Double "W"

Dave says: Sundance is one of my favorite courses and I felt pretty good on the start line as I put it into the big ring and got ready to drill the first climb like Mitchell did a year earlier. When the singletrack started, I had opened up 20 seconds on the field and I just hit it as hard as I could for the next three laps. Sundance singletrack is tight and fast but lapped riders were quick to move out of the way and the climbs were short enough to keep me out of the red. With Monavie rockstars Alex and Bart out of town, I got to throw my arms in the air and take my first Pro W after three seasons of racing at this level. Thanks to my great teammates who were generous with the post-race high fives and to MTB Race News for providing some great coverage as always. Tomorrow we leave for Oregon for five days of epic racing in the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic.

Alisha says: It was a hot day as we lined up on the starting line at Garden Creek Gap. This year the race started at the top of the climb with a long descent so nothing really happened until the first time up the climb. At the top the race split up with a group of seven sticking together. Teammate Tayler made the break as well as a variety of riders from other teams. The group worked really well together with everyone taking a turn on the front for most of the second lap.

When we hit the final climb through the gap I accelerated off the front of the group. I heard a sound you don't want to hear in cycling of bikes and people hitting the pavement behind me and looked back to see a couple of girls mixed up in a crash. I think two went down and both ended up being okay. I continued climbing and keeping an eye on who was chasing me. I was excited to take the win at a local race, super strong Jenn Holladay was second, and rockstar teammate Tayler took the third spot. It was a great day for PCIM!!

Alisha 3rd at Iron Horse

Dave says: What's not to love about a race that climbs over two 10,000 foot passes in the Rockies? Iron Horse is one of the longest running bike races in the US with 2,500 participants riding from Durango to Silverton in 2009. Alisha got to go head to head with some of the nation's best climbers, including winner Mara Abbott who the announcers called "the best climber in North America."

The race unfolded with Abbott taking off even before the toughest climbs of the day had begun. A chase group with some national level Webcor, Colavita, and DFT girls pursued. The group quickly split with Alisha and Marisa Asplund leaving the rest of the riders on the slopes of Coal Bank. Alisha led over the summit closing the gap on Abbott to less than 30 seconds, but it was Asplund who brought the heat on the descent and was second into Silverton. Alisha came in third as the announcers heaped praise on her calling her a rising star in the cycling world. The Durango Herald Interviewed Alisha afterwards.

In Cat 3, I made the break in a big group of about 70 but when the rider in front of me couldn't keep the pace, I couldn't close the gap and a group of five took off. I joined two other chasers and finished in sixth about a minute back. The weather held out and the roads were gorgeous. Yesterday, coming in from Ouray to Silverton we drove over one of the coolest roads that I've ever been on with steep cliffs and waterfalls pouring out of the rocks.

A Little Too Hot On Bobsled

Dave says: Yesterday was MTB Monday with the Kuhl/Scott boys and I was ready to shred my favorite part of the shoreline down the crazy-fast bobsled. Unfortunately, there's a small stream flowing right down the middle of the trail right now from snow melt causing me to ride high on one side of the bank. Well, the stream didn't slow me down, but a small tree sticking out into the trail sure did as I swerved to get around it but caught my bar and went tumbling down the trail. The thing I appreciate about mountain biking is that I go flying off my bike several times a year but dirt is pretty soft and it never hurts much. My knee got a little cut which looks much worse in the picture (which I couldn't resist taking). I also tacoed my front wheel which is now seriously bent to one side. Fortunately, that's why I train on this old epic frame (with a nice new dent in the downtube) and save my carbon mtb for race day.

Speaking of racing, this Saturday the ICUP headed to Sherwood Hills near Logan. The narrow start line left me jockeying for position as I followed the green Mona-Vie train out on course. On the first lap, I tried to close a gap that had formed during some technical riding and almost made it up to Alex and Bart but it was not to be. Alex crushed the field with Bart in second and road pro Burke Swindelhurst in third with myself in fourth and BZ rounding out the podium.

