Leadout Racing » Race News

Farmer’s Fat Bike Race

Leadout Racing — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 03:32:21 +0000

Going into the race I had no idea what to expect. I borrowed a bike and picked it up Friday evening and was able to get in about an hours ride. Showed up Saturday morning sort of ready for the race and still not sure how the bike would fit or handle. The duo teams started first then the solo riders followed a couple minutes later. As the race started I soon found myself riding at the front with Dan Jansen from the Farm Team. The course was pretty cool with the typical route around the outside of the orchards (or least where the orchards use to be), but then there was a new section added. It was a really nice wooded trail with lots of little challenging climbs and some twisty turns. Lapped traffic was constantly an issue, but no major problems, just lots of “passing on your left”. On the third lap Dan and I asked what the time was and to our surprise they said 38 minutes. We were both in agreement that it felt like much longer and I started to settle in for a very long race. We had already separated ourselves from the rest of the solo riders, so it was going to be just the two of us the rest of the day. It was pretty uneventful the second hour as Dan is not much for conversation while he is racing. I had a few attempts at levity, but Dan returned all my attempts with stern silence. As the 2.5 hour cutoff was approaching I briefly thought about my strategy. I decided it would be best to just try to hold on to Dan’s wheel and hope that he would let me stick around to the final straight. I was pretty confidant I could carry a lot more speed than him on this long flat area. Well, Dan is a lot smarter than that and on the second to last lap he put in a good effort going through the wooded section. I had no answer for his speed through there and he quietly rode away from me. We ended up doing 13 laps in just over 2:30. We lapped all the other solo riders and even beat all of the teams. I don’t think I am sold on a snow bike, but this race was definitely fun and I would love to do it again. The Farm Team does a great job putting on races and i have to give a big thanks to Scott Chambers for letting me use his bike.

2011 Iceman Cometh MYC 12-18

Leadout Racing — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 02:16:03 +0000

Coming into this race, I was excited and nervous because this was my first shot at the big race. I had only done the Slush-Cup up until this year. When I arrived at the starting line I saw that Luke Mullis and Spencer Grasl were there. They had beat me in every other race. Luke beat me on the road and Spencer has beaten me both times we have raced MTB’s. There were plenty of other strong riders there, but those were the two that I knew. As I warmed up I was talking to Luke about the race and we knew it was going to be fast. Ten minutes before the race we started to get lined up and I was happy with being around the 3rd row behind the fast guys. As the start got closer I became more nervous, but when the race finally started I took off trying to stay with the front. Almost immediately they were gone. Spencer was on the very back of the front group and I knew I had to bridge up. I tried to catch him, thankfully Luke went by and I jumped on his wheel. We were not making up any ground, but we weren’t losing any either. As we are getting to Tornado Alley the 3 of us are together with one older kid. Once out of Tornado Alley I pass Spencer and never see him again. Luke and I continue together through the never-ending hills. Going through Williamsburg was awesome as their were tons of people cheering me on and inspiring me to keep going. I would loss Luke on almost every downhill, but he would come back on the uphills. When we got to the 3k sign i knew the course from there as I had ridden it the night before with my mom. I took the first single track hard in hopes of getting a gap on the people behind me. I came out of the singletrack and then straggled up Icebreaker. The last single track I went hard again and I heard someone crash behind me. I didn’t look back and just kept going. I went up Woodchip in my big ring and really liked all the people yelling at me. i came to thefinal stretch and I got outsprinted by another kid. Afterwards, I was resting on my bike and I saw Luke come in. I was happy to beat him for the first time, but really appreciate his competiton.

