Sea Otter Classic XC Cat. 1 15-16 - April 23rd, 2017

Well, get ready for one hell of a race report.

You win some, sometimes your bike breaks. This time my bike broke, but that didn’t stop me. I was very well prepared for this race fitness wise and felt absolutely amazing the morning of the race. I was very confident that I would be able to pull a very good result in one of the most renowned mountain bike races in North America as well as the world with the course being in my backyard as well as my fitness level being in very good shape.

At the start, I got lined up in the first row, which I was very happy about. We got pulled up to the start line 15 seconds after the 17-18 year olds and as I sat there I looked down at my Garmin and watched my heart rate rise from about 100 beats per minute to nearly 125 beats per minute in just a few seconds without even moving. The whistle blows and boom - 0 to 25 miles per hour in a few seconds. We go around the first turn of the Iconic Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and Matthew Saldana pulls in front. 30 seconds in and the group is already getting strung out. Matthew, myself and one other were together and were slowly making a small gap on the pack. After about 1.5 miles and three minutes on the asphalt, we hit the dirt.

The first descent is a 2 minute steep chute where you can reach speeds of nearly 50 miles per hour on mountain bikes. We get to the bottom and there is a short, steep climb. I go to pedal, and my chain is dropped. I skid as quick as I can so that I don’t waste any time, going from 46 mph to 0. As I was putting my chain back on, my whole field passes me. I hear Emmet Tuttle yell “Dude, get back on! You’ll make it.”, so I took his advice and sprinted back up. After a few minutes of sprinting, I found myself on the back of the main group - only to have my chain fall off again. This time, it swings into my spokes, breaks a couple, gets caught in the rest, snaps my derailleur, locks up the wheel, pops the tire and bends the rim. I come to an unintentional skid stop and look at my bike.

At first, I was so angry. Maybe the maddest I’ve ever been. I sat there for a few minutes moping and then started a slow slog walk up to the start. As I was walking up, I saw some riders descending and it reminded me that I still wanted to race my bike. I will race my bike. From then to the expo, I start running. Like, actually running. After 45 minutes of walking and running my bike, I arrive at the tent that Specialized has set up in the expo. I tell them that my bike broke and ask if I could please use a new bike to go and race with. Quickly and gladly, they loan me a bike to use and very quickly adjust it to my fitted specs. I roll out of the expo and back into the start line. The course marshal says to me “Man, your an hour and a half late! Hurry up and go!”. Without time to explain, I do what he says and GO!!

I sprinted from the line for the second time today, and kept a very hard pace. I simulated my race as well as I could, and kept race pace throughout the next 28 miles. At mile 15 or so, my tire loses pressure and I get another flat. At this point, I was so stoked and so high on adrenaline that what my plan was was that I would run the next 12 miles with my bike alongside me. I ran for a few minutes, and found a tool on the ground while I was running. After keeping as much flow as possible while running down a singletrack descent, it opened onto a fireroad. On this fireroad, I saw a couple of guys riding for fun. One of them says, “Do you want to fix that?”, and obviously my answer is, ‘Yes! Thank you so much!”. The men quickly help me fix the flat tire. Not minding that their hands are now covered in tubeless sealant, they mostly fix my flat for me. People are amazing. ​ After getting their names, I went back into race mode. I ride for 30 seconds or so and then turn a corner and there is an extremely steep, sand covered hill that the entire field had to walk up. I run up that and that and then continue on the climb until it spits you out onto a rutted, sandy downhill called “The Beach”. The name kind of gives away what the trail is like. The next three miles or so I was mostly by myself hammering with the occasional person here or there. I come up to the water station and am welcomed by my mom holding a bottle of water with Honey Stinger Gels on the lid. Thank God! I grab the bottle and keep hammering. After a few minutes, I get onto the major climb of the route. Nicknamed “The Grind”, it’s a 2 or so mile long gravel road that ascends nearly 600 feet, and if the right lines are chosen - it can kind of be an uphill drag strip for mountain bikes, if that makes sense. After suffering up the grind I pull a 180 and head for couch canyon, the final leg of the race. I went into the descent blazing, which is a more or less straight double track trail that turns into single track which winds through the canyon below Mazda Raceway. Once at the bottom of the canyon, I tell myself that I am going to HAMMER as to simulate my race, and I cross the creek. I start going up the final climb at a hard pace, and I held it for the next 8 minutes to the top.

I finish the steep dirt climb and pull onto the Raceway. I see a guy ahead of me and tell myself that I am going to catch him. I put a ton of power down, and catch him in a sprint to the line, passing him less than a second before the finish. I cross the line and go and sit down. I was hurting so bad that I sat there for a good hour with Hannah and my dog Rascal keeping me company.

To say this race was bad is a completely incorrect statement. This race was amazing. I learned more today then I have learned in any race so far in my career. In addition to that, I pushed my body at race pace on the bike for over two hours, and walked and ran for about an hour or so. Thank you so much to my amazing sponsors, especially Specialized for the bike today. Thank you to my family and friends as well as everyone who supports me and helps me grow. Next year, I will win.

​Photography: Darren Davis, PB Creative