Venturing in the Wild Wild West

“Missoula Pro XCT, that sounds like fun - sure I’ll sign up”. It was only after I paid up did I realize that Missoula, Montana is a 12 hour drive, all the while taking you deep into the still wild west of America. Leaving directly after work my partners and I pushed through the night to arrive just after eight o’clock the next morning. This late night did little to dampen our spirits as we ventured onto the dusty trails that would serve as the venue for the coming battle. A day of pre-riding saw some wild gaps and steep climbs that promised a fast and hard, but extremely good, race.

As expected, the Cat 1 men meant business, with the field quickly deteriorating and the race becoming an “every man for himself” battle to the finish. After four laps of soft corners, sucking down dust and some of the hardest racing I’ve done this year, I finished in a solid eighth place; the last rider to come through, within a minute of the racer ahead of me. Rest was short-lived as I soon pitched into a 30 minute single speed race that had me putting down every drop of power I had developed with John and the guys at SLM Coaching. At the end of the night, I found myself graced by a podium, wearing a prized cowboy hat and enjoying the Big Sky known by all of Montana. By far this had been one of the strongest weekends this season and things only look better as we plan for the future.