6 Hour El Lagarto

What a rush! The 6 Hours of El Lagarto was an awesome endurance mountain bike race. My parents surprised me with a Niner Air RDO complete with the SID XX WC fork! Awesome bike and I was so thrilled to have it and couldn't wait to ride it. Thanks to all the guys at LeRoy's BikeWorks for getting the bike finished just in time for the race. Was excited, but a little nervous to ride a new bike for the first time during an endurance race. The 6 Hour El Lagarto was my very first race last year and I placed 4th, so this year I was working hard toward a first place finish. Each lap was 7 miles for the Corporate Course. Knowing that there were some areas on the course that would jam bikers up my plan was to jump out in front and pull off from the group at race pace until we passed one of the more technical climbs. The race started off with a sack hop race and I was third out behind Cody Burnett and Zach Fout, who were both racing Corporate Beginner Men. Since I had such a big lead from the start I didn't need to go at race pace right from get go. I hung behind Cody and Zach. Heading in to scoring after the first lap I saw another racer in my group fly by me. I was not expecting that. Right after him one of my LeRoy's/CycleYouth teammates, Jordon Karras, who was racing against me, flew by. Even though I was a little nervous and really wanted to chase them, I also knew that I needed to hold back and pace myself. I caught them both on the third lap and rode behind them for a full lap. During a particularly hard climb I passed the second place rider and set in to my endurance race pace. This let me open up the gap between me and the other riders. I only had to get ahead of one racer to lead. I felt really good with a strong pace thanks to forcing myself to drink one bottle per lap of Perpetuem and eating each time I rode by my feeding zone. 

Then the unexpected happened! Heading into my 5th lap I was at the feeding zone and Coach Chris Burnett and LeRoy Manninen demanded I get off my bike and get on a Scott Spark 29er. I was told not to ask any questions and to slow down my pace because I had opened a considerably large gap and was in the first place position. I didn't know why they were pulling me off my Niner, but all I could think of was the worst. Turns out there was a minor mechanical that they had noticed on the lap before that needed to be fixed pronto. It was weird riding a different bike after just getting used to my new one. But the lap went by quickly and my bike was ready when I made it through scoring to start my 6th lap. I continued my pace, but apparently my coach still thought I was going too fast and might burn out quickly. Coach Chris was on his own three man race team (with my dad) and decided to ride behind me during his lap so that he could coach me to take it easy. The next few hours went by quickly and I saw a change in riders. They were either picking up the pace or dropping out of the race. As I finished my 8th lap and going through scoring I was told I had 45 minutes until cut off. Now I knew I needed to kick it into high gear so that I could make cutoff and get in the extra lap. I managed to make cutoff by 15 minutes! My last lap, #10, I was dead tired and forced myself to finish. I reached my goal of 70 miles and a first place finish!

Congratulations to my teammates who also placed on the podium. Cody Burnett - 15 years old - 1st place Beginner Men Solo; Jordon Karras - 2nd place Junior Solo; Jarod Coker - 3rd place Junior Solo. Also a big congratulations to Team Old FARTS - (my dad, Chris Burnett, and Charlie Gilbert) - 4th place Corporate Team; and my brother's team (Morgan, Bryce Kovi, and Ethan Audette) - 5th place Corporate Team. Congratulations to Drew Edsall - 1st place Red Solo; and Zach Fout 2nd place Begginer Men Solo. A special thanks to Coach Drew Edsall from the Kenda/Felt Team for all his coaching and guidance and Jeff Adams for training with me and providing lots of encouragement.

Dropping in to Cruddy Buddy

LeRoy's/CycleYouth Solo Racers - Cody Burnett, Jordon Karras, Jarod Coker,  Samuel Connell

Riding down Puff N Stuff

Me and my dad strategizing

So much going on right now! Just got over the flu and I'm trying to bounce back endurance-wise. Training for the 6 hours of El Lagarto on January 27th. Riding it solo again and hope to place better than last year. Last year it was my first official race and I managed to pull out 4th place, so this year I think I am in a much better position to place higher. Been training long and hard with my CycleYouth teammates on the trails, with my dad and brother on the road, and at home on the Epic A17U trainer. My brother and I are both privately training with Coach Drew Edsall this Sunday. Totally awesome pro mountain biker! Can't wait to see what he has in store for me. He will make me work long and hard and help me become a much better rider/racer. The 12 Hours of Santos is right around the corner too, February 17th, and I'm teaming up with Cody Burnett and hopefully Adam Cohen. Awesome winning team! Just got my new Niner Air RDO carbon frame in yesterday! So excited to finally build the bike of my dreams. I know my parents say it's not the bike, but the machine behind it....but I think the bike's got a lot to do with it. Qualified for Nationals in Pennsylvania this summer, but I've decided to skip it so that I can train harder for the 2013 FSC season. I'll be racing in the 15-18 class and there is some stiff competition. With hard work and dedication, I know that I will do well this season.

