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.

NM

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.

NM

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.

NM

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!

NM

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!

NM