State Championships. Redemption.

While State Championships doesn't provide UCI points, or any prestigious invitations, what it does provide is redemption.

After a period of disappointment, a chance to put the trains back on the tracks approached. The depth of the 17-18 category in Colorado is deep, and nearly everyone was going to Europe with EuroCrossCamp or Clif Bar. So I had one last time to not only prove to myself that I have what it takes, but prove it to others too.

State Championships for 'cross have always been a toss-up for me. My first year doing it I finished mid-pack, and then the next year I had appendicitis. So I've never been particular strong at this point in the season. My approach to the race was mixed, on one hand I was unconfident, and on the other hand, I wanted this win badly. I decided to put no pressure on myself, and approaching the weekend as just another race.

We drove down to Castle Rock early Saturday morning with my Dad and Zack. First City Cycling Team was there to support us, and all the Fort Collins cyclists, and the team, warmth and embro was very appreciated! Thank you very much Jay! I raced 17-18 at high noon on Saturday and the course was awesome. The ground was drying out and the snow was melting, and was going to create the second mud race I had done all season. The course had some good elevation gain, and took skills, and being smooth to keep the bike upright. I threw on the Challenge Fangos and put 'em at 20 psi.

We went to line up, and sitting next to me was Garrett, Liam, Cormac, Grant, and Chris. I knew it would be a fast race when the gun went off and the uphill sprint was elbows out. Down the first descent it proved to be decisive, and the front group formed almost instantly. All the big names were there, and battling for position in the mud. The group slowly widdled down with Chris pushing the pace, and with 3 to go, there were 5 of us. I was the only rider in the group without a team mate, and decided to just sit back and watch how the race would unfold.

Coming into 2 to go, Grant had a mechanical and would be left behind, and Kurtis would be dropped. Soon the 3 man showdown was on display. Garrett and Chris were trading blows, even getting aggressive around corners, and as they battled each other, I gave the appearance I was in trouble, just dangling off the back. The final uphill came, and I decided it was time to go. I sprinted past Garrett, with no reaction from him, then past Chris. I had a 5 second gap nearly instantly, and riding smooth kept me out of trouble. I crossed the line 3 seconds ahead of Garrett, and had time to celebrate.

I have added another State Championship Title along with my USAC MTB State Champion, and NICA State Champion. The feeling of the win made me ecstatic and even though it didn't count towards much, it made me feel like I can without a doubt compete at the top. There is very little time until Nationals now, and with all my competitors over in Europe, I have training time, and am able to sleep in my own bed.

The support I've had this season is impeccable, and everyone involved is so appreciated. Thank you to Jay Zorn for his support over the weekend, Nick Frey for his continued support and encouragement, Andy Clark for keeping my head in check, my Dad for always being there, and my family for being my support. I couldn't do it without these people and my sponsors. Thank you so much to Boo Bicycles, TrainingPeaks, Braaap Nutrition, and Challenge Tires. Nationals is coming up and I want to bring my A-game and represent well. Thank you to everyone who has supported me this season! I'm looking forward to Nationals.

City of Angels (and Ramen)

Los Angeles, a town of cars.

Seriously, the highways are madness, at any given time there are more cars in a 3 mile stretch than all of I-25... Despite the traffic, LA was a great experience and I had a great time racing and seeing the city.

Colorado Represent!

CXLA was over Thanksgiving Break which provided the perfect time for a little family vacation and a relaxing time in the sun. We arrived in LA on Tuesday and we were staying at Disneyland, which was pretty rad because all of the food was a 5 minute walk from the hotel. We walked around Disney on Wednesday and rode some roller coasters and had a good time. Then Wednesday was more relaxed as we got closer to the race. Then on Thursday my dad and I went to find a place to ride, which ended up being next to a ditch/river which was actually a really cool place for a bike path.

It had rained hard on Thursday night and I was praying it would keep raining, but by Saturday morning it had dried up and the course was ultra-fast. CXLA is situated in downtown LA, a little west of Chinatown and made for some awesome scenery. The course was like a Colorado course which I was excited about and as I pre-rode on Saturday I thought about Louisville and how my season was going, based on my goals. I really wanted to race my best over the weekend and prove that I have what it takes to be at the top, but as we lined up at 6:00pm on Saturday night, my legs had other ideas.

