Three wins in a row in Park City
One big day of racing and a wedding
The last time I checked in I was fresh off Leadville and gearing up for the Park City Point 2 Point. The Point 2 Point went well for me, and I was able to put together a great ride without missing out on any of the festivities surrounding my friend Kyle and Thea's wedding. Congrats guys, and thanks for scheduling the wedding at a time and place that allowed me to race the P2P! It was a pretty packed couple of days, here's how it went.
After a small bachelor/bachelorette celebration in downtown Salt Lake on Thursday night, I made it to bed by about midnight. I was up early on Friday to get a jump on work and start to get my ducks in line for the race and wedding. I rode up to work via a slight detour to get in a good 45-minute ride, no intensity, just a steady ride. I worked for about 5-6 hours and rallied home early to get my truck and headed to Wolf Creek for the rehearsal. I was glad to be able to scope out the venue because I knew the next day was going to be tight. After the rehearsal, I skipped the dinner and party to get home and pack. I had to be all ready for the race and the wedding, plus the night and next morning as we were staying in a condo at Wolf Creek, near Eden, Utah.
Saturday's alarm came pretty early, and I was up at about 4:30 am. I threw breakfast, OJ, and coffee down the hatch, laid out my tux and change of clothes for Sammi to grab later and headed out. My friend Ty supported and fed me at the race, so I met up with him and we headed to Park City. The race went well for me, it was cold at the start so I sat back in the group and slowly moved towards the front over the first hour. Once the race heated up a bit, I found myself in a group with Josh Tostado and Tinker Juarez. We rode together most of the morning and it was an awesome time, riding fast and having fun.
Eventually, Tinker and I shed Josh, and it was just the two of us at mile 50. In 2010, the race came down to the last 20 miles and it looked like the same scenario for 2011. I had more in the tank at the end than Tinker and got away for the win. I was super happy to defend my title and make it three in a row!
Without a lot of time to spare, I pushed Jay and Shannon (the promoters) to do a quick podium, and about 40 minutes after finishing, Sammi and I were on the road to the wedding. It was 2:45 and the wedding started at 4:30. The GPS said 1.5 hours. "Uh oh."
It was close, but I made it to the condo at 4:00, ran in to the house with my tux and jumped in the shower. By 4:15, I was dressed and ready for the ceremony. It was a great wedding, and I didn't even mind standing in the 90-degree sun in a black tux. I guess after riding all day you won't get too hot just standing there. I did chug most of the supply of water available to the wedding party.
The night wasn't over yet and it was 1:00 am before my head finally hit the pillow. I'd been up for 21 hours. I knew I would be useless on Sunday, and I was. But it was so worth it, great day.
Two weeks later, I traveled to Bend, Oregon for the US Marathon Nationals, I had a good (not great, nod bad) day and managed sixth. The riding in Bend is awesome, and it turned out to be a great trip.
Up next - La Ruta!
Thanks for reading.
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Alex Grant, 31, is one of America's top endurance mountain bike racers. Sponsored by Cannondale Factory Racing in 2012, Grant juggles racing as a pro with managing an outdoor gear consignment business called Gear Rush, which he co-owns with fellow Utah cyclist and racer Bart Gillepsie. This season, look out for Grant on the podiums at major endurance and stage races. For variety, you may also see him on on the start line of some super Ds, cross countries and short tracks.
In 2011, Grant finished third at the Leadville 100 and eighth at the US cross country national championships while also logging top 10s at the super D and marathon nationals. He finished fifth in the Downieville Classic All Mountain Overall and seventh at La Ruta de los Conquistadores. For the third year in a row, he won the Park City Point 2 Point.
In 2010, Grant made headlines with his second place finish at La Ruta de los Conquistadores, the Breck Epic and the Trans-Sylvania Epic.
When not on his mountain bike, Grant enjoys backcountry skiing, snowboarding and hiking.
Grant is from Richmond, Vermont, and he presently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Follow his 2012 season in this blog on Cyclingnews.
