Off-Season Travel

The past month has been packed with lots of travel and a few races. I had an awesome opportunity to do an urban downhill race in Mexico, something I have never done before. The race was a lot of fun. We raced through the town of Taxco, a silver mining town in southern Mexico. There were huge wooden ramps built for us to jump off 3 story buildings and massive dirt jumps down the main street of town! I finished 3rd there in a very close race, only 0.5 off the win. There were so many fans there, I'd say more at that race than at any other race all season. Very cool experience. Shortly after that I was off to Indonesia for the Asia Pacific Downhill Challenge. It was similar to the race in Mexico in that the main purpose of the event was to bring the sport to an area that doesn't get to see a whole lot of professional racing. The track there was extremely slick. Hard packed red clay with torrential rains made it almost impossible to ride. I ended up 5th there after a big crash right out of the gate. My Mom and I were very well taken care of by the local Trek distributer. I really enjoyed both races and having the chance to see a new part of the world.

Last week I was away again, but for the first time in a while, not for a race. I went with my uncle and his family to the Bahamas for a week vacation. It was so cool to be away and not be thinking about getting ready for a race. My cousins and I had so much fun snorkeling, parasailing, riding jet skis, fishing, kayaking and enjoying the Caribbean lifestyle. I am very grateful to have such a cool family and be able to do things like this. Right now I am in Asheville, North Carolina staying with my good friend Chris Herndon. I will be staying here 2 weeks, taking advantage of the beautiful weather and great riding. I have been chasing my coach Colin Izzard and the boys from Carmichael Training Systems up the hills here in Pisgah Forest. I've put a lot of hours on my bike this week and plan on getting in as many more as I can before heading home.

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The Ultimate Off-Season

I have been home after the season for a month now and my life has been nothing but good times. This is the first year that I've come home and not had to hit the books to catch up on school work. I have been having such a great time doing the things I love and not being on a schedule. I have actually been riding almost as much as I was during the season, but its much nicer to be able to do it on my own time as I please. I've been riding my bike or motorcycle almost every day and taking fun trips to ride or race locally on the weekends. Logan and I have been taking up the top two spots on the podium at every race we've done this fall. Its really fun to get back to my roots, race at the venues I grew up racing at and ride because I want to. I have some exciting trips coming up next month; I will be racing in an urban downhill race through the streets of Mexico November 3rd, and then racing in an invitational downhill race in Indonesia November 18th. Im very excited to see some new parts of the world! Only a fraction of the way through the off season and its been awesome so far.

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Season is Over

The last race of the season for me was the world cup finals in Hafjell, Norway. I really liked the track in Hafjell and was feeling strong on it all weekend. There were some technical woods sections similar to the terrain I grew up racing on in the northeast. I qualified 15th with a decent run, but I knew I could shave some time off for the final run. My goal was just to improve on my qualifying result. I had a good start to my final run, but unfortunately suffered a mechanical coming out of the rock garden and snapped my shifter cable. That meant that I was in the hardest gear the entire time, and had to grind away slow pedal strokes. I had a solid 1st split in 8th place and 8th at the speed trap, then fell back to 19th on the day after the mechanical. Top 20 results are solid, but I just felt like I had a lot more speed and I wasn't able to show it. It was definitely disappointing, but I can go into the off season knowing that the speed is there. This weekend was the first time my body felt like it was up to the task since the beginning of the year. I know I can be a top rider when I'm healthy, I've just had some bad luck this year with injures. I am excited and motivated to start training for next season. Gonna give my body some time to recover first though!

After Norway I went to Sweden to spend a week with my friend Dennis at his house. We had an amazing time and it was a good way to celebrate after the season. We went out camping on the islands around stockholm for a few days and then had some good parties with his mates back at his house. I just made it home today after 5 weeks in europe, and it feels great to be home for a while this time!

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World Champs

 I was really looking forward to world champs in Leogang, Austria this year. The past two years world champs has been a very stressful race for me because I was in the Junior category and in contention for the win. This year there was no pressure and I had a great opportunity to see where I stacked up in the elite mens category. Unfortunately less that three weeks ago I crashed and separated my shoulder at Whistler, a very painful injury that kept me off the bike until this weekend. For the first week I wasn't even sure if I'd be able to ride, but the injury came around quickly and I was really happy to feel good enough to race by Sunday. I finished 27th, which I was really happy with given the lack of preparation I've had. My shoulder is still not completely healed, but I was able to hold onto the bike and as most racers know, once you're adrenaline kicks in you don't feel much pain. I enjoyed the weekend all together and was really glad to have my family here supporting me. I am still in Austria now getting ready to head to Norway for the world cup finals where I'm looking to get my best result of the season. Just need to get this body of mine all healed up and the rest is cake!