Ian and I building the gap

13 of the fastest juniors took off down the start straight and as soon as we hit the first corner, everything went crazy. I couldn't focus and I was being shoved around every where and making tons of mistakes. Within the first 2 minutes of the race, I got shoved down and bent my derailleur hangar, and ended up with chainring cuts on the inside of my bicep, the most painful cut I've ever had. The race only got worse and worse and I came in 10th, the most disappointing race finish of my year. We went back to the hotel that night without much talk of the race.

Mentally, I woke up the next day thinking about how I would survive today and not get last. My head was slowly getting the best of me and as the saying goes, its easy to fix a mechanical, but hard to fix a physical. I decided to nut up and have fun, race my race and control what I can control. This ended up being a great plan, and within the first minute, I was sitting 3rd wheel. I just followed wheels and I looked back and there was a group of 4 off of the front. We started working together and Ethan soon fell off the pace and Ian, Kyle and I were holding on at the front, with a hard charging group behind us. It felt awesome to finally be at the front of the race, throwing punches and pushing the pace for the first time in almost a month.

The straight away where it went wrong

One thing almost always goes wrong, but this one was during the most vital portion of the race. On to the long flat straightaway on the backside of the course, my chain dropped. Almost instantly the other group was on me and I was tailing off the back of the group for almost 2 laps. I suffered off the back for those two laps and finished in 6th place. It was crushing after my other 6th in Cincy. But I soon found out that Nolan had tried to take a feed in the pits, and didn't get the bottle, and didn't get off the bike and was relegated a single place. Finally, 5th place.

While it wasn't me getting 5th, I felt as though I had earned it, and for sure next race I will have a chain guard on. It felt so liberating to finally get a UCI point, and although it wont be used anytime this season for me, it feels good to know that I can be a force at the front of races. Congrats to all the guys out there in LA, it was so much fun racing with you boys, it's great to know that we support each other.


That night, we went to the best Ramen place ever. It was in Little Toyko and had the spiciest noodles ever. I ordered the 4, and there were still 6 spice levels above that! All in all it was a great trip, and a learning experience and something that taught me more about myself and the way I approach situations. Thanks to Boo Bicycles for their constant support, as well as TrainingPeaks, Braaap Nutrition for keeping me fueled, and Challenge Tires for the sweet tires!

Podium. Finally.

To all that have supported me this season: It means so much to have you behind me and I am forever grateful, and without your words, I wouldn't be the racer I am. Even though I failed at my goal to go to EuroCrossCamp XI, it has opened a new door, and one that is only an hour away from my front door. Look out Boulder, Brannan is coming to Cyclocross Nationals with a goal.

There's good and evil in each individual journey.

Determined

Finally, a chance. A glimmer. A sparkle. An open door. An opportunity.

Registering for the biggest race of my life gave me butterflies, and questions. What will happen? What if? How? The Cincy3 weekend was the biggest, most daunting weekend of my life. The first UCI 17-18 race that I would ever do, and I was determined to make the most of it.

My dad and I flew out to Cincinnati on Thursday of that week, my dad raced on Friday, and we hung with the Boo crew for Friday. We discovered the little hipster part of the city that night, and may I mention the tacos we had? Mmm, I want to go back just for those! Saturday morning came and so did the jitters.

The course was at an abandoned golf course outside the city, and was the setting for an epic mudder race. It had rained hard on Thursday night, and we even got a tornado warning (it said to take cover, but we just got back under the covers instead), which made for a pretty wet race, but Friday wasn't a very wet race... Mother nature be cray. I opted to go with a less aggressive tread because of the shear amount of tacky straights. The race started right before sunset, and as the descending sun hit the start grid, it all started. A crash to the left, elbows flying, and mud flying. A lot the race is a blur, but I know that coming on to the start/finish straight, 6th place felt pretty damn good.

Leading the race

The confidence was breathed into me, and I felt great riding a bike that I connect with, surrounded by the people I care about and doing the thing I love.

Sunday was a different venue and wasn't muddy, and was built for group racing. My now realistic goal was to finish top 5 to get dem' UCI points. The race started, and I once again had a wonderful start, which has happened a ton this year, so I wont complain! We started pushing for position, and I found myself in the lead group of 7. The laps ticked by, and then blew apart when I was stuck at the back. I bridged up to the people that went up the road, and I was feeling so good about that, but the smallest, stupidest mistake put me on the ground and my front wheel locked up. The abruptness of the mistake took everything out of my legs and I came in for 7th place, not what I was looking for.

