The Robbie Report is a weekly feature on MTBracenews.com. Robbie Squire is the 2008 Junior National Champion and the newest member of the US National Team. Just two years ago Squire was racing as a Sport. In '08, his first year and only year as a Junior Expert, Robbie won the Junior National Championship. In '09 his first year in the senior ranks, the Utah resident will be racing with the U.S. National Under-23 Team. Each week Robbie will share his experiences with us. Join in as the 19 year-old Junior National Champion and first year Pro travels across the United States and Europe racing his bike and living out a once in a lifetime opportunity.

This past week has been very nice with the mostly good weather and the mild temperatures. There was a day or two in there that was unpleasant but it’s nice to see the sun coming out and the trails becoming tacky and pristine. Unfortunately, I managed to get caught in the rain, the few times it rained, which reminding me of riding in Europe.



I’ve been riding a lot more of the local trails that were inaccessible due to the heavy rains last week. Most of the trails aren’t in bad condition with only a rut down the middle from where the rain traveled down the trail. A change that I’ve noticed in our local trails is the amount of work that has gone into “improving” them. I was excited when community groups built a bridge over a stream that caused problems but the new changes to the trails have been much less beneficial. The recent work on the trails have turned great singletrack into a dirt sidewalk. Yes it’s easier but at the cost of a great trail. I appreciate the work that is being done and the commitment to improving trails in the area but existing trails should not be the target. Enough ranting.

It’s funny how there is quite a large break in racing right now. At the beginning of the season, it seemed there were important races every weekend and now the hectic pace has slowed down. It’s nice to have a little break to try to improve my fitness but just strange the season turned out like this.

Not to worry though another big block of racing starts up in the middle of July and all of the chaos will be back. The next block of racing includes national championships in Colorado, two world cups in Canada, and two races on the East Coast. I’m excited for these races because some of them are on courses I know and they don’t require an entire day of traveling across the world to get there. National championships will be good because it is one of only two races that the U-23 racers race by themselves and not as part of the Pro class. It will be strange to do a race in which I won’t have to be battling (as much) for position along the course and will actually be able to race. World cups on the other hand will boast very competitive fields and require a lot battling for position. The Canadian world cups will have a fewer participants when compared to the colossal fields that the European races had, which will make it more of a race for me. Now I’ll be able to start in the 100s instead of 200s.


That trip will be five consecutive weekends of racing before coming home. World championships would be the next race on the schedule and I’m hoping I can do well enough to get myself there. In the mean time I’ll be riding.

Rob