This is Quentin Gniot’s account of his day at the Marji Gesick 100 mountain bike race near Marquette, Mich., on Sept. 24, 2016. He likes using #hashtags.

This weekend two teammates (Mark Schindel and Matt Lemorande) and I raced and finished the Marji Gesick 100.  The race is a point to point mountain bike event with 11,000+ feet of climbing on the bike, 104 miles total distance.  The race is billed as being “all up hill” – and it felt like it at the end.

This was the second attempt for me after I had failed to finish last year in the inaugural event due to a navigation error.  The trails ranged from groomed double track and paved commuter trail (wasn’t enough of these) to long grinding uphills and switchback downhills. There were also flow trails and technical rock/root sections.  The trails took every ounce of concentration and bike skills (I fell off a 10 foot drainage pipe) that I could muster.

The race was designed to break you down and beat you up – only to emerge on the other side as a better rider.  I think it worked!  I finishing 39^th overall in 13 hours, 41 minutes – missing the 12 hour cut off for the belt buckle prize was a disappointment, but completing the event was a huge accomplishment and improvement over last year.

Deep Thoughts

I completed a few goals and missed a few too.

•  Finish the race: check. 2015 was a DNF #redemption
• Don’t get lost: check. #preperation
• Test myself and make an effort for the 12 hr mark #hardwork
• Don’t injure myself (everything hurts right now) #notsure?…
• Earn a buckle: missed. More than 230 racers started, 23 made the 12 hr cut off. 54 percent did not finish and the last rider came in around 2:30 am. #ouch.

The race was one of the absolute hardest things, both mentally and physically, that I have completed (this is my second time doing this, #crazy or stupid? You decide).
The trails were in great shape, many were so fun to ride, others went straight up (why?), some went straight down (oh $hit!), but all of them took 100 percent concentration (If you know me, I’m easily dis #ohlookasquirrel tracted).

The race was “about the trails” and is a fundraiser supporting maintenance and new trail construction. The event also showcases the people and the riders.

• The winner finished in just over 10 hours, (wtf? #beastmode).
• Some riders had a good day, many more , not so much (#itsatest).
• Spectators were all over the course – (why is there a brat fry in the middle of nowhere?).
• The race promoter took on a massive task and pulled it off without a hitch. You can #blametodd, but a huge thanks to Todd and Danny.
• Last (but not least) – the volunteers — both on course and at the rest stops. Never, ever, have I met such nice people whose sole purpose seemed to be the riders well-being. All of them smiling (maybe they were laughing at us?) All eager to help – can I get you something? Water, cookies, drink mix, bacon (!) can I hold your bike? Do you need anything? The volunteers were without a doubt, the best I have interacted with during any event I have done.

Will I do it again? Too soon to tell (#hellyes)

Kudos

• Thank you to my wife for allowing me another weekend out of town (race season is almost over!).
• Gryphon Velo Racing:a great bunch of teammates to ride and train with.
• J&B Cycle & Sport and Specialized: The bike – 2016 Epic WC –  performed perfectly and didn’t let me down #icrasheditabunch.
• Skratch Labs for the hydration and nutrition, drink mix, chews and #realfood from the portables cookbook.
• Borah Teamwear: 14 hours in your clothing; comfortable, cool, no saddle sores or chaffing in strange places (#anditlooksgoodtoo).
• Smith Optics: The sunglasses were perfect, from early morning low light, to a 2 mph slog uphill in the heat of the day, to dusk and dark riding – they never fogged, never slipped and kept my vision crystal clear!

And all our team sponsors whose support makes my participation in events like this possible! Thank you!

Deep mud, high fashion, cows or 14,000 feet of climbing? Your pick.

A full run down of team results from the past week can be found here.

What do you do when you get a double-secret-probation email invitation to attend a cyclocross clinic with Sven Nys, Sven Vanthourenhout and Katie Compton?
Naturally, you clear everything off your schedule and head to the Trek CXC Cup a day earlier than planned.

Thanks to a nominated hookup, Nate and Julie Phelps headed off to the one-hour clinic through a deluge of rain that would mean three things: riding with Belgians in the mud; dirty bikes; and dirty kits. But there was no question they’d be ready to go at the appointed time of 2:45.

Nys met the group of about 25 riders on the Trek Cup course and covered a wide range of topics from tire pressure to shouldering and barrier techniques. Both Nys and Vanthourenhout were approachable and kept things relaxed, creating an enjoyable learning atmosphere.

Racing line selection was covered as part of the clinic and Julie Phelps put it to good use in her races during the weekend, including a nice multi-person pass on Saturday over what was dubbed the “Sven” line at the clinic. It was great to see her use her newly gifted, Belgian-approved, racing line.

Nate Phelps disregarded some key advice from Nys (“Don’t follow other riders lines”) for several minutes while he followed the former world champion around a section of the course (luckily it was non-technical and he could hold on) for several minutes.

Oh, and Vanthourenhout took about 11 pounds of air pressure out of Nate’s tires.

When the hour was up, it was time to pre-ride the course without the coaching of the Belgians (though America pro Courtenay McFadden offered some sweet advice to Julie and Nate), wash bikes and strip out of wet, muddy clothing. You know, typical ‘cross kind of stuff.

The rest of the weekend included regular sightings of Telenet-Fidea riders like Ellen van Loy and Tom Meeusen; French national Champion Caroline Mani, American national champions Katie Compton, and Jeremy Powers, and other top riders from around the nation and world.

The Belgians – and Frenchman Steve Chainel – made for a fun weekend of race spectating. CX World Champion Wout van Aert took an impressive win on Sunday finishing to an impressive wall of cheers as he crossed the line in his rainbow jersey.

Hopefully the Belgians and other European riders had as much fun on their first stop of the three-race trip to the United States as we had watching them.

Hey, should that guy really be wearing those rainbow stripes on his jersey? Yep. That’s CX World champion Wout van Aert

It was a full weekend of pro and amateur racing in the backyard of Trek headquarters in Waterloo, Wis., this past weekend. Two GVR members even got to spend a little time learning from cyclocross legend Sven Nys.

 

Bro, do you even cyclocross? Fun start to the 2016 WCA ‘cross season with some rain, mud and off camber sections. We also had riders working on the late stages of the WORS season and some of the final road racing of the season.

Look for a gallery of podium and general photos from Cross of the North here.

The race was made possible by backing from Red Eye Brewing Co.; Builer’s Cycle & Fitness; Borah Teamwear; Trek Store of Wausau; Sram; and Shimano.

A full run down of team results from the past week can be found here.

Thanks to all the folks who attended Cross of the North in Wausau Sunday. We hope you guys enjoyed the course and had a good time.

The race was made possible by backing from Red Eye Brewing Co.; Builer’s Cycle & Fitness; Borah Teamwear; Trek Store of Wausau; Sram; and Shimano.

Thanks to the efficiency of our USAC officials, results can be found here: http://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?year=2016&id=2511

We’ll have photos posted in the near future, too. Look for them here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/145037274@N06

Thanks again to everyone who raced Sunday, it was our pleasure having you.

It’s not cyclocross season just yet (that starts this weekend), so let’s go road racing.

A full run down of team results from the past week can be found here.