2024 McDowell Meltdown

McDowell Meltdown - P1

The McDowell Meltdown is always the first race of my spring season, and this year is the same with one big difference: I'm racing in the Pro Men category for the first time. Moving up the ranks is exciting but also brings nerves.

In addition, I'm in the middle of a significant training block. This race is intended to gauge how my training is progressing. I have not raced since winning the State Championship in November, and uncertainty about my fitness has crept into my mind. I have been mostly training alone and was unsure how my legs would feel in the season's first race.

Looking at the start list, the competition was stiff. Three of the state's fastest juniors, Keegan Field, Isaac Cole, and Caden Jagt, are also racing in the pro category, along with several well-known pros, like Pete Karinen. Meeting two of my Bear teammates, Toby Hassett and Robbie Day, for the first time was an awesome surprise.

The two-lap, 22-mile race course lacked sustained climbs and long technical sections. Without these defining features, I knew it would be a tight battle to the line. Determining when to make critical race-deciding attacks will have to be well-timed.

THE RACE

I'm not going to lie; it's a special moment to line up in the Bear National uniform for the first time. And I'm pumped to race on my new Gen 2 Trek Supercalibler. I stand on the start line with Keegan Field on my left, bar to bar. He's a good friend but a massive danger to take a top podium position.

The race director shouts 30 seconds to go. When the time reaches 10 seconds, I feel the nerves build in my stomach, and adrenaline courses through my veins. GO, GO, GO! The horn blows, and we sprint as hard as possible to reach the singletrack, just 100 yards away.

I enter the singletrack in 5th and push hard up the first climb. The rider in front of me starts to lose the leaders, so I race around him and close the gap. A lead group of five racers forms. Three of the racers are my junior friends, along with Pete Karinen. We continue to pull away and shuffle positions for the next few miles.

We approach the biggest climb of the race. It is about 3 minutes long with technical rock features and loose gravel. I begin the climb in 4th, when my friend Caden from the Netherlands sprints to the front, pushing the pace. Caden is another huge threat; I know I can't let him off the front. I raise my pace to get to Caden's wheel but was blocked and slid into third position up the rest of the climb.

Caden pulls ahead, but we keep him close, slowly bringing him back, and the five-person group comes together again. Intense battling for position continues. We finished the first lap and headed out for the second lap.

With half the race complete, Keegan takes the front and slows the pace to rest. I feel good; I've been eating my GU energy gels every 30 minutes. I'm confident I can manage a solo attack, so I sprinted around Keegan before the bottom of the first climb. I get a small gap, but Caden and Pete soon close back to my wheel. I remind myself to push on and tell myself they hurt more than I do; I pull away again.

I go full gas and push up the climbs as hard as possible, increasing my lead. I look back and can only see Pete. I knew there was only a downhill and a rolly section between me and the finish. I continue to sprint on the flat sections and focus on being smooth on the rocky descents. My SuperCaliber feels like a rocket ship, and I finally lose sight of Pete. I ride into the finish solo and kick off my season with a win!