Warm-up

All in all it was a great weekend and a learning experience going into Louisville.

Before it went south

Louisville, I decided, was going to be even better. We got in on Thursday, and got to our host housing with Morris and Jan, who were better than anything I could have imagined and so awesome. So if either of you are reading this, thank you so much for your hospitality! And way to go dad on an awesome weekend of racing, you pretty much killed it out there, I'm proud to call you my dad.

At least I was smiling! 

It turned out that Louisville apparently wasn't going to be as good as I thought though. The feeling of a vacuum sucking up hair is probably very equitable to my weekend. I'm not going to elaborate on the races simply because they aren't worth mentioning. I ended up 10th on Saturday, and thought that maybe Sunday would be even better, but it only got crushingly worse. 15th was the most disappointing thing I could have imagined because after Cincy I thought that the power would only get better, but hey, shit happens, thats racing. Not every weekend can be the best, not even the most important one can be your best.

Laying it over!

I know most likely because the weekend I had in Louisville that I probably won't achieve my season goal of going to EuroCrossCamp, but as always I'll keep my fingers crossed. But the one thing the weekend taught me was about accepting that things don't always go the way that you want, and learning to refocus and shift goals. Fortunes often shift in an instant, but coping with a bad fortune means succeeding in the long term. I'll keep trucking and work towards a new goal, with 3 UCI Junior races still coming up, I plan on making a mark and making up for the terrible weekend in Louisville.

I like sand

The support I had for both weekends was top notch, unlike my racing. Thank you so much to Nick and Jacob of Boo Bicycles for having my bikes ready, pitting, and teaching me some racing lessons. TrainingPeaks, Challenge Tires, and Braaap Nutrition prepared me as much as I could be and provided the team with top notch support so thanks to them. My family also takes credit for my successes in Cincy, and I couldn't do it without my mom, and sister's support, and my dad's attitude towards racing, it kept me going in Louisville. I appreciate all the support I've had this season, and even though a hard hit was taken this weekend, I plan on swinging back in Los Angeles and Bend.



Each trip holds something new, and confidence will come back, and racing will continue.

Good in Cincy, Evil in Louisville.

Boulder Cup Weekend!

Finally. The first real cyclocross weekend of the year for me and my first real time representing Boo Bicycles/TrainingPeaks. I was determined to shine and do what I could this weekend.

Colorado Cross Classic and the Boulder Cup are really the benchmark for Colorado kids in the beginning of October, and this year was no different. With a stacked field on both Saturday and Sunday, it was truly a battle on both days.

Photo Credit: Matthew Fix

I showed up Saturday at Boulder Reservoir, the site of Colorado Cross Classic. I rolled up to the Boo Bus and got all set up and got out on course to check it out. It was no different than years previous, with tons of corners, a few barriers to bunny hop, and sand, the most in the country. I knew what to do on this course, and it was a race that I had won the year previous. I got on the trainer feeling very confident about the race.

I lined up first row, and shot off the start, I sat around 6th wheel and once the race starting bunching up, I knew it was going to be hard to win. But luck prevailed. Maxx broke his derallieur fairly close to pit, but would never regain contact with the front group. Up the course there were two racers on the same team in front of the race, and a chase group of three behind. One of the racers in the chase group was on their team and did their best to block us. I finally snuck around him and bridged up to the lead two, and right as I did, one of them blew up and then it was just two of us in the lead group on the final lap. Going into the final 300 meters, Chris and I were elbow to elbow, and I took a better line than him in a corner, and when he tried accelerate back on to my wheel, he rolled his tire, giving me the gap I needed. I came across the line in 1st place, the first win of the season, and 7 seconds ahead of the chasers!

Photo Credit: Brian Dunn

It was a huge confidence booster for the start of the season, on a course that I really enjoyed. Sunday would be much different though. Preparing for Sunday was a little different, and I was there early to watch my dad race and prepare for the course. The course at Valmont was far different than it had been in the past, and had much more elevation gain than previous years.

Lining up second row, I was confident in how I had raced the previous day and was looking to preform just as well the first day. The race split up fast, and I found it hard to stay with other racers as the 17-18 kids tore through the CAT 4 field, my legs were just not responding which was frustrating. I watched 5 riders ride away from me, and I chased hard, but then on one of the super gnarly downhills, my front brake cable slipped, leaving me with no front brakes, on a course that needed front brake. I switched bikes and then it happened again to the other bike. It was incredibly frustrating while I was trying to chase back, and riders started passing me and my legs gave out. I finished in a disappointing 8th place.