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Whistler Crankworx

We're half way through our week in Whistler at the Crankworx festival and it's been a very busy past few days. Justin and I raced the Garbonzo DH last weekend, the longest downhill race in the world. Justin had won the event before and showed me the lines so that I could get up to speed on the 13 min track a little quicker. Justin finished 4th despite a broken shifter cable, and I finished up in 16th place. Now that I have the experience and some knowledge of the track, I am looking forward to coming back and racing the Garbonzo again next year. Tuesday I took part in the whip-off world champs. There were tons of spectators lining the jumps as the riders tried to see who could throw the biggest whip. It was a cool event and a lot of fun. Yesterday was the air downhill, a downhill race down a-line at Whistler, the most famous jump trail in the world. I wanted to race it to get an interval in on my downhill bike. Scrubbing jumps was really good practice for world champs in two weeks. I ended up 14th, not too bad as most guys had shorter travel bikes that were faster over the jumps. Im having an awesome time in whistler and looking forward to more riding this week.

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MTB GP in Washington

I just got back from a quick trip to Seattle, Washington for the final stop of the U.S. Grand Prix of MTB. After crashing at the previous round at Highland and missing out on points, I needed a 1st or 2nd  place to take the series overall from my teammate Justin Leov. The track was extremely dry and loose, and there were several top guys there. Luke Stroble would be hard to beat on his home track, Mitch Ropelato was riding fast after a good result in France and Bryn Atkinson was on form as he spends his summers in Seattle. I felt like I figured it out and put down a good run in the final, but after qualifying 2nd, Mitch and Luke got me in the final and I took 3rd. It was disappointing to miss out on the series overall, but the racing was very close and I put in my best effort. I felt like figured out the loose dust this weekend and I'm really looking forward to going to Crankworx in Whistler next weekend.

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France World Cup

This past weekend in France was very exciting. The ski resort of Val d'isere put together an awesome race course in the southern alps, one the World Cup has never seen before. I had some bad luck, with a crash in my quali run and a broken front brake lever keeping me out of the final. This was the first world cup that I have not qualified for and it felt pretty bad to watch everyone else race. However, I made positives out of the weekend and learned a few things from watching my teammates. It was a really cool venue, and I look forward to getting a chance to race there in the future.

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2012 National Champs

We had an amazing weekend at Beech Mountain in North Carolina at this years Gravity National Champs. I really enjoyed the event because it was close to home, there were lots of friends and family there, the tracks were awesome and I was the defending National Champion. National Champs is one of the few races that I get to race dual slalom anymore and I started the weekend off right with a win on my Trek Ticket hardtail. It felt really special to win the slalom with so much local support cheering for me. Racing two events was pretty tiring by Sunday, but I hoped to give Aaron a run for his money and defend my National Title. I pushed myself hard in the final run and as a result came off my line in a few places. It was a solid run, but I knew it would need to be perfect to beat Aaron, so I was happy for the two of us to take the 1-2 for Trek World Racing. Huge thanks to Ray Waxham from Trek and Frank Stacy with Bontrager tires for being there to support us and keep our equipment race ready. Aaron and I just got into France where we will be racing this weekend at the new World Cup venue of Val d'Isere.  New tracks are always fun and this is sure to be another great weekend.

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Racing at Highland, Chilling at Home

This past weekend after some time back at home with teammates Justin Leov and Dennis Dertell we traveled north to Highland Mountain in New Hampshire for a national race. Highland is a fun place to ride and race, it's one of the best bike parks in the country. I raced there twice last year and won both times, beating both Aaron and Justin in the national. I felt good and was having a fun time all weekend. I qualied 1st by 5 seconds and was looking forward to attacking the track in the final. Unfortunately I had a big crash and was not able to do the run I was looking for. My quali time held up as the fastest of the day. I was disappointed to throw the race away, but happy that I pushed myself to ride the pace I want to ride. I had some good times this week at home with Justin and Dennis and looking forward to some more this weekend. We had a great time celebrating the 4th of July last week with some good old USA activities. My buddy came over with a bunch of guns and we shot targets all day and set off fireworks. It was a great day. It will be fun to have the weekend off this weekend and chill out before national champs in 2 weeks.