2011 Iceman Cometh 20th Pro/Cat. 1

Leadout Racing — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:49:25 +0000

After several months of anticipation and preparation the day for the Iceman Cometh was finally here. I had an afternoon start time and sleeping in should have been on the agenda, but with the whole family racing the alarm was set for 7:00AM. Ellie and Kiersen were racing the Slush-Cup at 9:00, Laura was set to go at 11:00, Keegan was taking off at 12:00 in the MYC 12-18 group, and lastly Geoff and I were in the Pro/Cat. 1 race at 2:30. The first stop of the day was Timber Ridge for the girls at the Slush Cup. Ellie and Kiersen did awesome, with Geoff and I following along, and ended up placing 3rd and 5th in the girls 10 and under race. More importantly, both of them made every hill without walking. Ellie did it with her new 1×9 and no granny gear! Geoff and I now had time for some breakfast and a little relaxation while Laura and Keegan were giving their all during their races. We went back to the hotel and made some final preparations. I made sure I had my Infinit Nutrition mixed up and ready to go along with one final check of the Superfly. At 12:30 we picked up my dad and it was off to Kalkaska for the start of our race. We made a few attempts to get updates on Laura and Keeg, but had no luck.

Once we arrived at the start, it was all business as Geoff and I attempted to look calm and relaxed. We decided to ride the first part of the race as our warm-up and it was really cool to see all the big names out and about. I felt like a little kid as Geoff and I would pass someone then laugh and talk about how good they are. Everyone started lining up about 15 minutes early and we were able to secure a fairly decent spot towards the front. The really fast guys covered the front row and we were right behind. The next thing you know we are off headed down the street at 30mph. The pace was crazy, but I was able to hold my position. As we neared the end of the pavement it got a little hot as guys tried to move up at the last second. I placed myself right in the middle, held my ground and was happy to be sitting about 20th. The first 2 track was pretty uneventful with no big issues. Once onto the first single track gaps started to open up and I was getting nervous. Once back on double track I put in a big effort and was able to latch on to the end of the lead train. It was about 20 guys and we already were getting a decent gap. Everything was going well then we came to a little hill with a turn at the bottom. I could see guys slowing way down and tried to cut the corner and shoot by, but the guy in front of me unclipped and I ran right into his leg. I had to unclip and run the hill and the lead pack was now gone. I had a little while by myself, but a few guys came back from the lead group and a couple caught me and we continued to clip along. The rest of the race we stayed pretty much together as a group of 7 and were really hammering. Mike Simonson and Derek Graham were killing it and setting a blistering pace. I stayed with the group up Anita’s Hill, up Icebreaker, but lost a little ground on the final single track and then lost a lot of ground up Woodchip, although Dan McGraw did his best to try and make me faster by yelling at me all the way up. I was able to finish 5th out of the group and 20th overall. Geoff came across a few minutes later and just missed being in the top 50. I was stoked to see that I finished so high and had to keep looking at my computer to confirm my time of 1:37. I know the course was fast, but I never thought I could go under 1:40. It was an absolutely awesome race and I am very thankful to have the ability to ride with guys that are some of the fastest around.

Keegan and Laura also did well and had very respectable times of 2:19 and 2:35. Keegan ended up 22nd in his group, but was the first 12 year old and even the first person under 15. I hope that he continue’s to love racing and if he keeps improving he will win this race someday!

Dan K

2011 Delta Subaru Tour de Gaslight – Race Report

Leadout Racing — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 19:32:37 +0000

Whew. What a day. The 2011 Delta Subaru Tour deGaslight was a great success. A huge THANK YOU to all of the sponsors, volunteers, officials, fans, and racers who made this event so much fun.

And now for the race report!

