Saturday started the main portion of our trip. It was race day! And on dirt! Well, sort of. The short track course for the Tech Dev Pro XCT in Midway, UT was mostly grass and pavement, but there was a little dirt where the grass had been smashed down from a ton of pre-ride laps. The short track course started at the same place as the XC, on pavement up a road climb. The climb was steep through the finish line, then gave you a slight break before kicking again as you turned left off into the grass for a short, but fast descent across the open field. You then met up with the XC course again through the area where the horizontal tree jump was, but there was no option to jump the tree today. They made us all go around it for the short track. After going around the tree, we turned left and began a slight downhill in the grass that twisted around a few spruce trees in the middle of the field before a few sharp turns dumped you back onto the pavement to end the lap. It was a short loop and not a lot of exciting parts to it. It would definitely be all power here today.
Pros went first on the schedule today so the Women kicked things off. The group was kind of small and split up quickly. A group of four got together up front and battled for a few laps. It was VERY windy, so much so that the course tape kept ripping. At one point a piece broke in the spruce section and flew across the course making it look like the course was taped off. This caused a jam-up in that leading group as the leader hit the brakes thinking she had gone the wrong way and the others all piled into her. You can see that incident in the video lower in this post. That is really what started the splitting up of this leading group and it was Melinda McCutcheon who nabbed the win.
We were next to hit the course with about 45 riders on the start line. I was in an all-black kit because I still don't have my Riverside team kit. I can't wear my Maxxis kits because they are kits from the actual UCI registered team. If you aren't on the roster given to the UCI then the UCI does not allow you to wear the team's clothing. I'm just on the Maxxis individual grassroots team so I am not allowed to wear the kit.
I got called up very near the back. The start was very fast as is typical for any Pro race, but it's even more so for a race that lasts only 20 minutes. I had good legs and was able to pick up a few spots on the first stretch, then a touch of wheels in front of me jammed up my line and I found myself dead last turning off into the grass. It as a huge bottleneck all the way through the first lap. The first time around the horizontal tree we were barely moving. We may have been in an open field, but the course was taped off so narrow that you had nowhere to go to move up. When we hit the pavement to end the lap I planned to move up, but I couldn’t hold the wheel in front of me as my heart rate suddenly spiked. By the top of the climb I was a few seconds off the back and hyperventilating like I did on Tuesday at the RMR crit. Again, I didn’t feel like I was giving even 80% effort, yet I was tapped out aerobically. All I could do was watch everyone ride away the first few laps.
I stayed smooth and managed to catch a few riders on the next few laps as they also began to blow up. It was so frustrating to not be able to go as hard as I wanted, but I made the best of it and paced myself perfectly for the situation and at least picked up a few spots before being pulled. The officials said they were going to enforce the 80% Rule, but it was more like the 50% Rule as we were just half a lap behind when removed from the race. That was so annoying. You pay so much money to get here and to be in the race and then you don’t even get to do the full race. I just don’t understand why it is such a sin for the leader to lap someone in cycling. We are the only sport like that. And I also don’t understand why the officials can’t follow their own rules and leave us out for the full 80%. It’s not hard to figure up. I just don’t feel like the races and the officials care about the riders. It seems to be all about their convenience and taking your money. I ended up being scored 41st on the results.
Pros went first on the schedule today so the Women kicked things off. The group was kind of small and split up quickly. A group of four got together up front and battled for a few laps. It was VERY windy, so much so that the course tape kept ripping. At one point a piece broke in the spruce section and flew across the course making it look like the course was taped off. This caused a jam-up in that leading group as the leader hit the brakes thinking she had gone the wrong way and the others all piled into her. You can see that incident in the video lower in this post. That is really what started the splitting up of this leading group and it was Melinda McCutcheon who nabbed the win.
Pro Women on course in the Short Track
We were next to hit the course with about 45 riders on the start line. I was in an all-black kit because I still don't have my Riverside team kit. I can't wear my Maxxis kits because they are kits from the actual UCI registered team. If you aren't on the roster given to the UCI then the UCI does not allow you to wear the team's clothing. I'm just on the Maxxis individual grassroots team so I am not allowed to wear the kit.
Pro Men ready to go
I got called up very near the back. The start was very fast as is typical for any Pro race, but it's even more so for a race that lasts only 20 minutes. I had good legs and was able to pick up a few spots on the first stretch, then a touch of wheels in front of me jammed up my line and I found myself dead last turning off into the grass. It as a huge bottleneck all the way through the first lap. The first time around the horizontal tree we were barely moving. We may have been in an open field, but the course was taped off so narrow that you had nowhere to go to move up. When we hit the pavement to end the lap I planned to move up, but I couldn’t hold the wheel in front of me as my heart rate suddenly spiked. By the top of the climb I was a few seconds off the back and hyperventilating like I did on Tuesday at the RMR crit. Again, I didn’t feel like I was giving even 80% effort, yet I was tapped out aerobically. All I could do was watch everyone ride away the first few laps.
First lap shot from Selective Vision Photography.
See more photos from Saturday's action here.
Keegan Swenson leads. He would be the eventual winner.
By myself on the wrong end of the race
Nice shot from PB Creative Photo.
Find more Short Track photos by PB Creative here.
The spruce section
Caught one!
Another shot from Selective Vision.