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Mont Sainte Anne World Cup

Most people who watched the live broadcast this past weekend from Mont Sainte Anne, Quebec, Canada saw me take a pretty bad spill on one of the faster sections of the track. I hit my head pretty hard and can't remember much, but I am uninjured and okay. While that was the highlight of the weekend, there were much more positive things for me. I qualified in the top 20 after missing four weeks of racing due to my ankle injury, and was on pace for another great result in my first world cup since South Africa. I was feeling comfortable on my bike, not letting the nerves get to me and was really enjoying the process. It was the makings of a great come back from injury. I am glad that I was feeling so good. I am excited to race again this weekend in Windham, New York, one of my favorite races of the year. It's the closest World Cup to my home and I am the closest top rider to the event. It will be a great weekend, I'm really looking forward to it, and I am glad to be in one piece after that crash last weekend.

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Racing in Vermont

This past weekend I was able to get back to racing at the MTB Grand Prix at Sugarbush, Vermont. It was a good weekend for me and I was really happy to be back on my bike. The weather was perfect all weekend and the track was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed the whole event and was glad to be back racing again. I finished 3rd behind my teammate Justin Leov and U.S. pro rider Mitch Ropelato. I was happy with how I felt after a month off the bike and I'm really excited to go into next weekend's World Cup in Quebec healthy and ready. I can't wait to see what the rest of this season has in store.

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Back on the Bike

After two weeks of spectating in Val di Sole and Fort William, I got the go ahead to get back to riding and racing this weekend. I was back in the doctors office as soon as I got home and had some follow up X-Rays taken. The doctor gave me the best news I could have hoped for, healed and safe to ride on! I am really excited to get back on my bike this weekend in Vermont at the Grand Prix of MTB and build up to Mont Sainte Anne next weekend. It was tough to sit out two important races, but being healed up now shows that it was the right thing to do. I can't wait to ride!!!

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Injury Update

I went out for practice this morning in Italy and unfortunately my ankle felt like it was not ready to race on. It didn't feel too far off, but this track is super steep and rough and my lack of control could have caused another crash. It was a really tough decision to pull out of the race, especially sitting in the top 20 overall, but I think it was the mature thing to do. Risk over reward, it just didn't weigh out. There was not enough benefit that could have come out of racing injured. I am going to get this healed up and ready to go for MSA in 3 weeks from now. I really like that track and I feel that the decision to go there 100% and achieve my potential is the best thing I can do. I hope to be back on my bike very soon.

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Ankle Injury

Unfortunately last weekend at the pro GRT at Mountain Creek in New Jersey I twisted my ankle pretty badly. I slipped my foot off the front of my pedal and planted it in the ground, then my pedal hit me in the back of the leg and rolled my ankle over. It was a minor mistake, I didn't even crash, just slipped a pedal. I ended up with a small fracture in the bottom of my tibia where it goes into the ankle joint. The fracture is minor and dose not change my plans of racing next weekend in Val Di Sole, Italy for the second round of the World Cup. It has been 1 week since the injury and it feels so much better every day. At this rate, it should feel pretty good in another week. I am in New York this weekend at another pro GRT cheering on my teammates and resting my ankle. I am excited to get over to europe and back to World Cup racing.

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Duryea Downhill 2012

One of my side projects this year has been helping to organize a downhill race in my hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania. This past weekend the race took place, and it was very enjoyable for all who participated. The Duryea Downhill is unique because it finishes in Reading's city park which is in the center of town. There were a lot of spectators for that reason and it was cool to race on a little different track than the ski slopes were used to. This race was awesome for me personally because it was so close to home. Being able to race on my home trails in front of all my friends from school and my family was really special. The whole weekend was great. Saturday evening I had a BBQ in my yard where a lot of the riders came to hang out and ride my pump track. Ray from Trek was with us all weekend, he is always great to have around. My bike was set up perfectly for the track as the race was held on the mountain where I do all my testing and training at home. The new Saint components were very popular because most of the guys here hadn't seen them yet. I won the race by over 7 seconds, and it was awesome to see all my friends waiting at the finish line. I am really glad that I was able to help make this race possible and I hope it can become an annual event.