Alisha was off crit racing in downtown SLC and I stopped by briefly on the way out to my race where her PCIM squad looked ready to represent with a stacked team of fast women. The flat course didn't keep Alisha from attacking the group several times and she broke away with about a lap and a half to go but was caught by the remains of the lead group just before the finish where Tiff P threw down the W and her teammate KK took second.

Gila Stage 5: Alisha Takes 14th Overall

Dave says: The Gila Monster road race ends the Tour of the Gila in a dramatic fashion with some killer climbs. For Alisha, the drama began earlier as about halfway through the race, some girls touched wheels in the pack causing a rider right in front of her to swerve over and knock Alisha's front wheel right out from under her. The great support crew from SRAM jumped out of a vehicle to help her. However, it took even another stop to get her shifter bent back out from the handlebar.

Alisha caught back up to the group but missed the break on the big climb of the day. Instead, she finished with a chase group of five in 19th. On the one hand, her top 10 shot for the day vanished on a course that looked quite promising for her. On the other hand, she was alright except for some road rash and a sore wrist and toughed it out to retain 14th overall. Honestly, we were not even thinking about GC when we planned this adventure so top 15 is pretty sweet. Alisha made quite the entry onto the pro scene, gained some great experience, and had a lot of fun in the process.

Alisha says: The Gila was a great experience for me. I went into it with no expectations and came away with a third place finish on the Mogollon Stage (which is by far my biggest accomplishment on the bike) and 14th in the general classification! It was a pretty sweet birthday. I'm so greatful that my parents were able to come along and help me out and then to have Dave show up and suprise me was awesome.

Gila Stage 4: Alisha Stays 11th After Crit

Dave says: Surprise! I made a last minute decision yesterday at 3 pm and flew out of SLC at 6. It was a crazy afternoon as I turned in a final paper on the way to the airport. However, I arrived in Tucson before midnight and drove to Silver City with my grandparents in the morning.

Today Alisha raced a crit around downtown Silver City. Check out her sweet fan club that gathered at the park while she was warming up. The crit went out fast dropping over a third of the field in the first few laps. However, Alisha hung tight with the group and kept her GC spot for tomorrow's road race. Tomorrow's course is a wildcard with lots of hills where anything could happen. I'm glad I'll be there to witness the excitement.

Gila Stage 3: Alisha in 11th after TT

Dave says: We knew the individual time trial would be a tough stage but all things considered, I think it went pretty well. World Champ Kristin Armstrong smashed the old course record and Alisha says Kristin was just flying when she went by. Despite some crazy crosswinds, racers were allegedly hitting speeds approaching 50 mph (60 mph for the men) on the descents. Alisha finished 24th and moved to 11th in the GC. I've got to get her some better TT'ing equipment like some deep wheels and a carbon TT rig to compete at this level. Tomorrow is the crit where hopefully everything will stay together before the final road race splits things to pieces. VeloNews.

Gila Stage 2: Alisha 4th in GC

Dave says: Alisha told me that today was one of the toughest races she's done (harder even than yesterday). Five miles in, the attacks had already started and it wasn't until 1 km to go that the last break was finally neutralized. There were some good hills and a crazy-fast descent on today's course but mostly it was the aggressive riding of the group that made things difficult as everyone wanted to move up in the GC. The front 25 riders were mostly together at the finish (Alisha came in 21st), however the field sprint created an 8 second gap that moved Alisha down one spot to 4th in the GC. CyclingNews. VeloNews.

Alisha told me that one of the best parts of the day was getting a call up to the front line at the start. Beforehand, the announcer asked her what her big results were that he could announce on the call up. She said "yesterday" and he was pretty surprised to learn that she was at her first big pro race. She also made friends with the driver of one of the support vehicles who kept her stocked with bottles throughout the 75 mile course. Tomorrow is the individual time trial where things will really get spread out. We're anticipating a bit of a GC drop (given the fact that I built up Alisha's TT bike 2 months ago in the garage and she's racing the World TT champion) but the last stage will have some good climbs so we're looking forward to that.

*Alisha wanted me to say thanks to her team, friends, and everyone else who has been calling and emailing her. Thanks for your support!