Leadout Racing » Race report

Cone Azalia P/1/2

Leadout Racing — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:54:32 +0000

One of the harder parts about this race was having to make the decision to do it or race the MTB at Fort Custer. All of my kids list the Fort as one of their favorite races, so their minds were already made up. I made the tough decision to go to Cone by myself while the rest of the family did the MTB thing. The other hard decision was which wheels to use. I thought about using the new Bontrager Aeolus D3, but figured they would be way too stiff on the bumpy gravel. I ended up using the Bontrager RXL and could not have been happier. Geoff and I packed up his dwarf-sized vehicle and headed out around 6:00 the morning of the race. We had planned to arrive early and take a lap of the course. We did arrive early, but it was easier to stand around and talk then do a whole warm-up lap. We rolled the first half mile of gravel then turned around and headed for the start. The memories of the race are pretty fuzzy as the lack of oxygen and gravel flying make it difficult to focus during the race. I will try to recount the important events as I remember them.

Lap 1- Nice, easy roll-out but once the gravel is in sight guys start swarming the front. Once we hit gravel the pace increases and stays there until we hit pavement. I find myself off the front with another guy and then he looks back and has a panic look. We missed the corner to the second section of gravel and we begin to chase. I think the group slowed down and waited for us as we catch back on before we hit pavement again. It was a ton of work to catch up, but not too much harm done.

Lap 2- Kind of a replay of the first except the gravel was even faster this time. Lots of attacks, but nothing comes of them. Geoff comes up next to me and is having issues with his wheel and lets me know he is going to get a replacement. On his way back he also gets a flat and is never seen again.

Lap 3-This is where I am pretty fuzzy. I remember the Spin guy in orange going off the front alone, but Mac joined him some how and I honestly have no idea how it happened. I know there were attacks and lots of chaos, but I think he disappeared for a while and very few people realized it.

Lap 4- Nice easy pace even on the gravel. I now know why, because Bissell was letting the break, that few people knew about, go.

Lap 5- A group gets away on the second gravel section and some of us begin to rotate at the front and try to get them back. Tom and I are the only teammates working and Tom tells me he will do the work and I should relax a little. I take his advice and hide while they pull down the windy finishing straight.

Lap6- I go to the front on gravel and before I know it I have caused a separation. It is just me and 5 other guys. Adam York and I are the only ones without teammates up the road, but a little pleading and we get some help from the other guys. We finally catch the group in front of us, but Mac and the other guy are long gone. We finish out the lap with a few attacks, but nothing real strong and guys are getting pretty tired.

Lap 7- Paul Martin flex’s his muscle’s a little and hits the gravel super hard. I’m not sure about everyone else, but I was just about at my limit. Thankfully the pace slows a little and everyone settles in for the finish sprint. The group has about 12 guys and I’m not sure if anyone is a sprinter. So, rather than wait for the sprint I start it. In my normal fashion it is probably a little early, but it almost worked. I am sitting almost dead last and decide to go with 300 meters left. I think I caught a lot of guys by surprise as I was able to get a pretty good gap. I am sprinting strong and can see one wheel coming up. I try to hold them off but my legs aren’t working with me and I am caught by Derek Graham at the line. Just finishing the race without mechanical troubles is good, but finishing 4th is awesome.

Dan K

Barry-Roubaix 6th place

Leadout Racing — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 16:04:24 +0000

Coming into this race, I have to admit to being a little scared. I wasn’t scared of the competition, but I was worried of finding out how my training was going. I had upped the training this year and did not want to get into the race only to find out I was not training hard enough. As it turned out I was rewarded for all the hard hours with a pretty decent placing. The race started out as expected with a fast rollout and an attack by Adam York. I knew Sager was going to be an important section, but I did not realize how important. I went into Sager somewhere in the top 20 and quickly saw a group pulling away at the front. I began to push and got by a few people but was never able to make it to the front group. As we came out of Sager I was in a group of about 8, but was behind the lead group of 7. We chased for quite a while and as we were getting ready to catch the front I began to run out of energy. My group finally caught on, the only problem was that I was not with them. I did not have that extra push to get there. Me and Ron Caitlin were the only ones not to make it and we cruised along waiting for the next group. It wasn’t long until they catch us and we begin to roll along. This grouped contained some power with Mike Simonson being the most notable and my teammate Geoff Kuyper. With Mike, Geoff, and myself doing some of the work we were putting in good efforts in hopes of catching the front group. At about 35-40 miles we see a large group, but are disappointed once we connect with them to find out 5 guys are still off the front. The next miles are pretty uneventful as we just roll along and it seems everyone is content. As we get nearer to Shaw I start having dreams of killing the sand section and leaving everyone in the dust. Well, chalk one up for positive thinking because as we hit Shaw I was about 10th wheel and make my way into 4th by the time we hit sand. York gets squirelly in the sand and begins his run then Simonson, then another. I put my head down and plow my way through the sand and pass everyone. I make the turn and can hear people behind me, but i can’t turn around because that would take too much energy. I continue to push the pedals and finally make it all the way through the sand and begin the fun sandy decent. Simonson comes around and we are working together to put time between us and the rest of the group. As we reach the end of Shaw it is just me, Mike Simonson, Jordan Wakely, Adam York and one carbon Racing guy. Simonson, York and Carbon Racing put in way more effort then I can manage on the big paved climb. Jordan and I are soon gapped and I am redlining horribly. As we near the top I decide it is now or never and try one more surge. I attach back on right as we crest the top and Jordan was unable to make it. It is now down to 4 of us for 6th place. We all put in decent pulls and rotate well for the next few miles on pavement. As we near the finish line the games begin. I usually feel pretty confident about sprinting, but I am on my 29er with regular mountain 2.2 tires. I find myself in the back and know it is time to go. I hit it hard and get a pretty decent gap as they struggle to catch up I continue pushing. They almost get my wheel and I stand up again and take it home with Carbon Racing right at my back wheel but unable to come around. It feels awesome to win a sprint even if it isn’t for the win. It isn’t long and Geoff comes across the line. He has done well also and finished 21st. The rest of the Leadout guys fair quite well also as Chad wins his sprint for 30th and Tom is right behind in 33rd.

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