Photo Credit: Matthew Fix

While it wasn't terrible, it wasn't a great race on Sunday. I am just getting used to racing two days in a row and with a win under my belt already, the weekend was an overall success. It felt amazing to get my first win in the Boo Bicycles/TrainingPeaks kit, the bikes worked flawlessly, despite the brake issue and the bikes out-preformed me, and took everything I threw at it! The build up for Cincinnati is coming along well, I can't wait to mix it up with all the top guys.

I'd like to congratulate everyone that raced both days, everyone raced hard and it was an awesome weekend in Colorado. Thanks to my coach Andy Clark, my super awesome dad Matt Fix, as well as Adam Wolf, Nick Frey and everyone at Boo for all the support over the weekend. Cross hurts like hell, but I can't wait for the first UCI 17-18 races in Cincinnati during the first part of November!

Race Report: Colorado MTB HS Race #3

Sometimes believing in yourself and your skills is more than enough to do the best you can.

This weekend in Elbert was a regular race weekend. Pre-ride in the afternoon on Saturday, dinner at 6:30 that night, and bed time at 10. But even though it was the same, it was completely new and different.

This weekend was the first time that the Varsity boys would race first, instead of last. A 9:30 race start at 7500' was gonna be cold! And the strangest thing about the weekend was the seemingly normal approach to such a big race. The 3rd race of the series was in Elbert, Colorado at the Peaceful Valley Boy Scout Ranch.

Since my 2011, and my Freshman year of the High School series, there has been a race at the Scout Ranch. In 2011, I had been 16th place, and the next year I was 10th. Going into the weekend, the previous years were always in the back of my mind; a course that should have been good for me, but ended up not being. So, as I woke up at 6:30 to pre-ride the course and warm up, my mind wandered to the previous years, where the haunting failure of the years came back to put my mind in a bad place before the race.

The gun went off and the Varsity boys were off for 4 laps of one of the most demanding courses all year. The course had it all, sustained climbs, short descents, windy double track, and a technical descent down to the final climb, where the race would be won or lost.

With my teammate, Zack Jensen, at the front we developed a front group, less than half a lap in. With Zack, Grant, Michael, Kyle, Chris, and Me, we slowly rode away from the field. Going into the final climb, Kyle rode away from the field and would slowly extend his gap out to 4 minutes, where he'd easily take the win throughout the 4 laps. I attached myself to Michael's wheel and we rode through towards the end of the first lap together.

On the descent before the finish, Michael went down, hard. He crashed so hard that he got a concussion and had to go to the hospital. Michael was down for the count, and I went on the ride most of the second lap by myself. Halfway through the lap, my teammate Zack bridged back up to me and we rode together for a while until Grant and Chris caught us, they then proceeded to ride right through us right as Zack blew up from his earlier efforts, and I was left chasing as yet another kid came past me. 

All this had happened before the end of the second lap and I couldn't help but keep flashing back to previous years. I just remember slipping backwards through the field, and I definitely didn't want that to happen again. I tried to keep pace on the 3rd lap, until a group behind me caught me, and then towards the end of the third lap I knew it was time to go. Going up the last climb I went as hard, knowing that I had another lap to go. I caught the 4th place kid and blew right past him. I pushed hard through the rest of the course, and on the descent before the final climb, I caught Chris. 

I passed him right before the technical section and once I was around him, I gave it all that I had. I rode as smooth as I could, and then going up the final climb I just gunned it. I don't remember that climb, nothing about it can be recalled. Just that I went hard, so hard that I tunnel-visioned and lost feeling in my fingers. By the top of the climb I had a sizable gap, and I remember someone yelling at me that Grant was just ahead of me. I looked up and sure enough, there he was. I pushed even harder, but as we went on to the final descent I knew I wouldn't catch him. So I played it smart and came in for 3rd place on the day.

I gave it all I had and ended up placing well. But the icing on the cake was that I had ridden well enough to take the Overall Leaders jersey with only one race left. Standing on that podium as the first Junior ever to be the Overall Leader, I realized what opportunity I had in front of me. At the next, and final High School race, there are only two people that can take 1st place overall from me. 

