On Facebook, he recently wrote that he missed mountain biking. Guess it wasn’t just a passing thought.
A press release from the US MTB Cup Series, which is in SoCal this weekend.
“A stacked field of more than 80 of the continent’s top riders will be showcased in Sunday’s men’s pro race set to go off at 2:30 p.m. Nearly every top American rider including U.S. Olympians Adam Craig (Bend, Ore./Giant) and Todd Wells (Durango, Colo.) as well as Canadian and Australian champions Max Plaxton (Sho-air/Specialized) and Sid Taberlay and even cycling legend Steve Larsen (Bend, Ore.) will battle it out during five laps on the 5.2-mile loop just outside of Southridge, Calif.”
If Ned O. and John T. come out of retirement then that would be epic
Ned claims to be retired? I suppose he just wants us to ignore that little cyclocross age group world championship he won a year or two ago, eh?
Seven years is a long time away. I forgot how much those races hurt! Average heart rate 180, max 193 for 2hr 08 minutes of suffering. I had a lame start when I got stuck behind Todd Wells as he broke his chain but felt good about the effort as I was able to pick off about ten guys per lap on a fairly technical course. I plan to give it a go at Sea Otter and will hope to improve the result.
Note the 2XU Elite bib shorts and sublimated jersey I was testing in the race. First time I used them and they performed great. I’ll post a review when I have time.
BTW - the highlight of the weekend for me was watching my son Massimo race to third place in the 11-12 boys race!
Since we’re all into drooling over bikes here… Looks like you’re on a hardtail? Can you tell us a little about your bike? Seems like most (if not all) of the xc racers are still on hardtails these days; yet many non-racers on full suspension? Thanks!
I did choose a hardtail for this race (it is what I had in my garage), but most of the top guys did as well. Although the course was technical in the sense that it was difficult to pass, the trails were pretty smooth and the climbs quite steep. I rode a Scott Scale, carbon hard tail from about three years ago. Earlier version XTR, Mavic Crossmax SSC, Larsen TT signature tires with Stans. 25 psi front, 28 psi rear. It was a good set up for this course. Geoff Kabush won on those same tires. I am working on a full suspension for Sea Otter and Xterras if I can get the weight below 22lbs.
193 is the highest I have seen in awhile. With the Ironman training and age, both max and threshold heartrates have trended down over the last few years. I believe my economy has improved and that is the weapon of an older athlete - experience and economy. When I was young I didn’t have to be economical cause I had power to burn. Not the case any longer so it was nice to see I could still hold that effort for two hours. It was usually high 180’s on the climbs and try and recover on the downhills. I remember when Lance raced the Mt. Snow finals in 98’ (I think that was the year) and he said that was the hardest two hours of cycling he had ever done. Mountain Bikers are the real deal and I have always believed doing different efforts like these will make you a better triathlete and better all around athlete. Don’t be afraid to train and race “outside the box”, you might be surprised at the result.
In a 40km test, I would likely average 175-180HR and about 385-400 watts, but you get higher HR’s on the MTB due to the steep climbs and changes of pace.
Hey…where’s the bento box…sorry I guess for the 2 hour race, no need to carry groceries and kinda hard to consume anything at 180+ bpm.
Totally agree with you about mixing it up and doing shorter harder efforts. I try to do that at 10K running races, or shorter XC ski races (5-10K in length).
Yes no Bento Box but I did manage four Roctane Gu’s (1x per lap) and a fresh bottle of the new E2 Hydro energy drink each lap thanks to my son Massimo in the feed zone. I think my nutrition was part of the reason for my late race surge through the pack. I think those boys don’t eat. If it was a 180km mtb race the victory would have been mine! No actually it may have taken me three days to catch geoff kabush up front. I can’t believe I used to win those on a weekly basis, as it is hard to fathom that speed now. It was great to be out there and in the mix though.
