Photo Gallery About Eric Results 24 Hour Racing, National Championships, school, and more! So it is already half way through September and a ton of new stuff has happened! First of all, I finished the trip back East with a great performance at West Virginia (my best short track and second best XC ever!), and my worst finishes ever at Mt. Snow, VT (mechanicals in both races that set me wwwwaaayyyy back!). But I did get to do the Super D there (basically a mass start downhill with pedaling sections, which gives the XC guys a chance as well) and it was awesome! My start was not the best, but once the uphills came, I was flying by downhillers, and ended up in 8th place for Pro Men. I suggest that everybody try one of these if the opportunity arises. Back in Durango, I started up with school again. I am now in my Junior year heading towards a Major in marketing after getting a Minor in biology last semester. We are starting to really dive into some cool stuff this semester So for recent racing, I decided to do the 24 Global Championships in Granby with a 4-man team composed of Cody Peterson, Josh Bezecny, and Georgia Gould. At first, it seemed a bit crazy, especially one week before the National Champs in Mammoth, but $4,000 was up for grabs and it sounded like a ton of fun. Our team worked great together, and each of us definitely put our fair share of effort into the race. Through the night, the lead changed multiple times between Trek/VW and us. It was such a close race. Coming into the final hour on Sunday, we were only about 6 minutes up on them, and it basically came down to the last lap where we barely edged them out. It was amazing. Trek/VW was so tough, and being able to earn this win was great for all of usÖespecially since 2 of our teammates had never done a 24 hour race, and the four of us basically formed the team a week in advance thinking it would be a fun challenge. We had no idea how hard we would have to fight though. So, now in Mammoth, the season is changing directions again! I just finished up with the U23 cross country, and am now looking forward to some collegiate racing this fall. The race went really well out here, and was a great way to wrap up the main season. Coming into this event, I really wanted to put a good ride in, especially after coming so close to the podium last year, but losing it because of mechanicals. At the start, the field was small, but contained a very talented group of athletes. Many were just back from the World Championships in Italy, including Nick Ranno, Andy Schultz, Sam Schultz, Sam Durekovic, and Nick Waite. Also on the line were a dozen other fast guys including Durango riders, Alex Hagman and Adam Snyder. Right off the start, a group of 5 including Hagman, Waite, Schultz bros, and Ranno got a 30 second gap up the first steep climb. This was a similar start to the Durango National last year, heading up a loose fire road climb before heading into singletrack. I found myself in between this lead group and another group led by Durekovic. My goal was to just keep my pace steady and keep the leaders in sight. We dove into the singletrack that still climbed, but at a more gradual rate until it crested the top of the course and plunged down a trail called Seven Bridges basically named after the seven wooden bridges that criss-crossed this rocky wash. It was a great downhill with enough technical sections to keep you on your toes, but was very fast and fun, with the exception of up to 6 inches of dust sitting on some of those corners. After the second time up the steep climb though, the lead group had 2 minutes on me and were out of site. To make things worse, Durekovics group was almost on my wheel. At this point, I knew to at least maintain my current position, I had to speed up. Fortunately, the top half of the course was not as steep and really suited my riding style. Slowly but surely, my cushion on 6th place became more secure. With one lap to go, I thought, ìwhat the heck, I may as well go for 5th. The climb was really taking its toll, but I tried to just push through it and get to the singletrack climbing section as fast as possible. From here, I would be able to look ahead and see somebody to catch, or just shut it down and cruise to the finish. Just at the top of the climb, after a huge effort, Nick Waite came into sight! I pushed past him, and just laid everything out on the downhill. Then, just as the finish was coming closer, fans were yelling that another rider was just ahead with a flat tire. After emerging from the downhill, I saw the finish with the 4th placed rider limping in on the flat. Unfortunately though, it was my good friend and fellow Durango rider, Alex Hagman. Despite Alexs bad luck, he still ended up 4th in the nation with myself rounding out the 5th place podium spot. It was a solid finish for us, and now we are looking forward to a great season of collegiate racing and representing Fort Lewis College and Durango at the Collegiate National Champs later on in October. Also, up next will be a trip to Vegas! It should be a good time Click for more journal entries... Sponsors News Journal