Alex Pond has had a great season racing for Steamboat Velo, he checks in with this race report from Ogden 100K.
Heading to a race that is very vague, only knowing that you have 62 miles and 10,000 feet of climbing is the kind that really gets the nerves going, hoping that your training has been paying off and that your still rested enough to put yourself through this much torture. I spent the past weekend 6 hours from home at Snowbasin Ski resort in Huntsville Utah for the Mt. Ogden 100k. I traveled with local racers Trevor Walz and Peter Kalmes, knowing we were bringing some good talent from steamboat and hoping to bring home a little prize money with a ten deep podium. We arrived Friday afternoon after a long day on the road and got in a much needed hour on the trails that would punish us the following day. After tasting the first 5 miles and only climbing 800ft, what was to come on the trail had us all a little worried. We did our packet pickup and grabbed our pre race meal (first I have ever had and great idea, saving us a couple hours of cooking which turned into much needed rest time). We went back to our kush condo about 25 minutes from the resort and prepped for the next day.
Saturday morning we woke to seasonably warm temperatures and a sky that looked like a storm was brewing but was smoke blanketing the northwest of the states from multiple wildfires. This wasn’t helping our cause. We left our condo at 5:30 am to get to the resort in time to prep and get to the 7am lineup. We fell in line with about 25 other professionals and got the lowdown on how this race was going to start. We all got behind the golf cart to pace us around the parking lot and as Steve the race director raised the shotgun, we all clipped in as the recoil echoed across the massive hills we soon would be climbing. The climb started at a nice pace slowly gaining speed up the fire road before we were sent into the single track that would wind its way up the ski resort. I managed to get myself towards the front of the pack, being followed by local friends Pete and Trevor. We watched three riders start crushing the climb while the majority of us stayed conservative knowing there was 55 miles left to go. I felt good from the start so I decided to push myself a little harder than normal and get out in front of some of the others hoping to keep a decent gap. The trails were filled with little baby heads that felt like you had a jackhammer for a fork going up and going down the trail. As we reached the top I already felt the fatigue of this grueling course setting in. I was sitting in about 5th place at the top of the first ascent and started the 45 minute descent back to the bottom of the resort. I managed to pass a rider, but also got passed but two others. Once at the bottom we headed out for a one time lap on the sardine trail that was a pristine singletrack filled with hard punchy ascents and fast windy downhill. I kept the 5th through 8th positions in my zone, taking spots and losing them. We got off the last bit of singletrack and started up the old Snowbasin rd to the lap zone area to start our 2nd lap. I grabbed a couple bottles as the aid crew hit me up with a fresh coat of lube on my chain and I was off for another 5000 feet of climbing. My mind got into a warp zone and it felt like I was climbing but going no where. I drank water and ate food to try and turn myself around. Halfway up a small bout of cramping plagued me, so I had to turn down the dial and just get myself to the top. I hit the aid station at the top stocked with the coldest water I have ever been handed on a race course, downed one and got ready for another 45 minute descent to the bottom. I was sitting in 9th place at the top of the climb only to be passed right away by two riders before I could get to the bottom. On my way down I also managed to clip a tree branch that turned my bars 180 degrees and left me mangled in my bike and a bunch of rocks and bushes, and put a full body hurt on. I think I used this to my advantage and the fury came out. I got to the next aid station to get another bottle of water for the last 15 miles only to be pushed on the by aid crew telling me the two guys that just passed me were not too far ahead. I got on the pedals and got back to racing. The climbs got faster and the descents much smoother, and I started to recognize riders only a hundred yards ahead. I passed the first rider, seeing the fatigue taking claim to one only to surge on to go after more. We hit the last two miles of road to the finish with two riders in site. I set a pace and about every minute I got up and hammered as hard as I could with no desires from the others to try and chase, so once I got them behind me I made my last push for the finish line to cross for an 8th place overall finish. The race was won for another year running by Alex Grant, with second place Ben Aufderhiede and third place Jason Segar. Local Peter Kalmes took 5th.
This course, line up of pros, crew of volunteers and aids made this one of my top races to be done every year. It is worth the 6+ hours of driving to go and do a race that really caters to every rider out there. Also to all the ladies this race has an equal payout, going ten deep and Steve the race director was the kind of guy who was curious enough to go and meet just about every racer and shake your hand. This was a top notch race at a top notch resort. See you all next year!
Just to thank a few people, I will start with my Team Steamboat Velo, it’s great to be a part of a crew that pushes me to get out and ride harder and continue racing. Honey Stinger for the fuel that keeps the sugars flowing through my system, in turn keeps my pedals churning. And a Huge thanks to my wife Jayne for putting up with all the training, racing, traveling and crazy race stuff that comes with trying my hardest to put an effort into a professional race career.
