Leadout Racing » Racing

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

Snowcross #1

Leadout Racing — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 02:07:52 +0000

My preparation for this race was pretty relaxed. I rolled up to the line without a warmup and I never put a tire on the course until the gun went off. At the start of the race Niel Sharphorn and Farmer went to the front and I was able to get 3rd wheel pretty easily. About a half mile in Niel was starting to put a slight gap on Farmer and I decided to go around and close the gap. I settled in behind Niel and he soon put a gap on me as I struggled with some deep snow. I could see him looking back and start to push his pace. I put in a decent effort and was able to catch him. I stayed behind for the first lap, but thought the pace was a little slow. I passed him at the start of the second lap and I was quickly all alone. I put a considerable gap on him and the rest of the field was pretty much gone. As I rode around the course I was passing tons of people and began to think about the possibility of lapping Farmer. About 6 or 7 laps in I started to ask where Farmer was and I pushed a little harder in hopes of catching him. Chasing him made the last laps go by pretty quickly and before I knew it the race was over. One more lap and I would of had him, but I was happy to get first place especially when it meant beating a couple of very good bikers. Looking forward to Snowcross #2.

Superweek Race 6/Chase Food Folks & Spokes(Cat. 3)

Leadout Racing — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:31:33 +0000

Today’s race was a straight forward four corner rectangular criterium with no elevation change at all. There was one corner that was a little tight, one that was a sweeper and two 90 degree corners. The only other distinguishing feature was a small chicane on the back stretch, but it wasn’t big enough to really cause the pack any problems. Mark, Peter, and I were finally reunited with Dan K who was back after going home for a few days. Due to the strange lack of organization in the field and the general feeling that we were supposed to do the lions share of the work because we were the most cohesive team we decided it was a good day to weld any gaps that opened up and keep things together for a field sprint so we could set up a train and hopefully get a win. There were a few moments when I was stuck on the front to long that I doubted our plan but with everyone chipping in it soon became easy to control things and bring everything back. Inside the last 15 laps I stayed in the first 10 places almost all the time and just stayed in position for the coming sprint. With between 5 and 3 Peter, Mark, and Dan materialized at the front and with two to go we lined up a wheel off the front and prepped for the last lap. Mark brought things up to speed shortly after 2 to go, Peter upped the pace and as we dove into corner 1 on the last lap two guys jumped in front of Dan K. At this point I got a little worried but he handled it awesome and pulled us back up to them easily. Dan dove into the last two corners with me on his wheel and as we sped onto the finishing straight the two guys in front of us pushed outside and toasted Dan’s momentum. I had the choice of braking and hoping he got it back or starting my sprint early, and opted to jump from about 250 meters into a headwind. As in Evanston I was worried about riders coming out of drafts but never saw anyone in my peripheral vision and took my second win of the week. This was another great effort for the team and they made the win seem far too easy. I owe all 3 of them a huge thank you. Dan managed to hang on for 10th, with Mark and Peter just sitting on the field and getting credit for the finish after their work was done.

GBK

Superweek Race 3/Whitnall Crit(Cat. 3)

Leadout Racing — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:32:53 +0000

We had our first race of the week without Dan K as he decided racking up points for the season at Grattan was a better idea than duking it out for a couple extra days in Wisco. Thankfully he will be back for the last couple of days. Mark, Peter, and I figured that today would be a pretty easy day and didn’t have a problem with that considering tomorrow is the Lakefront Road Race. We were right to a certain point as the field took it easy around the rolling 1.1 mile course. With a 120 degree turn and a climb following the finishing straight a small group rolled off the front with 20 or so laps to go. It swelled to about 10 riders, including Mark, before I decided the gap was big enough to cross without dragging anyone with me. Catching the break was the easy part as no one wanted to cooperate for the first 5 laps I was there. 3 or 4 of us did all the work and trimmed the group to 7 riders that worked pretty well together. The gap inched up slowly until 3 laps to go when we had almost 2 minutes on the field. The last lap didn’t go as planned as no one in the field would work with us and I got stuck on the front for too long. No gaps opened up as I rolled off and I got stuck sprinting from the back as Mark lead the sprint out. I ended up 3rd with Mark taking 7th and Peter rolling in for 11th and a good placing in the field sprint.

GBK

Super Week Race 1/Evanston Crit(Cat. 3)

Leadout Racing — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 02:53:55 +0000

Mark, Peter, and I headed out to Evanston a little later than planned, and met up with Dan K. once we got down there. Things were a little hectic as we got down there, and we managed a very short warm up. Rolling to the start line Peter’s pedal broke and we lost 25% of our team and a big part of how we had hoped to ride. Mark and I tried to figure out a way to get him in the the race and showed up to the start just in time to line up in the very back of a big field. The first 5-10 laps were way to fast to move up much and I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to see the front of the race from my starting spot, and I really didn’t want to try and force it. My patience paid off and I was able to follow wheels up and stayed in the first 25 riders for most of the race, occasionally doing some work or showing my face at the front. With 5 laps to go Dan and I starting hanging out in the top 10 riders and did a fair amount of work to keep things moving along and our places safe. Going into the last lap I had lost Dan’s wheel due to some late race crashes and didn’t have a lead out. With about 700 meters and 3 turns to go the Alderfer Bergen lead out dropped a ton of speed and I decided to jump around them bringing a small group of riders with me and forcing others to adjust their positions and lines. I stayed on the front after going by them and flew into the last corner, and jumped shortly afterwards, about 300 meters from the line, somehow no one was able to come around me and I was able to hang on for the win! Dan rode awesome to take 8th while Mark finished mid pack, and Peter did an OK job as a cheerleader.

GBK