Iceman Cometh

This is my apologiy for my neglect to report on my last two races of the year.  I will start with the Iceman.

The Iceman ended up being one of my biggest targets of the year.  Especially as the hype grew that more and more elite riders were entering.  The race experienced its deepest and toughest field in history.  On the front line was the current National Champion, 2 past National Champions, 3 past Iceman champions, a Vuelta a Espana stage winner, UCI Pro Road Cyclists, Domestic Pro Road Cyclists, Ore to Shore winners, Chequamegon winners, and the top Pro XCT riders in the country.  I think you get my point.  It was stacked and this was my first chance in my young career to put my ability side by side with the best.  My time and final placing meant nothing to me.  It was all about where I could finish in relevance to the best.

The field was about 90 or so deep.  Knowing this I should have finished my warm-up a bit early and got to the front of the field but I showed up a bit lit and found myself digging my way into about 60th.  The Iceman is all about the start.  It's fast, dangerous, and crucial.  Be in the wrong spot and you could go down, get dropped, and be with the wrong group.  I picked an outside line and just pounded my way up as far as I could.  Around the first corner, with the help of the Lord, I missed a rider sweeping across the field taking out riders like bowling pins.  I swept around into a yard and back to the chase.  Right before the bottle neck I managed to jump into about 30th place.  We went single file down the two rut trail until a couple sand pits showed and those that pre rode, I was one of them, took the hard packed line on the right.  This allowed me to jump up to about 25th place.  Entering the single track the gaps started to open and the gaps become so much more difficult when you are 25 guys back in a MTB race.  As the trail opened back up, with huge red line efforts I was able to rejoin the first group.  Check out the video, you will see me 21 seconds into the video sitting 22nd in the 30 man lead group.  You will notice the small gaps that had to be constantly closed burning many matches to stay with lead guys.  

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Staying with the lead group was a goal of mine.  It didn't matter how hard had to work and how many matches I had to burn I was going to stay with this lead group as long as I could.  I managed to ride in about 20th place for 16 minutes until I dangled off the back.  That was until a Bissell rider, Ben Jacques-Maynes, joined me and we pulled the lead group back.  It took a brutal 2 minute effort.  As we rejoined the group I was able to hang for another 16 minutes and this time I was close enough to the front to watch all the big names battle.  It took 34 minutes of riding to burn my match book out.  Riding in 20th place on a group this fast is harder then riding up front.  The gaps are constant and continuous.  The effort it takes to bring them back really wears on you.  The final straw was on one of the first hills of the race.  They all powered up and I had no power to match.  I went to the backup plan and took a slight rest on the pedals until I felt recovered.  It was just enough rest when 2 guys caught me and we worked for just about the remainder of the race.  After a quick recovery I felt incredibly strong and good until the finish line.  Arguably my best legs of the year.

Besides the large and experienced field causing problems the weather lived up to the race name and caused its own.  It had snowed the day before covering the second 1/3 of the race with a fresh 2 inches of snow.

Kalkaska was dry and TC was in OK condition but the middle of the race was epic.  4000 races trekked on the trail before us turning that snow into a tarry mud.  It was a thick, black, peanut buttery mud.  This is where the real gaps formed in the lead group as the front could pick a line and the following riders were at the mercy of our front wheel.

The remainder of the race I either rode by myself or in a group of 2 or 3.  I was sitting 25th with 5k to go and dropped 2 spots when I was forced off my bike with chain suck.  It was either that or chance snapping a chain.  In a group of 3 riders I attacked with 1 to go and was nipped at the line by one rider placing me in 28th place.

I could do nothing but lay on my handle bars at the end of the race.  I had given every ounce of energy to the pedals.  I had finished 10 minutes behind the leaders and 8 minutes behind the chase group.  I now have data to work with as I finished within 10% of the winners.  This early in my MTB career mine and my coach's goal was to finish within 10% of the leaders as we feel that is a close-able gap with hard work.  Doing it in the biggest race of the year berried that drive in my soul to put that hard work in.

Here are a few pictures for evidence of the mud fest we rode in.

Picture courtesy of Chris Gates