First part of my Belgium trip for 2011!

A few weeks ago I arrived here in Belgium with the Above Category Racing team. To answer any questions on that, no I am still racing for Cycle World! I came over here with Above Category Racing (ACR) to race in the Ster Van Zuid Limburg. They presented me with the great oppurtunity to do this race with them and I greatly appreciated it!

The race anxiously came by for me as it was my first race here in Europe in the Junior 17/18 year old category. It was a 4 day stage race as the 1st day being a 5 kilometer prologue and 3 road races. I absolutely loved the prologue because it was so new for me to do such a short time trial. After the first day the race standing were so close with everyone standing just a couple minutes apart at the most. Next day was the 1st road stage and boy was it a crazy one (at least for me it was). The race started very sketchy and hectic with lots of dividers and round abouts in the road or as most say road furniture. Crashes started right away and unforunately I was a part of a crash 30 kilometers in to the 110 kilometer race. I had to get a spair bike which did not fit me very well but it sure did the job. I finished with the group but I was exhausted. For some reason I can't remember all that much about the 3rd stage but I do know that I crashed that day as well. The 4th and last stage came quick, I was really feeling good on this day. The first 30 kilometers of the race was BRUTAL cross winds, which really hurt. There were a lot of crashes and splits happening but I managed to stay clear to make in all the front splits. I made it to the short steep climbs 40 kilometers into the race and I was feel good. At about 60 kilometers in we were cresting one of the last climbs to make a sharp left turn into really fast downhill. Unfortunately this time I slid out due to sand. I fell on my knee which ruined the day but I kept going, to finish the race and that was that.

Embarking on a great ride here in Belgium

Thankfully my trip wasn't over yet because I was joining the Junior US National Team for another month. I have two more stage races to look forward to which is taking place in Germany and the Netherlands. I am very excited for these next two stage races and I will do my absolute best to keep everyone up to date!

Just another beautiful day here in Belgium

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Stay tuned for the second part of my blog coming up at the end of my trip!

My Multi Race Update

                  Hello to all that it is reading this blog! It has been a little while since my last one, so here is “My Multi Race Update”.

To kick things off my first stage race of the season was Valley of the Sun Stage Race. As I raced in the junior category I felt I did pretty well considering the shape I was in. The three day stage race stung a little bit due to some mistakes I had made but I sure did learn a lot! Two weeks later was Callville Bay Stage Race but this time as a category 3. I was still coming in to shape at this time but it was one heck of a hard race. Stage 2 was a grueling 70-80 miles of complete rain in fairly cold temperatures so I was happy to finish this race. The following day was stage 3 and the last day. I did my best and fought to a tough 2^nd place, which I was sort of pleased with.

Following Callville Bay  was Tour de Murrieta. This was a 3-day race but was an omnium based on points and not time like a typical stage race. Stage 1 went all right placing just out side of top 10. The following day was the criterium where I placed 4^th on the sketchy course putting me top 5 overall in the general classification. The last day was a 40-50 mile circuit race. I raced hard and finished 3^rd on the day and I happily took 3^rd overall as well.

San Dimas Stage Race was about a week and half ago which was also another 3-day stage race. San Dimas Stage Race is a really fun race with the 1^st stage being a 3-mile hill climb. Stage 2 was about a 60-mile, 8-lap circuit race, I got in a few potential breakaways with the last one being the most promising. It was with 2 laps to go of the 60-mile race and was unfortunately brought back. My legs were hurting and that left me with just getting a pack finish on the day. Stage 3 came quick and was the crit. It was a fast pace and very technical course. The last lap came very quick as well and I fought for a good position on the last lap putting me 4^th wheel coming out of the last turn and sprinted to a very fast finish in 2^nd place. Here is the link to the finish on the last day. I am on the right hand side of the picture.http://www.dmunsonphoto.com/cycling-2011/san-dimas-stage-race-stage-3/ 

            This weekend was fun packed with a road race on Saturday and a criterium on Sunday. The race on Saturday is easy to say that it was one of the hardest races I have done to date. It was 60-miles with two laps and 2,500 feet of climbing each lap. It was cold and brutal!  I finished suffering in the top ten. Sunday was a much warmer and easier day to say the least. I got in a break or two while bridging up to a break with one other guy with two laps to go but unfortunately this was brought back on the last lap. I did my best to recover from the effort and sprinted to a 2^nd place!

