Rim Nordic XC #3

1st Pro Men

3 laps/21 miles

Rim Nordic is an awesome local race series near Big Bear. This series really helped me get hooked on racing when I was younger, so I try to make it out to at least one race of the series every year. I hadn’t really done any structured training coming into this race, only fun rides since my break after nationals, and I did a pretty hefty ride the day before with some family friends so between these two I wasn’t too sure how sharp my form would be. I was third off the start and soon made my way up to second wheel. I sat on Vince Lombardi’s wheel for the first lap, just playing it safe. We were able to put a pretty comfortable gap on the rest of the field. Vince was drillin’ it on the climbs, but I felt a bit stronger on the descents. Towards the end of the first lap I surged I front of Vince before the last descent and made up a little bit of time on him. From that point on, I kept it pinned, making him chase to try and close the little gap. I was able to stay ahead while putting time on him here and there. I held on for the win! If you are ever in Southern California, try to make it out to a Rim Nordic race. The people running it are some of the nicest I’ve met and the whole atmosphere is so rad.

Over the Hump MTB

1st Pro Men

4 laps

The Over the Hump Series is a super-popular Tuesday night race series at Lake Irvine. Everyone I’d talked to about the race loved it so I had to make it out to the race while I had the chance. The course was pretty nice, snaking back and forth up against Lake Irvine. There was a whole lot of sustained flat sections on the course so tactics played a huge role in the race. I didn’t even plan on doing this race until my buddy from cannondale called me up the day of the race and offered me a ride out to the venue, so unfortunately I did absolutely nothing to recover from Sunday, and nothing to prep for this race. Not knowing how I would be riding again, I just sat in with the lead group for the majority of the race. I took a few huge pulls and did my fair share of work. On the last lap I made my way to the front of our 4 man group as we sailed into one of the more technical sections. There was some space between my wheel and the guys behind me as we hit the flats so I figured it was a good time to get away. I attacked hard and held it into the hills. For the rest of the race kept the throttle pinned and held onto the lead to the finish. I enjoyed the race a whole lot and it turned out to be an awesome way to cap off my season.

Kenda Cup #7 Big Bear Shootout
Pro Men
1st
1 lap/24 miles

Big Bear is always fun but I have the two World Cups coming up so I chose to train through this race.  Brendon Davids from South Africa was there again, so I was pretty nervous.  The start of the race was quick.  Brendon took off but then Miguel Valadez shot out front and threw down up the steep hill.  I was close behind him as we dropped the rest of the field.  I caught him as it flattened out and took the lead into the rest of the climb.  We traded the lead several times, both of us trying to push the pace each time.  I got a bit of a gap going into the first downhill and opened up that gap by the end of the downhill.  I kept it pinned, trying to hold the lead I built up already.  I eventually got out of sight from Miguel and time trialed the rest of the race.  After the race, I found out that unfortunately, Miguel took a wrong turn after being misdirected by a crazy spectator. But up to that point I had a pretty sizeable lead on him, so I’m stoked on that.  Glad I got my first Pro win!  Now it’s on to the two North American world cups with Keegan and Tony!  Should be rad.

Zach Valdez

Pro Men
2nd
1 lap/ 24 miles

The first mile or so is all steep uphill fire road.  When the race
got underway, I grabbed the whole-shot and pushed it hard as we ascended.  Miguel Valadez quickly came alongside me and started pushing the pace even harder.  I yo-yoed off his wheel.  The pace was crazy and it showed as I took a quick glance back to see nobody except Sid Taberlay a little ways behind us.  The climb flattened out for a second, allowing me to get right onto Miguel’s wheel as Sid caught up to our group.  We continued the steep climb but Miguel dropped the pace back so I jumped out front and pushed it for the rest of the climb.  I didn’t get a very good warm-up because of issues with registration so my legs felt like bricks up the first climb until the top, where they started to really open up.  Our group of 3 started the fire road descent with me out front.  For the next couple of miles I lead as the course continually dipped down with a few mild climbs here and there.  I might have been in the wind too much considering I was leading it, but I felt it was worth is because I got to decide the pace.  Every time I glanced back, it seemed like everyone in our group
was working pretty hard so I continued to push the pace. 

Eventually, we reached a few long, steep ascents.  Miguel continually attacked us on the beginning of every hill but he never gained much time on Sid and I, even though his attacks were killing me.  After he would attack, he would drop the pace back down and either Sid or I would take the lead again.  We hit a fast and somewhat technical descent.