FSC# 9: Santos

This final race was amazing. I had never been to Santos before, so that made the trails twice as fun. The course was very technical with many large rocks. At the take-off, I was right behind the leaders, until a sandy turn caused me to fall. I pushed and pushed and eventually finished third, 2 seconds behind second place. After this race, I finished third for the series. I had an amazing time and plan for a fun season next year in class 15-18.

FSC Make Up Race: Amelia Park, Miami

This race was probably the hardest race for me of the series. The course was extremely difficult. It was made up of several different pump tracks and some technical trails. As we took off I was right behind the leaders going into the trails. As I rounded a tough corner, I slid out. First and second place took off while fourth got ahead. I eventually passed him, but was having trouble with the course. I realized that he was doing much better on this course than me. He passed me again, so I stayed on his tail and followed his lines. About two miles from the finish, I attacked. I opened a gap of about 30 seconds. I placed third in this race and man it was brutal.

Morgan (my little brother) bunny hopping at Coach Drew's Clinic

Had a great time on Saturday at the biking clinic given by Coach Drew Edsall (Kenda/Felt). Most of the LeRoys/CycleYouth team was there and we even had a couple kids from the Super Cool Bike Shop that participated too. We all took off to Carter Rd park and hit the trails fast and furious. Coach Drew reviewed technical things with us and had us riding certain trails over and over so that we could get improve on our technical riding. Afterward, we went back to LeRoys and played some cool games and grill out. Thanks Coach Drew for all cool Kenda/Felt swag...Love it! And thanks again for taking the time to come out and work with us. 

Riding the drop on Third Finger.

Coach Drew was checking our tires and pedals. 

Going out to ride today with my dad, a couple of his friends, and Cody at Carter Rd. Feeling good and ready to go. My motto: train, train, and train some more. The weather is great and the trails are calling my name. So get out there today mtb riders and tear those trails up...I know I will! Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

Markham Park

                 Markham Park was definitely a different type of race. The course was pretty awesome, with tons of technical sections and climbs with plenty of single track, all surrounded by thousands of acres of sugar cane. Thankfully, training on the even more technical course of Carter Road helps, but the trails were still pretty tough. When it came down to racing, the course was not so much fun. FSC#6 is crossed with a series known as the Coconut Cup, so there were twice as many riders. The class before my group, 40-49, had 70 riders, With all of the technical switchback and climbs, the trails got bunched up several times, causing everybody to get off of the bike and start pushing. I was gaining on first place, and at one time was 5 seconds behind him, but traffic and blocking held me up. This allowed third place, who is a great passer and racer to catch me, resulting in a sprint to the finish. At the end of the day I ended up with a third place finish. 

Getting reading to head out for my Juniors class race. 

Carter Road
                 FSC#7 was definitely my favorite race. I new the course like the back of my hand, since it is where I train. When the whistle blew I was second off the line. Before entering the woods we had to make a sharp turn. I took it wide which shot me up to the front leading everybody into the woods. Once flying through the trails and hitting the more technical trails, my coach Chris Burnett screamed that I had nearly 30 second on everybody. As I hit the road back to the trailer, there was a horrific head wind. I tried to find a fast rider to draft off of, but I was all alone. Second place was a big road rider, so he closed the gap on me on the road. I shot my gel, got some extra energy, and took off, making smaller gaps in the more technical sections. As we headed back to the trailer, I realized that he was right on my tail. I started dropping hammers, sprinting as hard as I could. The wind was horrible and he was drafting off of me. When we were about 200 yards from the finish, I hammered the pedals as hard as I possibly could, giving me a First Place Win! I'm qualified for nationals now and I am going to need to train harder and stronger than ever before. I'd like to give a shout out to my coach, Chris Burnett, and sponsor, LeRoys BikeWorks for all their hard work and support. Thanks again LeRoy for the grip shifters! And I'd like to thank my mom and dad for their time and dedication in helping me get to where I am now. 

My 1st place win at FSC #7 Carter Rd!!  Felt great to win on my home course. 

Alva
                FSC#8 was very fun. The course at Alva was extremely fast, a speed course for road riders with a few climbs and technical spots. At the beginning, I was right on the leaders butts, flying through the trails. Once we hit traffic, they shot around a rider. I called out that I was passing to the left, but when trying to pass I was pushed right into a tree. I hopped back on my bike and eventually passed the rider. I caught back up to the leaders, but when it came to turning through all of the corners, I just could not keep up. I started closing the gap, but as I hit another sandy turn, I slid out, causing my chain to fall off. As I fixed my chain, I saw fourth place fly by. I hopped back on my bike and took off. My legs were dead and my chain kept dropping, resulting in a fourth place finish. All in all it was still a good day and I had tons of fun. The course was awesome and I will definitely ride it again. Congrats to my little brother, Morgan, for his 5th place finish in the my class. Morg, you are getting fast!