FSC #3 - HARDROCK CYCLE PARK

OCALA

I was so excited to be racing at the HardRock Cycle Park in Ocala! There hadn't been any mountain bike races there in many years so it seemed that everyone was ready to test out their skills on a motocross course. I had heard some awesome things about the course and how it was technically better than Hailes Trails; but I had to see it for myself, since Hailes Trails was one of my favorites. Got there Saturday morning and the first thing I saw was a motocross track with huge climbs! I couldn't wait to pre-ride! 

Hitting the motocross track in the Team Time Trial

The start of the course was a big climb and I knew that would split up the group in the race. After the climb there was a huge downhill that would give everyone time to recover. Right off the bat there were climbs....and then there were more climbs. And I'm not talking about short little climbs, I'm talking steep, long motocross climbs! I could imagine a dirt bike having some problems getting up some of them. I knew I had an advantage on this course because I was riding with two gears on the front, while most of my competitors were running one gear on the front. The course continued to be hard and fast. It had some awesome drops that made those dreaded climbs worth it! Just when I thought I was done, I was hit with that motocross track I noticed when we first got to the park. The climbs weren't particularly long, but they were killer! While it seemed like the course went on forever, it was really only about 5 miles long. I knew I was going to have to rest up to do it again a few hours later for the Team Time Trials. 

Going into the Team Time Trials my team, Team Bent's Sleepers, was in the lead. My team consisted of myself, my brother Morgan, Gary Chambers, Tarek Hatoum, and Michel Timmermans. We shot off the line at a pretty good pace with Morgan and Gary leading the pack. I rode in fourth position behind Tarek. My position was important because if something happened to one of my teammates in front I would have to move foreward and take their position.

Team Bent's Sleepers moving in on the first really big climb


The course was even tougher this go around because everyone was beat from their pre-ride. Ended the Team Time Trial without a podium finish but happy to say that Team Bent's Sleepers is still in the lead...and by an impressive eleven points!

Race day! I talked to my dad, Mose Howard, and Dwayne Allgire to strategize on how I would work this race. I knew I needed a top three at the start so I wouldn't be held back on the climbs. Our strategy worked as planned. Making the first climb I was in third place but managed to pass the second place racer, Dylan Drake, on the next climb. We were riding single track, cruising along, when the leader made a small mistake in a sandy section causing me to endo over the handle bars to avoid hitting him. Third placed crashed into me bending my rear rotor. I hopped up as fast as I could to get back on my bike because now I was in last place...and because there were millions of ants everywhere! At this point the leader, Michael Mace, had a huge advantage on me. But I couldn't move, mine and Dylan's bikes were attached - his handle bar through my wheel and my pedal wrapped around his cables. As soon as we could get them free I pushed hard to close about a 35 second gap on the leader. This would be difficult because I was going to have to pass everyone else in my class to gain back my position. Eventually, I was able to close the gap and get back into the second place spot. Dying of thirst in the 100+ degree heat, I reached down for my water bottle and came up empty. Darn thing had flown off in the crash. Now I had to finish the lap without any hydration. I came through scoring about 20 seconds behind Michael and was never happier to see my dad in the feed zone. I grabbed my bottle, took a swallow, and pushed on. I was able to catch Michael at the beginning of the second lap. I knew he had pushed hard to keep his gap, so when I reached him I attacked. I opened up a gap and continued to dig down deep and push harder. Going into the motocross track on the final lap, Dwayne Allgire let me know I had about a 1 min 45 sec gap on second place. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the other racers in my class coming in strong and closing my gap on the motocross track. Coming through scoring I had gotten my second wind and felt like I could do another lap. This was a tough course on a brutally hot day. Pulled another 1st place podium finish. 

Congrats to 2nd Place - Tyler Mayer, 3rd Place - Adam Cohen, 4th Place - Dylan Drake, and 5th Place - John Michael Koch! You guys are awesome to race against!!

Congratulations to all the Team Bents racers and the great job they did at the HardRock! Big shout out to Cadence Howard for her 5th place finish in Women's Base ~ what an awesome accomplishment for an 11 year old girl!!! Cadence, you rocked it!!! Congrats to my brother, Morgan, for his 2nd place finish in the Cat 3 11-14 class ~ that kid is fast!!

Cadence Howard owning the podium!

Special thanks to my bike shop, Bents Cycling & Fitness! You guys are the best - thanks for all your support! I am so proud to be racing for you!!! Thanks to all my sponsors: Cycleography, TwinSix, Beljum Budder, SockGuy, Spy Optics, and RxEquipped. 

Looking forward to racing one of my home courses, Alafia! 

Making it down the big drop

To see more race pics go to:

www.cycleography.zenfolio.com