I'm looking forward to the State Championships in Eagle, Colorado. Even more than that I'm looking forward to the epic battle that I'll be having with Grant and Garrett. And even better than that, is that Me and Zack are 1st and 2nd overall. A fantastic achievement with someone that I love riding, and racing with more than anyone else. I can't wait until the next race and ending the High School season on a high note.

Congratulations to Kyle on winning the race, Grant for taking second place, Chris for taking 4th, and Christian on his breakout ride by placing 5th! Thanks to everyone who helped me this weekend, Jason Trujillo, Andy Clark, Matthew Fix, Mickey Ruff and the tons of other Ciclismo people. Also, thanks to Matthew and Michael Roberts for the photos!

I look forward to final MTB race of the season and racing everyone again soon.

Great New Team, Terrible First Race.

As I write this blog post, I'm faced with two complete opposite fortunes. A great opportunity and amazing chance, and a disappointment that is a non-essential hiccup. I'll begin with the positive, something for which I am very excited for.

I'm very pleased to announce that for this cyclocross season I am racing for Boo Bicycles/TrainingPeaks! A wonderful opportunity from a great, local company. The pride that I have to line up in the Boo Bicycles kit is enormous. I'm very thankful for this opportunity and would like to thank everyone involved. Thanks goes out to my Mom and Dad, Jason Trujillo, my coach Andy Clark, and most of all, Nick Frey for the chance to race on wonderful bikes! I will be doing most of the races that the Boo Bus will be at (come by and say hi!), the next race being Colorado Cross Classic in two weekends from now. Check out Boo Bicycles at www.boobicycles.com. Man, those are some gorgeous bikes!

Along with a great thing comes a negative. Sunday was my first cyclocross race of the season, and the first time I would be representing Boo Bicycles, I was excited to say the least! I lined up for the first time all season, resplendent in the Boo kit. I got a start position in the very last row of CAT 3's, (which I was racing to get my CAT 2 upgrade), due to a last minute registration. I went from last row to 3rd wheel within a minute of racing, and was feeling comfortable until I ran into a problem. I was running clinchers, due to the fact that I didn't have any tubulars glued up at the time, and when I took a corner too hard the bead of the tire popped out of the rim. I was the furthest point away from the pit and as I watched the race disappear, I couldn't help but be a little angry.

I let all the air of the tire so I could put it back on the rim, and then I had to run all the way to the pit to get it pumped up. I had lost nearly 4 and a half minutes at that point, and when the race was turning out 5:45 laps, I was near to being lapped. Eventually the leaders caught me and I hung on to their wheels for what would have been 3rd if the tire debacle wouldn't have happened. It wasn't a huge race, or an important one, but I wanted to make a great entrance to my cyclocross season, which didn't happen. In the long run it's not an issue, but having the bitter taste of a bad first race will chase me until I can redeem myself. In hindsight, my expectations we're very high for a first cross race against people that have already been racing cross, and now I have something to build for until the next race to erase that "@1 lap" in the books.

The season has started in a crazy way but once it's rolling and moving forward, I'm looking to being at the front of the field for the season. Look for me and the Boo Bus at Colorado Cross Classic on October 12th. Make sure you "BOO!" me as I, and my other Boo Teammates, Skyler Trujillo and Rotem Ishay race past! Big thanks to everyone at Boo Bicycles and TrainingPeaks, as well as Braaap Nutrition and Challenge Tires for their support! I'm looking forward to the next race where I can truly begin my cross season on the right foot!



Thanks for reading!

Early Season Sickness

I came into the second weekend of the Colorado High School Mountain Bike race series looking for a big result. Fresh off of the last race with a 3rd place, I was looking to better that result. But then the week beforehand came and I was struck with a cold. I tried everything I could to be healthy for the weekend, but that was all for nothing. Leadville proved to be a huge challenge, and the rest of the weekend provided nothing less.

Leadville, situated at 10,152 feet, is one of the highest cities in the US, and maybe even the world. Coming from less than 5000 feet meant that the air was very thin up in Leadville, and being sick, this just put me at an even bigger disadvantage. But even still, I had high hopes for the weekend, and a goal to take the overall leaders jersey with Michael absent from the event, because apparently he had better places to be (like the World Championship TT in Italy...).

