Mt Snow National Champs!

The results are in!!!… I had such an awesome weekend of racing. 2nd in the Slalom, 1st in qualies for DH without a chain and then 1st in the finals for Downhill by almost 3 seconds..
In fact it was a great week for Morewood Racing as we had 3 other 1st places for Morewood Bikes including 1st in expert men 19-29 by JR Quick! good job there..

Slalom….. In fact I almost didn’t even race the slalom as I was thinking I may just save it for the Downhill race on Sunday but lucky for me my trainer Colin Izzard from Charmichael training came up to watch the race and let me tell you he was such a great help. He told me that with the amount of training we have done that this should be a walk in the park pretty much.. He was always at the top with some drinks for me after each run and kept me in a positive mind the whole time.
The Slalom track was pretty fun the track was a very sandy kind of dirt so when it started to rain during practice the track became super tacky!!
I was feeling pretty good that day I had no stress and wasn’t nervous one bit as Slalom is usually a fun event for me but, with my training this year I was having such great starts and felt so strong throughout the track that I kept moving up through the ranks. It was only when I advanced against Chris Herndon who was the fastest qualifier and by far fastest in the practice that I started to think to myself that I may actually get to the finals!… with that on my shoulders now I had to tell myself that racing is “fun”… there is no need to stress. I ended up in the finals against Eric Carter and out of the gate the first run EC pulled an amazing start and left me about 2-3 bike lengths behind but I slowly caught up in the turns but EC had the advantage. Second start we both pulled the first straight at about the same until we got to the first rollers where I was manual doubling and EC was pedaling manualing! he pulled another 1-2 bike lengths on me there but I didn’t care as I enjoyed the first corner so much and seeing EC take a foot out made me feel great as I knew that I was pushing him for him to pull that move! In the end I didn’t finish to far behind him but I knew he had the win. I was still super stoked to have placed second as it was by far the best Slalom result I have had and I had so much fun racing against EC who has been an idol of mine for a long time!

Downhill… With a great result from last night in the Slalom I felt there was less pressure on me as I had thought no matter what I have already enjoyed racing in Mt Snow.
My bike was well prepped and ready as I headed up for practice. First practice run was good I was just riding smoothly and calm and then second run was also pretty good except that I had cracked a brand new rim because I decided to try a little less air pressure… 27psi was not a good idea for such a rough track with big sharp rocks. I didn’t have time to change out the wheels as I had qualifications starting pretty soon so I headed up.
I kept my qualifying run super easy and I didn’t pedal that hard as I wanted to try and save energy for the tight woods section. I passed Cody Warren on the middle road about half way down who had stopped intentionally to try and beat the rain that was supposed to pour down in the afternoon.. lucky for me it stayed dry! I waved at him as I went by.. he waved back..
I came up to the rocky highway that had claimed so many rims before and skipped into it pretty confidently but, as I got into it my chain broke off and started to skip around so I thought that it was good as it was one less thing I needed to worry about now. I ended up free wheeling to the finish with a time of 5:06 which put me in first place! I was pretty surprised let me tell you.
Now with the added pressure that if I can keep my chain on and just stay relaxed for the DH I could win. I fixed my chain up changed my wheel set and headed up for the finals
In the gate I kept running through my mind that no matter what I have already had a good week and that stress prohibits you from going faster. Like Sam Hills said ” Pressure…. I don’t do Pressure”
My finals run was good! I kept relaxed and managed to stay calm and not pedal to hard as I wanted to get stronger nearer to the bottom, also stay focused and clear headed for the faster sections.
It all worked out pretty well I felt really strong still as I got to the bottom…I kept asking myself if I had given it enough as I had lots of energy left over still? I came through the finish line and all I heard was ” Here is your new National Champion!!”… I thought to myself… No way… that was fun!
So it feels pretty good that I am the 2008 National Champ for DH !
I want to thank everybody for helping me out especially my Dad who has always been super suportive from day 1.

The Ellertson Family who has given me a place to sleep since beginning of May and helped me stay relaxed after races.

Like to thank my trainer Colin Izzard and Charmichael training who has beat me up so much this training season and I’m glad to see why I went through it all!! Thanks!

My Sponsors: Morewood Bikes, Control Tech, Ethirteen, 661, Royal, Cane Creek, Industry nine, Mavic, Maxxis, Lake shoes, Crank Brothers, Formula brakes.
Bike worked so well all week and with a racing weight of 37lbs it helps having the lightest DH bike at the races.
I have tons of pictures and I will post some up on my website… check em out!!

Cheers see you all in Monte Sainte Anne!