The Robbie Report

He's Back and He's Got Even More To Say



Former Junior National Champion and America's top U23 racer Rob Squire. This season Rob will be traveling the world gaining valuable experience and saddle time as one of America's elite racers. Rob will share his adventures with us throughout the 2010 racing season. Here is his first report:

Currently I’m sitting in an airport headed out to Albany, New York, for my first road race of the season with my new road team Holowesko Partners. The race is Tour of Battenkill, a 200km race, much of which is on dirt roads, which should make for an interesting first road race.

Tour of Battenkill will be my first road race of the season I’ve already taken part in two mountain bike races. The first of which was a PRO XCT national race in Fontana, California. I went to it not expecting to have a great result because it’s early in the season and usually the guys from California and warmer climates have a bit of an advantage because they can get more riding and training in earlier in the year. However, as it turns out I had a pretty good race. I recorded my highest place finish in an elite national race and was the number one placed U23.

At the start of the race I was nervous, as it was my first real race of the season against a formidable field. I had a great start position in the second row just behind Todd Wells due to the UCI points I had accumulated over the course of the last year. Despite my good start position, once the race started I went backwards almost immediately dropping from 9th to high 20s. I was able to make up some spots on the climbs and started closing in on the top-10. Unfortunately, I put a nasty kink in my chain on the second lap and had to ride 4 laps with a skipping bike. The big bonus of the weekend was that Scott Tedro, the Sho-Air series sponsor, decided to start doing a U23 podium and cash payout so I was able to pick up a few bucks for being 1st U23 and 14th elite.

My biggest news of the season so far was at Pan American Mountain Bike Championships in Guatemala City. This race takes the top riders from each nation in both North and South America to compete for the title of Pan American Champion. I was really excited to compete in the event but a little less eager to go to Guatemala. I had heard that it isn’t a good place for Americans to go because of crime but it wasn’t that bad. I did receive a few warnings about where to avoid and to be careful of bandits and for the most part this was enough to keep me out of trouble. The most exciting part of the security issues down there was the armed guards almost everywhere the team went. The hotel was guarded by men with shotguns at each entrance as well as guards along the course. I was happy to have the added security but I never saw anything that made me think that armed personnel was necessary.

As far as the racing goes, the course was a lot of fun. It wasn’t the best racecourse because it lacked anything technical. What it lacked technically it made up for by being a really fun course.

The start of the race was really chaotic. The U23 men were started 2 minutes after the elite men so we had to kind of hurry up to get lined up and ready to go in a short amount of time. I was looking forward to the call up here because I knew that I would have a good start position. I was called up third and lined up right in the middle of the first row, a perfect start position for the first climb and starting lap.

I was getting ready to start as the official counted down, 60 seconds….. 30 seconds….. 15 seconds….. and then without a whistle from the official the two Brazilians on either side of me just decided to go. They didn’t wait for the race to start and ended up doing a false start. The official decided not to start the race over because the elite men were already on course and restarting the race would take too long so I went from excellent start position to about 15th in the first 2 seconds.

I was able to make up some ground on the first lap and starting the second lap I was in second place in a group of 5. As the climbing started on that lap the pace really picked up and we lost a guy bringing the group to 4 halfway through the second lap. On the 3rd lap the two Brazilians attacked and got away from me and now I was in 3rd with a Costa Rican right on my tail. Once those two got away I decided to ride my own race and ended up dropping the Costa Rican and finishing in 3rd place.

Although I think I could have done a bit better I’m still really happy with the result. It was my first international UCI podium. I don’t have any pictures but you can find some on www.usacycling.org

From here on out my schedule is pretty hectic with this race in New York and then another stop in New Mexico next weekend before heading across the pond to Europe for some mountain bike World Cups and some road bike stage races-I can’t wait.

-Rob

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.

I’ve been in back in Salt Lake for about 10 days and it’s just about time to start packing for my next trip to Canberra, Australia for mountain bike world championships. As if this wasn’t enough school started this week, which, has just helped to complicate everything. Things have been really busy managing school, training, travel arrangements, and equipment for the next week.

On a lighter note I raced in the Snowbird Hill climb this past weekend, which is always a fun race. I raced in the cat 1-2 category and also did the Ultraman competition that requires that once you finish the road section you jump on a mountain bike and ride to the top of the resort. I got beat up on in the road section and ended finishing second in a sprint to the finish. I won the mountain bike portion even though I bonked(ran out of energy) harder than I ever have before and was inching my way up the second half of the mountain climb. Apparently this year was only the second year of the Ultraman section being added to the road climb, which makes me the only winner of the race in history-cool.


