2013 USAC Cross Country Mountain Bike Nationals - Bear Creek Resort, Pennsylvania

 

 

Mose Howard gets 4th!!!!

Nationals was probably the coolest experience I have ever had. Being able to ride, visit with all my mountain biking friends, and making new friends, I had an awesome time! I wasn't able to make to the Nationals in time to race my Cat 2 15-16, but I was totally ok with that. Just having the opportunity to go and experience what Nationals is all about was so worth it. Before we left I decided I would go a head and race the Super D so that I could get some race experience on this type of course. I flew out of Tampa early Friday morning with three of my teammates: Mose Howard, Dwayne Algire, and Brent Hall. Got to Philly and made the drive to Bear Creek Resort. Wow, the area was just beautiful! As soon as we got there we got to our hotel and got our bikes ready to pre-ride. We pre-rode the cross country course and realized that it was extremely technical! The entire course was filled with huge, jagged rocks that were just ready give riders a big mechanical at every turn. Made it through the course without any problems, but this course was really unforgiving and we were very lucky! Afterwards, we hung out at the Velodrome with other riders and watched racing in the arena. Then we moved on to a local Italian restaurant to continue our carb loading.

I was really looking forward to Saturday's cat 1 race and cheering on Mose, Dwayne, Brent, Alex Meucci, and Travis Brown. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't on anyone's side and it dumped a ton of rain on the course. Saturday morning as my teammates stood at the line up we knew it was going to be a wet, muddy, messy course. Mose, Dwayne, and Alex all got the hole shot in their classes and it was looking good for them. I waited at the feed zone handing out water bottles for my team. I was hearing about a lot of crashes and mechanicals on the course in the cat 1 race. According to my friend, Shawn Smith, it seemed as if "a mechanical bomb was dropped in the middle of the course and anyone in the blast radius had a mechanical". Last I heard, there were over 72 racers who weren't able to finish due to injuries or mechanicals. That's how technical this course was - the most difficult one I have ever been on. When it was all said and done on Saturday, Team Bents pulled through some great finishes. Mose Howard made a podium finish in 4th place, Dwayne Algire finished 14th, Brent Hall finished 4th, and Travis Brown finished  13th. Outstanding racing by all the Team Bents racers!! After a short break we were able to get a feel of the Super D course. This course was super technical, but so much fun! I knew I would have to ride smart in order to keep from crashing or having any kinds of mechanicals.

Dwayne Algire on the course

Sunday morning came and I had a call up time of 8:45 for the Super D. I was so excited to finally be racing. I had decided that instead of going all out on the course I would play it smart and ride fast, but cautious. It wasn't worth an injury that would potentially keep be out of the Florida State Series. The countdown started and I shot out of the gate. The very first section was extremely technical. Being on such a stiff hardtail made it pretty uncomfortable. I felt like I was bouncing all over the trail. There were several times where I had to catch myself from endo-ing over the handlebars...and I was riding cautious!! I felt like I had lost some time in that first section. Then the trail became smooth and flowy with fewer technical sections. This allowed me to pick up the pace and try to gain back some of my lost time. I managed an 8th place finish and felt really good about how I raced. Great finishes in the Super D for Dwayne Algire placing 2nd and Mose Howard placing 8th.

Had such a great time racing and seeing all my old friends! I want to thank Steve Bent and Bents Cycling and Fitness for their support and encouragement and getting me to Nationals! Thank you Mose Howard and Dwayne Algire - what a blast I had hanging with you guys! Thanks to Travis Brown for getting my back to Florida. Shout out to my other sponsors: TwinSix, Spy Optics, and SockGuy! As always my TwinSix kit kept me looking cool, my Spy Optics glasses kept the sun and dirt out of my eyes, and my favorite SockGuy socks kept my feet dry and comfy. And a super thank you to my parents for giving me the opportunity to experience Nationals without them!!!

 

Got to meet Lea Davison!

 

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