Video: Pro Short Tracks
The Juniors were up next. Only the older group of Juniors, the 17-18 age groups, are UCI-sanctioned so only those classes raced short track today. There was only a handful of Junior Women, but they raced hard and it made for some good battles on course. The Junior Men had a big field. We cheered on fellow Tennessean Simon Lewis. He had a good race netting a top 10 result. He just missed the front split of eight and spent most of the race chasing hard to hold that top 10. I thought he might get to the front group at one point. It was a really good ride for someone not used to the altitude.
Simon Lewis on the start line. Front row start!
Simon early in the race
The leading group
Simon was first chaser behind the front group
1 to go for Simon
Video: Junior Short Tracks
At the end of the Junior Men's race, one rider had a mechanical and it turned into a major scene. The rider broke his derailleur coming to two laps to go while running in a podium position. He was on the paved portion of the uphill which was fully barriered and fenced off. The rider got off when the mechanical happened and realized he could not cross the tall barriers, so he moved off the edge of the road and began to walk down the hill toward the first opening in the barriers. He was immediately confronted by a UCI official, who began yelling that under no circumstances could he go backwards on the course. The rider stopped and asked what he should do. It was a logical question considering he would have had to go at least 100 yards further up the hill to get past the barriers, while going backwards was about 15 yards from an opening. He wasn't riding, he was walking off the edge of the road. The official began screaming at the rider and told him he was disqualified from the entire weekend for his attitude. This kid just lost a podium with a mechanical. He had good reason to be in a sour mood, but he wasn't. The official appeared to be on a power trip and proceeded to scream at the kid, who just kept asking what should I do. This is all happening inside the course on the road. The whole confrontation caused much more blockage to the course than the rider exiting the course did.
After a minute of being yelled at, the rider then called the official an a-hole. Not the smartest thing at the moment, but I've never seen anyone more worthy of being called an a-hole in all my years of riding. The official then fined the rider and told him to leave the venue. A spectator on their side of the road then jumped in and tried to lobby for the rider. At first he was told to leave, but then the head official came up to see what was going on. I didn't hear the conversation, but the random spectator calmly talked to the head official and things ended with the fine being dropped and the rider being allowed to ride the XC on Sunday. It was a great act of kindness by that random guy to stick up for the rider and get things worked out. You usually don't win arguments with officials because they rarely listen to the rider's perspective. Surely that official was smart enough to know that the rider was trying to get off the course safely. All I can figure is he didn't want to admit he was wrong and the confrontation ensued. I know the rule says not to go backwards on course, but when you are walking off the main line and there is no other reasonable way to exit, then you have to use common sense and say that was a smart move. If you are going to enforce the rule to the maximum in all situations then don't set up your courses without gaps in the barriers.
After a minute of being yelled at, the rider then called the official an a-hole. Not the smartest thing at the moment, but I've never seen anyone more worthy of being called an a-hole in all my years of riding. The official then fined the rider and told him to leave the venue. A spectator on their side of the road then jumped in and tried to lobby for the rider. At first he was told to leave, but then the head official came up to see what was going on. I didn't hear the conversation, but the random spectator calmly talked to the head official and things ended with the fine being dropped and the rider being allowed to ride the XC on Sunday. It was a great act of kindness by that random guy to stick up for the rider and get things worked out. You usually don't win arguments with officials because they rarely listen to the rider's perspective. Surely that official was smart enough to know that the rider was trying to get off the course safely. All I can figure is he didn't want to admit he was wrong and the confrontation ensued. I know the rule says not to go backwards on course, but when you are walking off the main line and there is no other reasonable way to exit, then you have to use common sense and say that was a smart move. If you are going to enforce the rule to the maximum in all situations then don't set up your courses without gaps in the barriers.
This is a great example of why I get frustrated with National-level races. You can't even plead your case in a situation of misunderstanding. This was a great teaching moment for any rider, but especially for a Junior rider. The officials are supposed to represent the sport and be people riders can look up to when it comes to proper racing. That was a great time to talk to that Junior and let him know what the rule is and remind him to always be aware of other riders when you are in a situation like that. It's that simple.
We stayed around to watch the Cat. 1 XC events in the afternoon to cheer on another Tennessean, Harison Klapheke. Harrison had some difficulty with the elevation like I did, but he rode hard and ended up with a strong 8th place. He was bummed about it, but it really was a great ride at that elevation on a course that doesn't really suit our southeast skillset.
I really enjoyed enjoyed watching the Cat. 1 race, but I left Soldier Hollow on Saturday with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth from the Junior short track incident. It makes me sad to see things like that happen. I want to see our sport progress and riders be treated correctly. These kinds of incidents seem to happen more often at bigger races and they're making me question whether national-level competition is really something I want to be a part of when it is conducted this way.
Harrison Klapheke in the middle of this group early in his XC
Harrison
Harrison on the first descent
Rider hits the box drop
Harrison on the drop
Harrison takes 8th
Me, Simon Lewis and Harrison Klapheke after Harrison's race
photo by Melissa Lewis
Video: Cat. 1/Junior XC
I really enjoyed enjoyed watching the Cat. 1 race, but I left Soldier Hollow on Saturday with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth from the Junior short track incident. It makes me sad to see things like that happen. I want to see our sport progress and riders be treated correctly. These kinds of incidents seem to happen more often at bigger races and they're making me question whether national-level competition is really something I want to be a part of when it is conducted this way.
