FLORIDA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES #1

TALLAHASSEE

A few of the Team Bents racers: Mose Howard, Morgan Connell, me, and Dwayne Algire

And so the fall race season began with the FSC #1 in Tallahassee on September 13th. I was so excited to start this season off with a bang. I had been training hard all summer in anticipation of racing in Cat 2 Junior Sport. The drive up to Tallahassee was miserable...it was long and boring, but well worth it. Once we arrived at Tom Brown Park on Friday and set up our camper we all went out for a leisurely pre-ride. The course setup was outstanding, about 6.5 miles long. It was very flowy with a few open dirt road sections and downhills where you could really get up some speed. There were a few steep climbs that if you rode hard enough would knock the breath out of you. The final portion of the course was a super cool BMX track. 

When I woke up Saturday morning I threw on my clothes and went for a last pre-ride lap with my teammates, Mose Howard and Dwayne Algire. This helped me loosen up my legs for my Individual Time Trial that was going to be held later that afternoon. After that lap I went back to check out two different lines I wanted to make sure I was comfortable with. Then it was downtime for all us as we waited to be called to the line for our ITT. After a few hours I started my warm up and was called up to the line. I was so anxious to get going. I knew I had prepared well and was ready to show everyone what I was made of. The Individual Time Trial course was the second have of the race course - about 3.5 miles. At the countdown I was ready. Once they gave me the go ahead I blasted out as hard as I possibly could. I whipped through the turns and hopped over roots and it didn't seem as if it were humanly possible to go any faster through the trails. When I made it to the BMX track I knew that it was almost over and I was in a pretty good place. I was breathing so hard I felt like I was having an asthma attack. I pushed even harder and made it over the finish line with my own personal record. There were 184 racers participating in the Individual Time Trial. I finished 10th overall, 1st in my class, and 1st overall all Cat 2 with a 14:37 lap time. I don't think I have ever pedaled that fast before! I rode as if the Devil himself were chasing me through the trails! I felt really good about my standing in the ITT - especially since my company in the top 10 were all Cat1 and Pro racers!

Morgan getting some air on the BMX track

Mose Howard tail whipping it during the Individual Time Trial

Dwayne Algire doing his thing during the Individual Time Trial

Me and Tyler Mayer starting the first lap

Individual Time Trial on the BMX track

Sunday morning the sun came up bright and early and I was ready to go. I felt so good about my ITT results that I was confident I would hammer it during the XC race. My class was slated first to go out at 11:30 and it couldn't get here fast enough. This is the first year for the Cat 2 Junior Sport class in the FSC and I was excited to be racing with many of my friends. On the line I took up my position between Tyler Mayer and John Koch and got ready to rocket out of the start. Unfortunately, when the whistle blew I had enough power to kick off but not enough skill today to clip in. That resulted in a second to the last rider in the pack. I knew at that point I had to use more energy to make it into the top three. When I hit the dirt road section about 1/2 mile in I started to pass as many racers as possible. I moved up into third place going back into the single track. As we started to go down a descent we realized the course tape had been tampered with and moved. We all slammed on our brakes and turned to go up the nearest dirt road hill. As we got to the top the tape had been moved there also. We then realized that someone had messed with the course changing up the tape so that we were riding in a circle. We hopped off our bikes as if we were racing cyclocross and ran down a hill carrying them the entire way. We hopped off a ledge and were able to make it back onto the trail again. All the effort I had used to move back into third place was wasted at this point. The course swap put me into sixth place. As we came up to another open uphill dirt road section I moved my way back up to third by hammering it up the hill. As we moved into the single track I noticed the first place racer was slowly opening up a gap. I passed the second place racer and immediately closed the gap between myself and first place. The first place rider, Michael Mace, and I started to open up on the group until we made it to a twisty section and Michael slid out in a sandy turn. I didn't want to have to make my move half-way through the first lap, but I had no choice. I went for it and pushed the pace a little faster than what we had, knowing that I still had to finish this lap and two more. As I whizzed passed scoring I saw Michael out of the corner of my eye and knew I had roughly a ten second gap. Again, I pushed the pace a little harder and as we got onto the dirt road I started to go wide open up some of the climbs. My legs were on fire. The road wasn't too steep but for some reason it felt worse than some of the steeper climbs. At that point I went as hard as possible through the single track, recovering on the downhills and in the turns using my momentum. Pulling through the second lap my gap had increased to about a minute over second place. Crossing the creek my coach, Mose Howard, was standing there encouraging me to push it as hard as possible on this section. Coming out of the trees he told me I had gained another minute. During the third lap I was starting to get caught up in race traffic and really had to utilize my passing skills in order to maintain my lead. At this point, I was confident I was in the lead and pedaled over the finish line knowing I had accomplished my goal: 1st place finish! It was exciting to watch the battle between Michael Mace and Cody Burnett for 2nd and 3rd place. In a heated sprint, Michael was able to hammer his way into a second place finish with Cody on his wheel. Adam Cohen came in fourth and Tyler Mayer fifth. Great to see my friends on the podium with me!!

I was so pumped up and really looking forward to the FSC #2 in Fernandina Beach, but my body was thinking otherwise. By Tuesday after race I started feel bad with a bit of a sore throat. By Wednesday, I was running high fevers and my throat and head were killing me. I was diagnosed with strep throat and started on antibiotics. This, I knew, was going to be a problem as far as racing at Fernandina Beach. I knew it was just to close to the race weekend and that I would not be physically capable of doing my best and I would be putting myself at risk for getting sicker. I was totally bummed out, but I understood and am super thankful I can drop that race. So, while my dad and brother are in Fernandina Beach, my mom and I are hanging out at home while I recuperate. Thankfully, there is a two week break between races and I will be in fully race mode come Hard Rock! 

Big congrats to all of Team Bents for some awesome results! Mose Howard - 3rd in the ITT; Alex Meucci - 4th in the ITT; Gary Chambers - 1st XC-GM2; Dwayne Algire - 1st XC-1 (40-49); Steve Bent - 3rd XC-GM1; and Mose Howard - 2nd XC-1 (30-39)!! 

Thanks to everyone who supports my racing. Bents Cycling & Fitness is an awesome sponsor and bike shop and I couldn't get to where I am at without their continued support. My new sponsor, Beljum Budder, proved itself as an awesome chamois cream!! Racing the ITT and then three laps, I knew I would need some protection and it did the job! My SpyOptic sunglasses held up and protected me from the glaring sun and dusty trails. I can always count on my SockGuy socks to keep my feel looking and feeling amazing. And a big thank you to Cycleography the awesome pictures! You can view all the race photos at http://www.cycleography.zenfolio.com.