Miguel fell off the back a bit and had to work to catch back up to us on the flats.  We eventually hit the first singletrack.  I sat behind Sid as we climbed.  He brought the pace down.  We hit the super flowy and water-logged descent and again dropped Miguel.  We hit the second singletrack and right away, it went down and got steep!  I stuck right behind Sid as we dropped Miguel.  The course soon got steep again, and made and immediate 120 degree turn to the left and I completely missed
it, blowing right past Sid.  I almost caught back up but he rode a few sections much smoother than I did and didn’t let up once we hit the seemingly endless climb back out.  Sid pushed the pace way up and I couldn’t close the gap, let alone match his pace.  Miguel soon caught up to me and passed me so from then on I just tried to keep a solid tempo without blowing up.  There was so much climbing after that point. It would flatten out for a second, only to get steep again, and the 7000+ feet of elevation didn’t help at all.  I eventually made it to the last two singletrack descents towards the finish.  By the time I got there, the trail was cluttered with cat3, cat2, and cat1 racers.

 I made my way through the traffic without too much interference.  I motored the short fire road to get to the final singletrack descent, only to see Miguel entering the singletrack only about 5-7 seconds ahead of me.  I knew I had a good chance of being able to take him on the final descent, so I pinned it just as it got super steep and technical.  Miguel noticed me on his wheel and immediately tried to make a risky pass on two older racers, who quickly sandwiched him, accidently.  I launched a few rocks on the gnarlier line to make a gutsy pass on the right of the group of three.  A huge group of spectators got super stoked on my pass and got really pumped and loud,
which got me even more motivated.  I was on the verge of being out of control for the rest of the tight downhill but got a pretty solid gap on Miguel and sprinted it the rest of the way in for 2nd.

Riding with Sid and Miguel was awesome, especially since they both pushed me in every aspect of the race.  They are both awesome guys and it was awesome to be up there on the podium with such incredible cyclists.

Zach Valdez

When you really bury yourself in a race, your body can achieve a lot more than one has anticipated.  Not sure this was the case for me out at the last Pro XCT in Texas!  With stupid-hot temperatures, humidity and a starting position in the very last row, me burying myself meant holding on for dear life on the last few laps of the race.  It was definitely a suffer-fest, but the overall trip was an incredible experience!  I managed to hold a couple of riders off at the end with a sprint finish, holding onto 25th place.  Some of my relatives came out to watch so it was great to have some family support considering I was so far away from home.  That definitely boosted my motivation!
 
I ended up having a bit of heat-stroke after the race and managed to get VERY sick, lasting for over a week.  I guess my body was so broken down, I just picked something up, despite using hand sanitizer incessantly.  I was forced to take about a week off the bike, but it was a nice change of pace.  When I started up the training again, my legs were really sloppy.  I did a massive mtb ride with my little cousin to get me going again.  The word ‘Epic’ is often overused in our modern day vocabulary, but I can definitely say that this first ride back was nothing but epic!!  There were some beastly climbs , insanely sick descents,  and best of all, some UNREAL singletrack.  It was definitely one of the best rides I’ve done lately.  When we both got back, we were pretty wrecked, but it was more than worth it.  Since I started up my training again late last fall, I’ve been doing the majority of my training on my road bike, so needless to say, it was great to get some solid time in on the mtb, on some trails that I haven’t ridden for almost 6 months!!!

I also got the opportunity to head out to Santa Ynez and watch the SoCal/NorCal State Championships!  I help coach the Hemet High MTB team, so I was helping out with them all weekend.  It was great to see all the Whole Athlete riders riding super strong!!!  All of them killed it out there.  My little cousin pulled a second in a super tight finish in Freshman D1.  That kid is getting crazy fast!  As soon as he takes his training and racing to the next step, big things will happen for him.   I managed to even get a sick 4 hour road ride in the day before the race heading out the beach and doing a loop in the inland as well.  That area up there has so great road riding so I was pumped to get some training in while being able to see all the great things happening in the races following.

Things have been going great and there is only more  to come!

