leave so I could recover for my race. Yeah right. No way I am laving my baby alone in a hospital for some stupid race. Not even a question.
They finally let us go after midnight and even then she is worried that we are going to wake up our room mate (Jeremiah Bishop, who was leading the Pro race). Typical.
Armageddon
The 5:30 alarm was particularly cruel this morning. Today my name should have been Beano, I had no gas. We started on the same climb as yesterday and just like yesterday Ted was killin’ it. I was feeling pretty good until we hit the steep stuff near the top. I was walking stuff that was totally rideable. My legs were total sacks of cement. I made it over the top and really ripped Dark Hollow passing a lot of people who were walking down the hard parts. Ok I though, maybe my legs will come around. Climbing up out of the Scout Camp it became clear they were not liking that idea. When both quads cramped up and I fell over I knew my day was done.
Genesis
Some may say this weekend was a bust. They would be wrong. The riding and intensity I got this weekend will pay dividends on the cross bike. My final placing was far from a sure thing. In stage races you have to finish each day. Being fast on one day means nothing if that effort leaves you blown for the next days. There are no gifts at these races. The guys who got Top 5 earned every penny they won in prize money and deserve all the respect that comes with it.
I slept 14 hours last night. I have race Tour of the Gila twice and I was never this tired. The late night before the final stage while not ideal, was not what caused me to drop out. Bottom line I did not have the legs for this race. I will be back next year and I will be ready. Ted, I hope you come back as well. You might beat me again but hopefully it will be closer:-)
The best part about the weekend was the people we met and got to spend tme with. I have not raced much this year so I met some of my team for the first time. Tinker, Blake, and Sue. It is a pleasure to wear the same jersey as you. Bart and Jason for getting the sweet helmet cam footage. Ohran the hardest working man in the bike biz kept our machines running fast. As I mentioned we ended up sharing a room with Jeremiah Bishop. That guys is hard as nails and an all around class act. Tim Butler (aka Sue’s husband), awesome ride man, can’t wait to mix it up on the cross bike with ya.