The Tour of Utah guys also contested the road climb as the final climb of the tours queen stage. I stuck around with my dad to watch the riders as the rounded the last corner and headed to the finish. I was receiving updates from where the leaders on the road were and which of my favorites were in the lead. Turns out that a 21 year old felt-hollowesko rider won the stage against Salt Lake hero Burke Swindlehurst. The last kilometer of road was really exciting watching these guys along with many of the countries greatest road cyclist push as hard as they could to get to the top. If the crowds at the finish were any indication of the race’s popularity I would bet that the race will be back next year-hopefully with me in it.

In order to get to Australia in sufficient time to prepare for my race I leave Friday evening and get there Sunday morning after spending approximately 18 hours in the air. Qualifying for World championships was a big goal of mine for this year, however I didn’t realize how much work it would take to get everything organized to get there. The expensive plane tickets along with other fees were going to make it really difficult to go to this race. Fortunately for me a lot of local business have come through to support me at world championships. Bingham Cyclery and Riley at the Tour De Park City have been a huge help in finding me funding to make worlds possible. In addition to the great financial support I’ve received, several companies have set me up with some really sweet new components. Reynold’s Composites sent me some mountain bike wheels that in combination with the new Scrub rotors I received lightened my bike by over 1.2 pounds. This new equipment is awesome and even if I’m not the fastest guy at worlds I’ll definitely have the best looking bike. I wasn’t on bad equipment to begin with, everything on my bike was top of the line but just not the best available product. I’m pretty confident that my wheel set up is one of if not the best on the market.


I’m blown away by the willingness of local companies to help me out especially when the current economic situation is not too good.

Aside from awesome new equipment I’ve been trying to prepare physically for my race on September 4th. Despite what most people, including myself, think riding your bike as hard as you can for as long as you can won’t put you in the best shape to race. It has been hard for me to cope with this idea of a training plan because I’m used to just going out and riding however I want. That method of training produced results before but now I’m following slightly more detailed training plan, which I think, will help immensely. It’s tough because I spend a lot more time feeling out of shape than I would like but in the last few races it has really seemed to help. Only a few more days of stressing out before I leave, hopefully everything will calm down by then.

Robbie

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.

Last weekend’s race in Windham, New York was the best race this season. Windham is going to be the site of the World Cup finals next year and thus the course is reminiscent of the other world cup courses. It consisted of a lot of climbing with some fast descents through the woods, nothing too technical though. The reason it was the best race of the season was a combination of a great course, and how I felt. For much of the season I felt that I was riding fast but not at my potential and it was frustrating to know that I could ride faster but just wasn’t having good rides. Saturday’s race was the first time this year that I really felt I rode fast and had an awesome race.

The race organizers started us in a different place than last year a little further from the first singletrack section to try to avoid the congestion that marred last years race. The change was successful to some extent. The race was a little more strung out by the time we hit the singletrack but it wasn’t bad enough that I had to put a foot down or get off my bike. From there the course climbed pretty steadily and had plenty of room for passing. The descent included many of last year’s sections but was more fluid and a lot more fun to ride.

It was so hot this weekend. Utah is hot in the summer but one thing we don’t have is humidity. It was 90 degrees with 90 percent humidity at the start of our race which made keeping cool and hydrating especially important. A few of the top guys were looking real suave rolling around in their ice vests which made me really jealous but by the start I was comfortable and really excited about the ice cold water bottle that I was just given from the team soigneur.



I also had a good call up this race, second row right behind the Gary Fisher guys but for some reason I’m not too good at starts and dropped a few places going into the first singletrack. After that, groups formed really quick and I found myself with four really fast guys. I spent the first lap with the group before I tried to leave them behind on the second lap. I was successful in getting away from the other riders for a lap but started to get caught by some of them heading into the third lap. My legs were strong and pushing it that hard at the beginning of the race probably wasn’t the best idea but I was able to keep up a good pace after being passed by those guys. From then on I rode really steadily passing one or two guys and keeping the same distance from the guys who had started out in the same group as me. It’s funny that no matter how many people are in a race I seem to find myself riding alone the whole time.

Heading into the last lap I thought that my rear tire was going flat and I started to get really nervous about it. I rode very cautiously and nursed it over all of the bumps and sharp edges on the course. In doing so, I gave up some time to one of the Gary Fisher riders, Sam Schultz. Going into the last kilometer he had caught me and we were riding right next to each other on the last 50-meter hill before the finish. I pulled a rookie move and pulled him (broke the wind in front of him) right up until the finish line where he put the power down and passed me. Truthfully, I wasn’t bummed about it because I had had a great ride and was happy how I rode despite where I finished-I finished 13th. That was my best finish this year in a PROXCT national race.