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Port Angeles

I spent the past week in Washington state with my team for the first national in the United States, the U.S. Grand Prix. The terrain was a lot more similar to the east coast with rain storms coming through all week. We had a few days to spend in the costal town of Port Angeles where we got some good gym and XC training done. The track was open for practice from Thursday through Sunday, so we took advantage of it and punched out a lot of runs. It felt good to ride that much and get comfortable going fast on a real track. The track at Port Angeles is one of my favorites. Fast, muddy, steep, good to train on. First track like that all year. My race went pretty well.  I over rode my Qualifying run and made a ton of mistakes. My goal for the final was to ride a little more smoothly and keep the intensity up. I put out a solid, smooth run for 5th place. I was happy to be on the podium with the depth of talented riders at this race. I want to keep uping the intensity through the season. Im home now for a few weeks and looking forward to it! This season is awesome.

Sea Otter Classic

I really enjoyed this past weekend racing at the Sea Otter Classic. Sea Otter is always one of the most fun events of the year. They don't have the best track, but all the top guys show up which makes for great racing. It is held at Laguna Seca Raceway, a motor sports venue in Monterey, California. Everyone comes out to support the industry, most of which is located here in California. Its really cool too see such huge crowds at the event for that reason. I raced the Dual Slalom and Downhill races this year. The Salom is always super fun because you get to compete head to head with so many top guys. I had a short night of racing after blowing through a gate and going out in the first round. Never the less, I had a fun day on my hardtail and really enjoyed the event. The Downhill went more smoothly for me. The race track is very flat, an extremely fitness based course. I managed my effort well and put down a solid run that got me on the podium in 5th place. I was really happy to see my fitness level up there with the best of them. Less than a second behind my teammate Aaron Gwin is something I'm really proud of. I feel like I am developing good race craft and this season I am able to keep building on the solid foundation I have created over the past few years. It's all coming together and it feels great!

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Pan American Championships in Mexico

This week was pretty crazy. I raced the Pan American Continental Championships in Puebla, Mexico. It turned out to be a really fun event and a great experience, even though it was a little disorganized. From the beginning, Mexico lived up to it's stereotypical reputation. The organizers who were supposed to pick us up from the airport never showed up, leaving us to find our own way to the event. We rented a van and managed to find the venue, about 100km away, just by asking directions... kinda sketchy. I guess they don't sell maps in Mexico. The traffic was insane, no rules what so ever. There were no speed limits, just speed bumps, so you couldn't speed if you wanted to. Dead dogs in the hotel parking lot, 5 people riding on 1 motorcycle, and chickens on the race track were all common place. It was quite the experience! 

I wanted to race the Pan American Championships to get some more racing in early in the season and it turned out that this track was a great place to train. The track was really short, but there were a lot of line options which made it really fun and challenging. Some big, dangerous lines out there too, which were worthwhile on such a short track. There were no shuttles for the DH, so we had to hitch hike back to the top of the track after each run. It was dry, hot and dusty the whole time. In the final I put down a very strong run, a run I was really happy with, but Marcelo Gutierrez managed to go faster and I finished 2nd to him. I had a really fun week in Mexico with the US federation. Experiencing a country like that is something I'll never forget. It was so cool to see that all the south american guys were so pumped on the sport. There are a lot of great guys down there that the we rarely ever see. I'm headed home now for a little while and I'm looking forward to it!

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Fun Weekend in Gouveia

This past week after South Africa I flew to europe to race in Gouveia, Portugal. Gouveia is one of my favorite tracks and i'm really glad I had the opportunity to race here this year. It's so rough and fast, which makes for awesome training. It was good to get some laps on a real downhill track. We drove here Thursday and raced today. The weather was beautiful all weekend and there were tons of local guys out racing. It's always hard to beat the locals on their home track, but I managed to put a smooth run together and took the win. Im stoked on how my season is staring, I'm having a lot of fun and doing what I love. Im going to keep this momentum rolling into the pan american championships two weeks from now.

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World Cup 1 Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

It was a great weekend racing in South Africa and I'm really proud of my result. After qualifying in 24th place, I really pushed myself for the result I wanted. I managed to find time up top in the technical portion of the track where I was slow in the quali and really push hard down bottom in the pedaling section. I went into the hot seat for a few riders and ended up in 14th place. I was stoked with that, the goal was top 20. Now that i'm in the top 20 protected going into the next race I can take some risks and try to score points in the quali. Round 2 of the World Cup is not for another 11 weeks, so it feels really good going into this break on a solid result.  I was the person I wanted to be yesterday at the top of that track, and I'm looking forward to keeping that momentum rolling. It feels damn good to start the year ranked among the top 20 elite men in the world.

