Brennan took on the 2-day challenge, a three event stage race including a hill climb and super D on Saturday and the XC race on Sunday. The lowest combined times of all 3 takes the win for the weekend. The weapon of choice: The Giant Trance X 29. It climbs with the enthusiasm of a full blown XC whip and eats up whatever you can throw at it going down with its supple trail bike plushness.
Brennan’s recap of his winning weekend:
Saturday felt good to reacquaint my legs to the burn of racing and testing my skills on the valley’s greasy muddy descents. I managed to secure the overall time for the hill climb and super D for the day and was feeling good about being back on the mountain bike. Sunday the rains and the mid 40 deg weather delivered a chilly epic day of racing. The Mudslinger is a great race. It has a mix of hard logging road climbs that seem to just get steeper and longer as well as some seriously fun slippery singletrack descents that keep you on your toes. After about an hour and 40 minutes of riding in the pouring rain and sliding around in the mud I crossed the finish line. Couldn't feel my hands or feet but I had a muddy smile I couldn't get rid of. My bike worked perfectly I stayed upright and ended up with the win for the day. A successful first race out!
Thanks to Mike Ripley for capturing Brennan's finish line interview!
Serena raced the XC event on Sunday and showed up to win. At the start line, she knew this was going to be a tough day and wondered if her legs could keep up with her Giant Anthem. The first long climb felt good as she sat patiently on Alice’s wheel. And then, it was time to go. Taking the lead and getting a gap, Serena charged up the next climb, knowing she had to put in some meaningful time on Alice if she was going to hold the lead on the next long decent. Two-thirds down the greasy single track, Alice made the pass, and it was back and forth from there on out. Serena was climbing stronger, but Alice was railing the downhills with incredible speed. In the end, Alice took the win by under 20 seconds. Serena crossed the line in 2nd.
We are excited about the season and looking forward to our next race the Whiskey 50 in Prescott, Arizona.
A big thanks to our Sponsors for making this season happen. All Access Racing, Giant Bicycles, Easton, Shimano, Fox Racing Shox, Troy Lee Designs, Clif Bar, Smith Optics, and Schwalbe.
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| Brennan on his way to the Win! |
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| Charging Hard |
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| Mudmask? |