Englewood Open

This weekend, Samuel and Jeremy were let out to pasture at the next round of the US Pro Cup at the Englewood Open. Amongst the rolling green hills north of Madison, WI, the Agnew family has carved out a great track and invite the mountain bike community to come test their race fitness and skill. Sharing the venue with the Wisconsin Off Road Series this weekend and the Englewood Open Cyclocross race later in the year, this venue has become a stronghold for the cycling community nationally and especially in the midwest.

The course features highway speed grass sections as well as classic mid-west tight single track in the forest, creative wooden features, and a rodeo of a rock garden. The unique character of this course makes for fast, tactical racing in the XC. Riders must rely on their ability to repeat sprint efforts on rolling hills while taking the corners as efficiently as possible. Careful to save some energy for the rocks! The Short Track event races like a grass criterium with aerodynamics and road-like tactics coming into play more than any other US Cup race.

Before we get into the Wisconsin weekend, a quick media update: You may notice the new format in which you received this HART Update e-mail! As HART looks to better share racing adventures and tell the stories around our racing, training, and community involvement, we’re working on making this newsletter look prettier, contain more details and resources, and be more available in the form of a blog on the HART Cycling website. Please do not be shy with your feedback, advice, or commentary. 

Samuel came prepared for the rain.

With steady rain all night Thursday and all day Friday, the course was closed for preview. Samuel and Jeremy got to ride wandering county roads in the rain to get the legs moving. Toward the end of the ride, a spoke snapped on Samuel’s rear wheel and he had to be rescued. The team swung by Neff Cycles in Madison who quickly remedied the issue. The team was bummed to miss the opportunity to check out the course with the Accel juniors who had made the trek from Utah before things kicked off for the weekend.

Friday’s short track provided an opportunity for Samuel and Jeremy to test their top end fitness with 20min of all out racing. Jeremy experienced some sharp knee pain during warmup but, by race time, felt ready to tackle the race. The rain had only let up that morning and some proper mud pits had formed on the lower half of the short track course.

The boys got off to a fast start and Jeremy navigated to the lead group, narrowly dodging riders slipping, sliding, and falling down around the wet corners. The race was tight, fast, and eventful with over 50 strong riders and minimal traction. Jeremy slipped in a muddy section and lost the wheel he was chasing, getting back up to chase back and finish the battle in a sprint for 19th. Samuel struggled to find the rhythm in the wet but stayed steady and kept it upright for 25th.

Saturday was the big race, a UCI C1 with international points on the line for finishers 1-15. With the legs properly opened up from Friday’s short track, the HART boys were ready to give everything they had for an hour and a half. 

Unfortunately, Jeremy’s knee pain after the short track race grew steadily worse. With some visible bruising and any movement being incredibly painful, he sent some texts and guessed a muscle was likely torn. Jeremy had no recollection of an impact or sudden strain so he tried to warm up and race anyway. Pedaling proved excruciating and he decided not to race and cheer from the pit zone instead.

Flying solo, Samuel got off to a strong start, sticking with the lead group in a fast, slippery start. As other riders flatted in the rock garden or slipped out in the mud, Samuel stayed steady. He fell prey to the violent attacks from the lead group but stayed with the chase groups for the duration of the race. He finished 19th, a bit off his goal for the day but a strong, consistent ride.

After the race, Samuel previewed the course with junior riders for their Sunday race as Jeremy socialized near the start/finish. The course was drying quickly for Jeremy and Samuel’s junior athletes’ races in the non-UCI events. Course preview talks shifted from how to handle the slick mud to how to handle the high speed corners.

Englewood open was a great finish to HART Cycling’s early season racing. With spring starting to smell like summer, it’s time for our riders to train in their hometowns, engage in their local cycling communities, and reset before a huge summer block. Throughout the month of June, HART Cycling is going to three back-to-back UCI events in Canmore, Canada, Missoula, MT, and Soldier Hollow, UT. This massive adventure culminates at National Championships in Roanoke, VA in mid-July.

Sponsor Highlight:

This week Samuel and Jeremy showed off HART Cycling’s shiny new Lake Cycling shoes! These newest versions of the MX-333 shone through the mud well this weekend and kept our riders in control in all the different levels of traction encountered at Englewood Grassfarms this week.

Thank you for reading and following along with HART Cycling! I hope you've enjoyed and I look forward to typing up the next HART update in a few weeks.

Until then,

-Jeremy Norris