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Really Enjoying South Africa

My experience here in South Africa has been awesome! I absolutely love it here. Life is just simple... you really feel like your in Africa. This past weekend I had a good result at the national race we did on the World Cup track. I finished in 3rd place, a solid result with a lot of international riders in the mix. More than anything else, I got some good practice on the World Cup track a week prior to the race. It was good to sort lines and bike set up so we don't have to do it this weekend. I'm really excited to get into it here in a few days, and honestly, I can't wait. I don't feel the same nerves that World Cups brought in the past. It's all positive and I'm ready for it.

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First Week of Team Camp

We have been down in here in Pietermaritzburg for almost a week now and I have been having such an awesome time! The team has been busy getting photos and testing new equipment for the first World Cup next weekend. The new bikes are awesome, perfect from the first run. We're doing an SA national this weekend on the World Cup track which will be like a practice race for us. I'm really looking forward to the week to come!

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Time to Get Going!

Today I'm leaving for my first event with Trek World Racing for this season. I'm headed to South Africa today for team camp and the first World Cup! I feel good, I feel fit and I feel ready. I really enjoyed the experience in South Africa last year and can't wait to get down there again this year. I know there are great things on the horizon and I'm ready to get stared on my path for 2012!

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Good Day Racing

This weekend Aaron and I raced the fourth round of the Fontana winter series. It was a great weekend for us, the weather was beautiful and I got to ride my bike a lot. The track this weekend was a lot better than the other tracks this year and was a lot of fun to ride. It was a great chance for me to work on a few things that I wanted to try before the big races coming up next month. I finished 2nd to Aaron, 2 seconds off his time. I was pretty happy with that because half the track was a flat sprint along the wall. I felt that I rode the technical sections really well. Im stoked I got to ride in some warm weather this weekend and celebrate my birthday racing my bike.

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Winter Training in Temecula

The past couple of weeks I have been staying with my teammate Aaron Gwin at his house in Temecula, California. It has been such a great experience to be able to stay with Aaron. He is the best rider in the world and a great friend too. We have been just riding, training and chilling out. I've been eating good and getting to bed early every night, which has been awesome. It's good to be in a good routine. A few days ago we did some filming with GO PRO, one of Aaron's sponsors, so I got to follow him down the hill with 5 cameras strapped to me. It was a fun day and should make for some cool camera angles. There is a cool riding spot down the road where you can pedal up the hill on your XC bike in about 10 minutes and then take a few different downhill tracks back down. I have been shredding over there every chance I get. It feels great to be able to be on the bike every day and enjoy the beautiful weather. It's great to go somewhere away from home where you can keep up with your daily routine. It really allows me to focus on what I'm trying to accomplish every day with no distractions. I'd say for what I'm doing, Aaron's house is the best place I could be. We're going to Fontana this weekend, then back home Monday.

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Another Weekend at Fontana

This weekend I was able to get back out to california to do some racing. It felt so good to be in nice weather again, the cold weather at home was getting pretty miserable. I raced at Fontana again and got some good practice on that dry track surface and pedal at the end. Saturday night we went to watch Supercross which was very exciting. Walking through the pits and meeting some of the riders was really cool. The race track at Fontana was getting pretty blown out by Sunday morning. I was late coming out of two corners in my race and really got stuck in the soft dust off to the side of the track. I ended up in 5th place. I felt really strong on the pedaling section, I feel stronger there every race. I hit some of the top sections really well too, which I was happy with. These races are good practice for South Africa and a good chance to ride my downhill bike. Im looking forward to training with Aaron these next two weeks then racing Fontana again.

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Training In California

I am sitting in LAX airport, headed home, after an awesome few days in Southern California. I got out here last friday and had a busy weekend planned. I raced downhill at Fontana sunday and managed to go to Supercross saturday night. I had been looking forward to racing at Fontana again because it is a good gauge of fitness with the amount of pedaling on that track. I raced there in November and felt like my pedaling could use some work. I have been training pretty hard since then, a little pissed off by how I felt in that last race. This time I was able to sprint the entire track and felt a lot stronger in general. I finished 2nd. The pedaling section there is a good fitness indicator for the first world cup in South Africa, which features similar terrain. Supercross was really fun, we got to watch my buddy Jeff's good friend Cole Seely win the 250 class. It's always a fun time going to watch that. This week I have been training and riding in the sunshine out here. Tuesday my coach and one of the guys from SRM came out to do some power meeter testing on the downhill bike. It was a really interesting test, this was the first time they ever had a power meeter on a downhill bike, and we got some great data from it. Knowing all that info will allow us to train a lot more specifically. Well, time to go back to Pennsylvania and enjoy some freezing cold weather again for a couple of weeks. Glad I got to be out here for the past few days.

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