The team had rented out the entire Leadville Hostel and Inn, which was totally awesome. 57 beds, a full kitchen and a pool table. Everything needed for a successful weekend of racing. Saturday at 1 o'clock we began the pre-ride, and that's when I noticed the elevation. Higher heart rate, less oxygen, way less power. It was shaping up to be a race that I was not looking forward to. The course itself was wayyy sick, despite the first climb which was an absolutely brutal fire road. The descent and rest of the course was tight, forested, and hero dirt. It was a complete blast to ride, and I knew that I would be where I could succeed.

Saturday night was one of the longest nights of my life, anxiety from the race, combined with real world sadness from the passing of one of my families most near and dear friends made for one of those nights where you want it to be the next day already. Nick and I went for a walk around 9 o'clock to clear our heads, and watching the moon rise over the 14k foot peaks really made me realize that what was here was real, and no matter other problems, my goal was to succeed at the race. And with that in mind, I fell asleep, and I slept hard.

Race morning came and I knew it wouldn't be a regular race day. The clouds were already moving in and with temperatures around the 40's, the day wasn't going to get much better. We got to the venue and no sooner than the girls started racing, the rain came. And it came down, hard, for a while, and the girls came in from the race all muddy. Kudos to my teammate Sam, for finishing 5th in Sophomore D2.

The day progressed and finally it came time to warm-up. My emotions were running high and stress was hampering my thoughts. I had a front row call-up and after I missed my pedal after the start I knew that it was going to be a brutal race, not just physically, but mentally too. Up the first climb I lead and then I let Maxx take over the pace, I knew he would set a reasonable pace up and when attacks from other kids came, I attacked off the back of the bunch.

In general, my mental racing state is very good, but after a long week and a very tragic turn of events, I was less than sub-par in my head. As I watched the group ride away from me, I couldn't help but let my mind wander and imagine how it could have been different, not sick, less of a trying week, more riding in my legs. But none of the matter because I had to do what was happening right now. And as I got to the top of the first climb, I was in 15th-ish place. Not at all where I wanted to be going into the first descent, which had minimal passing.

My teammate, Zack, was up in the chasing group, and as I took risks on the descent trying to pass people, I finally caught the chasing group, a feat that I deemed awesome. Zack and I rode together in the group for a while as finally the kid up front, who burned a few too many matches, and had accumulated a few too many kids behind him, blew up. The three other kids in the group with me all sprinted past and I kept a reasonable, consistent pace up the second climb. I knew that without going with that group I was in a lot of trouble but I kept my head.

Going around on the second lap, my eyes must had looked like they were screaming, because they were. I kept it consistent up the climb and took a little time on my teammate, Zack who was sitting in 6th. I tried to rest on the descent and kept a reasonable distance to my teammate who was inching ever closer to 5th. This gave me a ton of confidence and going into the 3rd lap, I was ready to bury myself to be on the podium. Zack had passed 5th place right before the start-finish and I was about 20 seconds off.

The climb hurt and I kept gaining with every pedal stroke getting me closer to 6th place and my teammate. The dream was alive, and as I passed 6th place and saw my teammate, I was told the race had been cancelled due to lightning. This was a absolutely crushing because I knew that they would count the race after the second lap, where I was in 7th place. The result that I wanted didn't happen.

In hindsight, I think it was a good thing, you always want to do well but this provided a reality check. Even when I'm sick I can ride with the best, which gives me a ton of confidence for the next race, a race that I historically haven't done the best at, but I want to give it my all this next go around and head for the Leader's Jersey, which is still in reach, only 17 points away from my 3rd place overall.

I would like to thank my dad for driving me and being my dad. Andy Clark for getting me to man up and teaching me a huge lesson to take away from this weekend, and all of Ciclismo for being the best they can be. I would also like to congratulate my teammates, Zack and Jack for their top 5 finishes and their top 5 overall placing. I'm looking forward to the next race and chance to get the Leader's Jersey!

Race Report: High School Mountain Bike Race #1 Snow Mountain Ranch

Sunday the 8th was the first Colorado High School Mountain Bike race. The unique thing about these races is that all of the fastest kids in Colorado, wether it be on a road bike or mountain bike, come together for these events which makes the level of competition incredibly high. Located in Granby, Colorado, it was the perfect location to begin the 4 race series.

The team got to Granby on Saturday to pre-ride together and prepare for the race. This is perhaps the best part of the entire weekend. Hanging out with your friends at night, joking around and forgetting all about the race before it happens. We horse around and make fun of each other while we leg drain and ice bath. Generally with 15 guys on the team, something is bound to go wrong, but nothing did!

