Two major events kicked off this weekend June 28.  After a 6 week layoff, the NMBS series returned to Park City, UT, while the BC Bike Race kicked off in Canada with a star studded field.  In Park City, we were STOKED that Jeremiah Bishop returned to his old self, nearly winning the cross country and then going on to lead the short track for a few laps on the way to finishing 4th.  At the same time, Jeff Schalk and Chris Eatough teamed up to take on the BC race, suffering a major mechanical 3 minutes into stage one, but charging back into 3rd place!

The only reports that I know from BC are what we read on cyclingnews.com, but I did get a phone call from our mechanic Steve Borkoski.  He relayed the tale to me:  the stage one start loop took riders through a field of mowed grass, which instantly wrapped into the cogs and rear derailleurs of riders.  Within 3 minutes of the start, Chris Eatough, the man who NEVER has mechanicals, had ripped the rear der right off his bike.  Bork set to work with chain replacement, der replacement, and pushed his rider back into the race, only to have Jeff's bike do the exact same same thing!  So, again, der and chain and spoke replacement ... forcing our guys to start the race 18 minutes or so off the back. 

What are a couple of Trek-VW hundred mile racers to do, but put the hammer down, and finish 3rd?  only 12 minutes out of the lead ... we'll see what happens next!

While those shenanigans played out, we had Jeremiah quietly line up near the mid-point of Saturday's XC field, and then blast up the hills to take the lead at the halfway point.  Bummer that cramps took over, but considering it's his best result in months, we're super happy all the way around!!

Then today, Ross got the holeshot in the STXC only to get clobbered in turn 1 by a crash.  He wasn't hurt, but his bike took a shot to the rear derailleur and he was hobbled the rest of the race.  But, again from the back, Jeremiah raced up into the lead to challenge for the win.  A near-flat and crash scare dropped him to 4th, while Ross clawed his way up to 5th.  2 guys on the podium!

Stay tuned for more news from BC!