I am now preparing for Sea Otter, which is a very big race for juniors on the west. I will be leaving from this race to go race in Belgium and I will be gone for about 10 days and I am really stoked to be going over to Europe for a 3^rd time to race my bike!  The race I will be doing is the Ster Van Zuid Limburg, a four day stage race with a very talented line up. A special thanks to my main sponsor and team “Cycle World” for really setting me up and providing me with all the tools I need to succeed! Also thank you  Oakley for keeping my eyes protected all the time on and off the bike!

Everything is falling in to place and I am enjoying the journey thanks to every ones amazing support!

First Weekend of Racing for 2011!!!

Saturday Cat 3 Road Race:

I did a light warm-up with some very light jumps. Come race start some of the juniors got a little excited and attempted to break away the first few miles. I was up front as well to possibly hop in a lethal attack but nothing stuck. For the next 20 or so miles I did my best to just sit in and hide from the wind. The race was 2 laps with a total of 68 miles with one feed zone after the first lap. So after I got a perfect feed in the feed zone I knew there would be attempts at some breakaways. 3 people got away then 2 other guys and I started to bridge up. We weren't making the best progress and so one of the guys with me jumped to get across the gap. I got caught while two more guys countered from the main group. The break was pretty official at that point with a decent gap. I was pretty tired at that point so I once again just sat in the best I could. On the way back to the finish I popped going up the last climb and finished about a half minute behind the group. 

Sunday Cat 3 and Junior Criterium:

Cat 3:

I got in a fairly light warm up for the cat 3 race but I mainly just wanted to spin my legs out from the day before. Come race start there were a few attacks but nothing stuck. I sat in and did my best to relax until the finish. Half way through 2 guys got away after counter attacking another guys move. A couple laps later a group of guys attacked to try and bridge. I jumped from the main group and quickly passed the group that tried to bridge but they weren't working together. I made no hesitation to pass them, then a quarter lap later I caught the 2 guys that was off the front but they were fried so a lap later the group was all together again. Come last lap I did my best to position well after some bumping. I lead the sprint out of the last turn and had the slightest gap but 2 guys managed to pass me at the line where I hung on for 3rd. Also a big thanks to Justin Shniderman for letting me use some of your Belgian warming oil!

Junior:

It was off to a quick start as a few laps in to the race some guys got away from the group. I managed to bridge up to the break but I didn't have much energy after that. The break wound up being a group of 7 or so guys. We worked well together but I never managed to recover after I bonked half way through the race. I knew who the race finish would come down to, which was Ben Bertiger taking 1st and Ben Barthel for 2nd. I managed to get 5th.

Thanks for reading!!!!

Right back on it!

Hey guys! I just had my first solid week of training for the off season and it was awesome. I got solid work outs on and off the bike through out the week and it was tough yet it was a blast. After a long ride Saturday morning I did a cyclocross race the next day on Sunday. Now that was fun! I already can't wait for the 2011 road season to start! After I raced, it got even better because I got to sit back and relax to watch races all day long. 

More to come later and thanks for reading!

I am no longer a virgin blogger!

Hey every one, I am proud to say that this is my very first blog entry. To summarize this year so far I have been very successful. I have won races out of my age category, WON the junior men's 15-16 Road Criterium Nationals!!! Also I went back to race in Europe for the second year in a row. I have just finished my break from the bike and I am very excited to see what next year has in store for me. More to come later and thanks for reading!