The pre-ride was rather intense and we had to take shelter from a high-country rain storm which made the generally normal course into a muddy, rooty, fun course. It's slightly ironic that our first HS MTB race, which fell on the same weekend of the first Colorado Cross race, was muddy, but the cross race wasn't... The course was very up and down, and by the end of a lap you had almost 500 feet of elevation gain!

Race morning rolled around, and the JV and Varsity groups went out to warm up. As we warmed up my legs weren't feeling particularly spectacular, which gave me low expectations for the race, and this was a course that I hadn't done well on in the past, so mentally and physically it didn't bode well. The race started at 1:15, and due to my 3rd row starting position, I was able to get to front of the race pretty fast as the race settled in for 4 laps of the 5 mile course.

I found myself in a leading group of 5, alongside Maxx, Garrett, Michael and Grant. As the race split and the group had an un-reachable advantage of about a minute, attacks started to come and Garrett was the first to go, trying his luck on the final climb and descent of the first lap. Michael pulled him back and things got a little slower. I had definitely surprised myself so far in the race and was wondering what I could do. About then Michael went for it up the first climb and I grabbed his wheel, which turned out to be a bad idea since he's the national time trial champion...

His acceleration split the group and I was sitting second position. Grant caught, and then passed me on the second climb, which put me in 3rd spot with 2 laps to go. Right around the start of the 3rd lap, lightning started rolling in which made it kind of creepy to be riding alone. I held my position until the end of the 3rd lap, where the race was cut short because of the rain and lightning. I was very happy with this result, and it's my best result in HS MTB to date! It was an awesome race and everything went well.

My teammates also had some some awesome results, Zack finished 9th in Varsity, Keegan finished 9th in Freshman, Sam finished 2nd in Girls Sophmore, and Jack finished 4th in JV. Overall a great weekend and very successful with 3 podiums across the team!! I'm very excited for the next race up in Leadville on the 22nd! Thanks to NICA for putting on a great event, Ciclismo Youth Foundation for the excellent support over the weekend, Rob Noble and Michael Roberts for the great photos, and POC helmets for getting us some awesome, very recognizable helmets for the race, they rock!!

I'm hoping to improve on my 3rd place on the 22nd and racing the fast guys again. Thanks for reading!

About Me!

      My name is Brannan Fix and I'm a cyclist, a student and a community member. I attend Rocky Mountain High School and live in Fort Collins, Colorado with my mom, sister and dad. Colorado is part of who I am and the scenery, beauty and mountains are the most beautiful thing in the world. My dad got me into riding bikes and I love riding with him. Now I race and ride with all of my friends on Ciclismo Youth Foundation. Jack, Jack, Zack, Nick, the twins, and many more are all my friends and peers. Shredding trails with them is one of the things that I love to do more than anything.

      Community is very important to me and I could not be where I am without my community. Knowing that people in my community want me to go far, pushes me forward and I try to represent my community the best I can. Racing on Tuesday nights with Steve, Skyler, Tyson and some of the fastest guys in the country has taught me that racing isn't just a sport, its a lifestyle and a family. Whenever I step on the road, I bring a little Fort Collins with me.

      My family and coaches are another huge part of my life and without the support of Ciclismo Youth Foundation and my family, I would never had made it this far. Andy Clark has really nurtured me and taught me the hard way that success doesn't come easy, and that you have to work, suffer, and strive for it, the 300 hours that I have put in this year tell that story. My family comes to all of the major races and I will never forget what they do for me, including driving in an RV for 3 weeks to go to MTB Nationals in Pennsylvania.

      I love bike racing, road, cross, or mountain. But my life revolves around Mountain Biking and Cyclocross. I love riding my mountain bike and the trails around me are top notch and help me work on my technical skills. This summer I finished 5th at MTB National Championship, which I am incredibly proud of. Cyclocross is a huge part of my life and this year look for bike things from me, I feel incredibly prepared thanks to the work of Geoff Proctor and his summer cyclocross camp in Montana!
                                                                                                       

       I would like to thank everyone that I mentioned above, and many more that have helped me along in my ongoing journey. My race schedule for cyclocross is coming together very nicely and I'm excited for this cyclocross season and the big things that are happening for me! This season is going to be awesome racing along side people like Josey and Gavin all across the USA. Look for more blog posts in the future, thank you for reading! You can also stay up to date on my adventures by following me on twitter at @cycling_bran!