Until next time,
Zach

Kenda Cup #4 - Sycamore Canyon
4 laps – 23 miles
2nd place
 
I pre-rode the brand new Riverside course on Saturday and it was awesome! Fortunately, on Sunday, there were no call-ups in the pro division and I got on the front row. I was so stoked not to have to deal with all the traffic and pile-ups, like that of Bonelli and Fontana! The start was pretty fast but I managed to stay in the top 4 and got up into the third position going into the first singletrack, sitting behind Ryan Woodall in second and Sid Taberlay in first . Sid was pushing the pace on every ascent and descent, and soon enough the field was strung out with Sid, Ryan and I still together. Sid continued to push the pace and soon enough, Ryan started to fade a bit, giving Sid a gap on us. Ryan soon let me by before I could even ask to pass! I hit the tight twisty downhill and pinned it, bridging up to Sid. Seconds after I got up to Sid, the trail took a sharp turn and went upwards. Sid wasted no time and attacked hard! I couldn’t match the effort and he slowly pulled away. I managed to shorten the gap to about 3 seconds by the end of the climb, and just kamikazied the downhill, grabbing back onto Sid’s wheel. For the rest of the lap, things went smoothly and I was more than content to let Sid decide the pace. He brought the pace way up on a few of the steep climbs, but not as intense as his first attack. Towards the end of the first lap, Sid took and awkward line on one of the tecky rock sections and I slipped by as thankfully took the quicker line. I led for the rest of the lap and continued to lead throughout most of the second lap. I managed to push a good pace and keep my effort consistent. Towards the end of the second lap, I dropped a chain! I flipped out as I threw it back on but Sid was awesome enough to soft pedal until I caught back up! Coming into the third lap, I dropped my bottle feed and had no intention of going back to grab it. Unfortunately for me, the third lap was by far the warmest lap and by the end of it, I could definitely feel the lack of hydration. Sid put the pressure on me on the hills and slowly rode away from me... Starting on my fourth lap, I got my bottle but the damage had already been done. Sid had a solid gap and had no intentions of closing it. I drilled it for the entire lap to hold off third place and came in a little less than a minute behind first. Overall it was an awesome race and it was so rad being able to hang with one of the guys I’ve looked up to since I started racing! Sid is a great guy and an incredible rider. Thanks to all the support and encouragement I got from my parents, as well as all the families that came out from Hemet, it turned out to be a killer day.

 Pro Men

4th/20

5 laps; 22.5 miles

My favorite course of the series was covered in a thick blanket of

snow when we arrived at the venue.  It seemed like part of my warm-up was having snow ball fights with some of the other kids from Hemet, which was pretty awesome.  On the starting line, everyone sat there freezing in the 45 degree temperatures after being soaked by all the water, snow and mud that was covering the road that everyone used to warm up on.  Five minutes before the start, the announcer let us know that we would be running a totally different course consisting of 5.5

miles of paved road and fire road, rather than the 25 miles of sick singletrack and road.  The race took off and everyone jumped onto the paved road and immediately, Adam Morka, and Manny Prado were out front of the peloton.  I gradually made my way up to the front and eventually got on Manny’s wheel.  I sat there until we turned off of the road, where there were 3 stream crossings!  Adam got through with plenty of momentum but everyone else got bunched up in the middle of the first 3 foot deep stream.  At this point, there were guys all over the place and I managed to get cut off by some dudes taking bad lines in and out of the water crossings.  After the streams, everyone was completely soaked as we hit some singletrack that was more like tight doubletrack.  I managed to get bottled up in the field through the streams so I had to make my way back up towards the front.  I started passing riders here and there and by the time the trail opened up to fire road, I could see Manny and another pro a ways ahead of me.  I poured it on and made my way up to them.  I passed Manny and saw that he tried to jump on my wheel but when we hit the feedzone about 30 seconds later, he was a ways behind me.  I could see Adam Morka not far ahead of me, meaning I had made my way up into the second position.  I did everything I could to catch him, but I could only close the gap to 10 seconds.  By the start of the second lap, my hands were so numb and frozen that I couldn’t squeeze my bottle or tear my Gu, so I gave up on drinking and eating for the rest of the race.

Dana Weber and Vincent Lombardi had caught up to me and we took turns pulling on the road, which really, really helped me recover.  All the while, Adam was still only about 10 seconds ahead of us, and we could see him just a ways up the road.  We basically stuck together for the next two laps, until the 4th lap...

I took a bad line into the river to avoid traffic and ended up hitting a deep spot that forced me to get off my bike while Dana and Vincent rode away.  At this point, it was almost impossible to get back up to catch back up to them.

Between the traffic and me getting stuck in a mud pit, they got out of sight and that was it.  I rode the whole fifth lap solo, and came in to the finish 4th spot.  

Congrats to Keegan on his dominating win!  Everyone was telling me after the race how he was killin’ it every lap.  Way cool.

Overall, it was an pretty rad race.  I had so much fun, but I couldn’t use my extremities whatsoever for about half an hour after the race!

There was a group of riders parked near us that couldn’t get their helmets off because they couldn’t use their hands, it was pretty funny to watch, considering I faced the same dilemma.

