Category: Racing
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2017 Mountain Bike Season – It’s a Wrap!
And just like that, Spring has turned into late Autumn, and my mountain bike season is over for another year. I raced 34 days in 2017, my most ever. The season didn’t go to plan in every aspect, but the process of looking back has been really helpful. I improved on the competitive side, and saw […]
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2017 Steamboat Stinger – On the hunt for a second Stetson
Standing on the top step of the podium at the 2016 Steamboat Stinger was a great achievement for me. I’d been in pursuit of the illusive first-place cowboy hat for a few years, and I’d watched as Russell Finsterwald and Alex Grant took the prize instead. After winning last year, I felt like I’d validated […]
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Whiskey Offroad: So that’s what it feels like to ride smoothly for three hours.
I’ve been nervous about my form this year. It’s not something that normally bothers me – I’ll line up, race and finish where I finish. But there’s been a resurgence in US mountain biking recently. People are getting fast. The combination of the first generation of High School MTB racers aging into the Elite ranks, […]
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Moab Rocks: coming right up
And just like that, it’s race season. I’m preparing to head to Moab for a long weekend of racing and riding bikes, and I cannot wait! Moab Rocks has been going on for a few years, but this is the first time it’s moved to the spring, instead of autumn. That’s made it much more […]
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A View From the Back of the Albstadt World Cup
The announcer stops calling out the numbers at 130, and instead turns his attention to the front of the race. I roll up towards the back of the pack as Julien’s palmarés are read out to the baying crowd. We have three minutes until race time. The music builds. I look up and around. […]
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Why Am I in Europe This Time?
For the last three years, racing a World Cup has been my goal. An obsessive goal that I had to fulfill. I’m here in England, and I will be lining up for my first World Cup in Germany next weekend. It started as a frustration: I was sat on the trainer doing intervals, and I was […]
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Hellas Salmina UCI racing – the S1
After our eventful trip to Salamina Island, we settled enough to find the race course and attempt to go ride it. We set off in the direction of Kanakia to find the time trial course. Forget the picture-postcard Greek island that you’re imaging though; Salamina is a little more down to earth. Belying the poor economic […]
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What no cross racing?
Enough people have asked why I’m not racing cross to actually write a blog post (yeah, people still do that). Rather than racing cyclocross, I’ve been galavanting through the hills on some amazing mountain bike rides, and also supporting Christa as she’s dived head-on into cross fever, and taking a break from racing. My racing hiatus […]
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The wild west of the Midwest: The Wisconsin ProXCT
After a really successful trip to Boston, I made up my mind to fly out to Wisconsin for the last round of the US national series. I’d never been to the Midwest before, and heard from so many people that the WORS (Wisconsin offroad series) races are great. I was sold, flying into Chicago on […]
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Getting to the point in Colorado Springs
For those that have followed my racing for a bit, you’ll know that I’ve been in search of the elusive UCI point for over a year. The UCI point is the secret to MTB success on a national (or larger) level. How do you get one? Well, the easiest way is to already have some. […]