The Masters 35+ race started in the usual way, with a healthy dose of speed. Dan K, Socie, Chris, Paul, JD, and I were all riding around in the pack. Socie (as usual) was forcing the pace and attacking early on. JD (as usual) was locked into his position near the front. Dan K, Chris, and Paul were moving forwards, then drifting back. Several small breaks would roll off the front, then crack up and come right back. I snuck into a breakaway that got a nice gap, but we couldn’t seem to work together very well. The speed would go from slow to crazy fast, then people would yell at others for not pulling through, then it would slow back down again. I kept getting gapped during the fast parts, then would catch back on during the slow parts. Eventually I figured that I wasn’t meant for this move, so I gave up on it and drifted back to the peloton. Shortly after that, the rest of were caught as well. The rest of the race I sat in and did nothing but turn laps. The legs felt OK, but they weren’t excited about trying to attack. As the race wound down to the final few laps, I started picking my way up through the field (towards JD, who hadn’t moved from his position in the top 10). On the final lap, about halfway between turns 3 and 4, I caught the wheel of Todd Hancock, who was rocketing up the left-hand side of the road. I wasn’t sure how far he could go at that speed, but I knew if I could follow him until he blew up, I’d be close enough to get a good finish. So I latched on his wheel, and by the time we reached the final turn we were right at the front. Todd opened up his sprint and created a big gap – I remember thinking “you can still get second!” – but thanks to the strong headwind I managed to catch back onto his draft, close the gap, and go around him – hitting the finish line ahead by about a half bike length. I didn’t have an elaborate victory post-up planned, but still managed to get one hand in the air - I was pumped! After the cool down lap, the best part was getting back to the team tent, where everybody was celebrating like we had just won the Super Bowl. Geoff was going nuts. There was hugging. It was such an awesome moment!

During the podium presentation, I recieved a sweet trophy followed by a really nice smooch from the podium girl. The other guys on the podium were waiting for their kisses too, but apparentlyshe only had eyes for me. Sorry boys – she’s taken.

After that we got back to work hosting the race. Once the final P/1/2 rider crossed the line, the entire Leadout team and Real Women Tri teams kicked into high gear to get everything tore down, cleaned up, and put away. We ended the day at Dan Socie’s house with a celebratory beer and some pizza.

This is such a great group of people. I’m very fortunate to be a part of this team. What a day!

The Delta Subaru Tour de Gaslight Criterium

Leadout Racing — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 09:52:23 +0000

THE 2011 DELTA SUBARU GASLIGHT CRITERIUM
Sunday, August 21st, 2011

Thank you to our title sponsor Delta Subaru

RACE DESCRIPTION:
A Michigan Challenge Points Series event. Total purse of $5,500 plus primes.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Located in Downtown East Grand Rapids. The course is .8 mile and mostly flat with 4 left-hand turns and sweeping curves.

RACE SCHEDULE
Junior Girls | 8:30AM: 20 min, Medals, Field Limit of 50, Free Registration
Junior Boys | 9:00AM: 20 min, Medals, Field Limit of 50, Free Registration
Women Cat 4 | 9:30AM: 30 min, $200 in prizes, Field Limit of 75, $30 Registration
Women Cat 1/2/3 | 10:10AM: 40 min, $1000 in prizes, Field Limit of 100, $30 Registration
Men Cat 5 | 11:00AM: 30 min, Medals, Field Limit of 50, $30 Registration
Kids’ Race | 11:30 Prizes, Field Limit of 100, Free Registration
Men Cat 3 | 12:00PM: 50 min, $900 in prizes, Field Limit of 100, $30 Registration
Men Cat 4 | 1:00PM: 35 min, $400 in prizes, Field Limit of 100, $30 Registration
Men Master 35+ | 1:45PM: 50 min, $800 in prizes, Field Limit of 100, $30 Registration
Men Master 45/55+ | 2:50PM: 35 min, $400 in prizes, Field Limit of 100, $30 Registration
Men Pro/1/2 | 3:35PM: 70 min, $1,800 in prizes, Field Limit of 100, $35 Registration

REGISTER TODAY THROUGH TRUESPORT!
Online registration closes August 19 at 11:59pm ET.
Additional $10 fee for day-of registration

SPONSORS:

Delta Subaru
Spectrum Health
Law Weathers
Hoekstra Specialty Vehicles
Soigneur Embrocation
Mika Meyers Beckett & Jones
Hutchinson
Kentwood Cycling & Fitness