During the race, it was so gnarly that I had to downshift with my palm because I couldn’t shift with my thumb!  I’m hoping the upcoming races won’t be that cold or wet!

It’s been quite awhile since my last blog, but everything has been going great! MTB World Champs was awesome even though I messed up my ankle and had to Dnf. It was a great trip and I got so much racing experience out of it so I was still stoked on the whole affair.

In October I went out to Moab, Utah for the 24-Hour National Championships. I got a ride out with my friends, the Williams family. We had a four-man junior team setup consisting of Casey, Williams, Tyler Coplea, Travis Glysson, and myself. The course was pretty gnarly, but that was one of the more enjoyable aspects. Despite some major mechanicals between mine and Tyler’s bike, our team did very well, taking home a win and four stars-and-stripes jerseys! That was definitely one of the sickest races I’ve ever competed in and everyone had an awesome time. I spent the rest of the week riding all across Utah with the Williams family. We hit some of the raddest trails in Utah, including Slickrock(Moab), Gooseberry Mesa(Hurricane), and Thunder Mountain(Brianhead), to name a few. Overall, it was an incredible trip and everyone had a blast.

Thanksgiving just passed and it’s been great to be able to hang with family and relatives so much! Between training rides, I’ve been helping with the High School MTB team. There are over 30 riders at every practice! It’s awesome to see how much these kids love just being on their bikes! I finally got a road bike and I can’t believe how much easier it is to put in road miles! It makes base miles so much more enjoyable. It definitely helps that the weather down here has been absolutely perfect for riding, as well. My base is coming along nicely and all this training is getting me stoked for the upcoming season!

Until next time,

Zach

As I conclude my senior year of high school, this also ends my time in the SoCal Interscholastic Cycling League.  I cannot say enough positive comments about the league.  Between the competition I faced, and the amazing atmosphere along with positive motivation I got from it, I was pushed by myself and others to become the best cyclist I could be.  My last league race was the Norcal/Socal State Championships in Grass Valley, California.  The venue and overall atmosphere were absolutely immaculate for an end to the season.  Unfortunately, I had some unfavorable luck throughout the race and came in a super-close second place to my fellow Whole Athlete team member and 2010 Norcal Varsity champion, Will Curtis.  We battled throughout the race until a sprint finish ultimately decided the outcome of our battle.  I was super-glad to see Will riding so strong and hammer to a much-deserved first place. It was an awesome race that I enjoyed to the utmost.

Despite enjoying the race so much, sitting on the second podium spot hurt.  It didn't just hurt a little either, it was devastatingly painful.  I had wanted that championship jersey so badly, but I managed to learn a great amount from the race and the mistakes I made that will ultimately assist me greatly in the rest of my cycling career.

Despite the League being over for me as a racer, I will hopefully be helping out with it in the future seasons to come.  I will also be helping out with our high school team and their training.  Hopefully the league can inspire and motivate young riders as much as it did for me.  And as for being disappointed that it's over, I went out in a positive manner with two consecutive Varsity Overall wins under my belt.  I can't think of a better way to leave the SoCal league.  

As I conclude my senior year of high school, also ends my time in the SoCal Interscholastic Cycling League.  I cannot say enough positive comments about the league.  Between the competition I faced in it, and the amazing atmosphere along with positive motivation I got from it, I was pushed by myself and others to become the best cyclist I could be.  My last league race was the Norcal/Socal State Championships in Grass Valley, California.  The venue and overall atmosphere were absolutely immaculate for an end to the season.  Unfortunately, I had some unfavorable luck throughout the race and came in a super-close second place to my fellow Whole Athlete team member and 2010 Norcal Varsity champion, Will Curtis.  We battled throughout the race until a sprint finish ultimately decided the outcome of our battle.  I was super-glad to see Will riding so strong and hammer to a much-deserved first place. It was an awesome race that I enjoyed to the utmost. 

Despite enjoying the race so much, sitting on the second podium spot hurt.  It didn't just hurt a little either, it was devastatingly painful.  I had wanted that championship jersey so badly, but I managed to learn a great amount from the race and the mistakes I made that will ultimately assist me greatly in the rest of my cycling career. 

Despite the League being over for me as a racer, I will hopefully be helping out with it in the future seasons to come.  I will also be helping out with our high school team and their training.  Hopefully the league can inspire and motivate young riders as much as it did for me.  And as for being disappointed that it's over, I went out in a positive manner with two consecutive Varsity Overall wins under my belt.  I can't think of a better way to leave the SoCal league.