We wanted to learn more about Grant's tremendous ride in the Costa Rican jungle and his plans for the future.
Alex Grant descends during La Ruta
MTBracenews.com- Give a short introduction of yourself including some background on your racing career.
Alex Grant- I live in Utah but am originally a Vermonter- I grew up in Richmond, a
small town up north near Burlington. I used to play a lot of pond
hockey, street hockey, ski and snowboard.
I started mountain biking when I was 15 just as a way to explore
Vermont's extensive network of snow machine trails. I did some racing at
Catamount Family Center which hosts the largest and longest running
weekly mountain bike race series in the country. I raced pretty much
every summer until I was 19 when I took a break to do some traveling and
snowboard a lot. I had moved out to Salt Lake City the year before
(1998) to attend the University of Utah and got hooked on the
snowboarding right away.
After college and a few years snow bumming I got back into racing and
have been doing more and more since about 2005. I also work in the bike
industry as a sales rep and it's nice to be able to mix work with what I
love to do.
MTBracenews.com- What were your expectations heading into this year’s La Ruta. Were
you expecting a podium finish with this being your first La Ruta?
Alex Grant- The only expectations coming in to La Ruta this year were of the
difficulty of the race! I was anticipating a brutal event that would
come down to attrition and suffering. I had heard about the mud, climbs,
railroad tracks etc. I was expecting an adventure and thought that if I
could put together a decent race I would be able to get a top 10. Top 5
was a best case type of scenario- but wasn't an expectation, just an
outside shot...
I certainly wasn't expecting 2nd!
Just one of the treacherous aspects of La Ruta
MTBracenews.com- What was the hardest part of La Ruta?
Alex Grant- Plenty to choose from here... I would have to say the attrition. Getting
up at 3:30 a.m. and doing a 6 hour race is hard but manageable for a one
day event. The fact that you need to get up at 4:00 a.m. for the next
three days to do another 4-5 hours a day is so tough! You are definitely
making some withdrawals from the sleep bank. And its not like you are
just out there cruising at an endurance pace- you need to be on it and
focused the whole time. Ready to suffer. It takes a mental toll.
MTBracenews.com- You raced with a hydration pack and multiple water bottles while some
of your teammates just raced with very few bottles and no pack. Why?
Alex Grant- Just personal preference I guess. Some people hate them, I don't mind
wearing them. For this race I chose the hydration pack for a few reasons.
First, I tend to need to drink a lot in hot/humid conditions. After
doing BC Bike Race I learned that during a multi day race you can't let
yourself get too dehydrated (even though I still did on Day 1). I put
Carbo Rocket in my bladder too. Some people don't need to drink as much;
the more I race with Tinker the more I become convinced he is a camel!
Also with a completely unknown course and spotty info on the feedzones,
I didn't want to chance it. Even on Day 1 I ran out- we just misjudged
the distance from the last feed zone to the finish.
It's really not that much heavier. I have this Black Diamond pack that's
made out of parachute material and a 50 oz bladder. I like to be able to
bring 2 tubes, a mini pump, spare suspension link bolts, a derailleur
hanger, etc. on me for these kind of things. I mean I flew all the way
to Costa Rica, I want to be able double flat, have a CO2 malfunction,
bend a hanger in the middle of the jungle and still ride to the finish.
The pack takes some pressure off the jersey pockets.
It's nice to be able to drink on the downhill too, and you should have
seen the mud/cow manure on my water bottle at times- undrinkable.
Cows on course making a hydration pack a good idea
MTBracenews.com- How much hiking did you do the first stage and how did that affect you?
Alex Grant- Wow... it's hard to say but the whole Carara National Park section was
probably two or three hours. That involved a lot of hiking interspersed
with a little riding, cleaning your bike in streams and trying to get
out of knee deep quicksand!
I could have been better prepared for the hiking for sure. My back got
tired from carrying my mud laden bike up and downhills and I know my
legs got torched from it. I was very sore, especially two days later.
Next year I am going to mix some hiking into my preparation for sure.
MTBracenews.com- How much of a factor was team racing during the event? With you
having Sonntag and Bishop and Prado riding with Ben Bostrom how did that
impact the race outcome?
Alex Grant- The nature of the course at La Ruta doesn't really lend itself to team
riding because there is a very selective climb right at the start of
each stage (with the exception of Day 4). That tends to shatter the
group and on Day 1 and 2 even Ben Bostrom and Manny Prado were split up
from the first climb. Our team was spread out too but somehow over the
course of the race would come back together and then really be able to
take advantage of team work. It would be ideal to stay together over the
first hills and really take advantage of numbers. We did that on Day 4
and had Jeremiah off the front for the stage win until he flatted, then
Ben was in line for it and dropped a chain! Team work will be part of
the strategy next year for sure. It's nice to have some company out
there on these long races too. Good for the morale.
The pack starts one of the steep opening climbs
.MTBracenews.com- You finished on the podium at the Leadville 100, Park City Point to
Point, and La Ruta. Each race involved significant contributions from a
team of riders not just one individual. Where do you see the team-racing
phenomenon in endurance mountain bike events going from here?
Alex Grant- It's always nice to have teammates out there to race with. Though
mountain biking will never be as tactical as road racing, some of these
longer events do involve long sections where team riding comes into
play. We are fortunate enough to have a great team with the depth of
talent to ride as a team at these races. On any given day we have a
number of guys who can ride at the front. A lot of mountain bike racers
are just privateers and soloists but as endurance racing continues to
grow and gain sponsorship and exposure I think we will see some more
teams come forward to focus on these types of events.
MTBracenews.com- You did a wide array of races in 2009, everything from Canada to
Costa Rica. Which was your favorite and why?
Alex Grant- Wow, apples and oranges. BC Bike Race was like a guided tour of the best
singletrack you can imagine every day with beautiful weather and
civilized waking hours... more like a vacation. La Ruta- so hard and so
intense. But also so rewarding.
I am going to have to say my favorite was the Park City Point to Point
because it was 75 miles of singletrack in our own back yard.
MTBracenews.com- What are your plans and goals for 2010?
Alex Grant- I'd just like to continue to improve in 2010. I am happy if I can
improve a little bit each year consistently. This year I made my biggest
jump so I just hope to be able to step it up a few more percent for 2010.
As for plans- this season just ended and I haven't thought too hard
about that yet but will soon- there are so many great events out there
to do.
MTBracenews.com- Name one race you have never done but would like to one day.
Alex Grant- Trans Andes. Probably not this year but I would love to do it at some point.
MTBracenews.com- Tell us something interesting about yourself that most people don’t know (Example: I love NASCAR. I can’t help it. I was raised that way.)
Alex Grant- I grew up in a log cabin on a dirt road heated only by a wood burning
stove and our antenna only picked up two TV channels.
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