In addition to having a great race, it really served to boost my confidence heading into the World Championships in Canberra, Austrailia. I was chosen for the team last week and now I’m trying to prepare the best I can for my race on September 4th. Making the Worlds team this year was one of my goals and getting the nomination was really big for me. At the beginning of the season I was told that because I’m a first year U23 I’m going to have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that I was competent to go to worlds. Not only is going to Worlds huge but “proving” that I should go is just as satisfying. The race is two and a half weeks away and I’m going to do everything I can to have a good ride there.

Rob

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 last weeked’s race in Mt. Snow, Vermont was one that I was looking forward to the entire season. This was the site of mountain bike national championships last year and was a track that I really liked. The course was characterized by a lot of climbing and a technical fast descent. This year’s course was even better than last years in that they shortened it and made it more like the World Cup courses, which I have been racing.

It was nice to be racing in the US again after two world cup stops in Canada just because it is a little less competitive and more fun. The killer instinct is there but everyone in the race knows one another and is more courteous. I was excited for this race because I thought I would have a good call up being the tenth ranked American in UCI (international mountain bike points) points and I did to some extent. I was called up in the 20s, which was pretty good.

I came to this race looking for a good result after a pretty terrible race in Bromont. I was riding in the top ten up the first climb until we hit the first wooded section and I hit the “wall”. I just ran out of steam right there and the rest of the race was a sufferfest.



The first 2 laps I was a mess and just couldn’t get into a rhythm, after several close ones I crashed on the second lap going down in a corner that shouldn’t have been causing me any problems. Strangely enough I came around on the 3rd,4th, and 5th laps and started to ride the descent really well. On the 4th lap I caught up to U23 national champion Colin Cares and duked it out with him for the rest of the race. I caught him on the descent and passed him at the bottom of the course. I led him up most of the climb on the last lap until he attacked me toward the top of the course. I couldn’t hang with him and he had a 10 second lead going into the descent. I closed the gap to 2 seconds at the bottom of the descent but I couldn’t close it completely and once again I came in right behind him for the second time this season. I finished in 20th place and 2nd U-23.

The next day was short track, which is usually pretty fun. After how I felt the day before I wasn’t expecting anything spectacular in the short track. To my surprise I felt great. On the climb I felt great and just motored past people lap after lap.

Unfortunately, the promoters didn’t call me up where I should’ve been and I started in last. I worked my way up to 15th before getting pulled. I was pulled in a group of 3, which shouldn’t really have been pulled. I was moving up every lap and the group was not in danger of getting pulled in the next 2 laps, whatever.

Now I’m in for another week in Vermont until the last stop on the Pro XC Tour race in Windham, New York.

Another exciting thing this weekend is the announcement of the US team for world championships in Canberra, Austrailia. Worlds is September 1-6th and has been one of my goals for the season so I’m hoping that I’ll be selected for the team.

Rob

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 weekend's race was the 5th World Cup stop in Bromont, Canada. This was by far the muddiest, worst weather, dirtiest race I've ever been in. Granted, I haven't been to that many races relative to the guys out there but I think that this race will go down in most people's book as messy.

After last weekend's World Cup in Mont St. Anne I drove down to Bromont to spend the week in the Canadian countryside. I stayed with the US National Team a bit off the beaten path of hotels but pretty nice all the same. It was a fairly short ride to some sweet trails and just a little bit further to the actual venue.

The local ski resort has a fairly extensive mountain bike program in the summer. Usually when I'm spending time in a new place, preparing for a race, it is a challenge to find trails to ride on. In this area however, there were so many trails the problem was deciding which one to ride in the limited amount of time I had. The mountain wasn't nearly as big as what I've grown used to in Utah but the trails provided some great riding. I eventually made it onto the mountain's downhill trails which were really fun and it turned a lot of heads when I cruised by on my Specialized Epic cross country bike.



As I mentioned above, it was extremely muddy for the race, which was a surprise after the hotel owner, and weather report seemed optimistic. It rained the first day in Bromont and made the course fairly muddy but not too bad. The weather report from the locals said that this was the last storm of the week and that it would be sunny up until the race.

After spending a week in Canada for the first World Cup, I somehow knew that despite the 10% chance of rain, there would be rain. So it continued to rain a little bit every day changing the course just a bit every time and mostly creating a lot of work once I got back from riding to clean my bike.

Once race day rolled around I was fairly certain that there wouldn't be any more serious rain before my race and that there would be only small showers, which wouldn't make a difference on the course. I was wrong. At 11 o'clock it started raining and just rained harder up to and throughout the entire race. The thirty minute ride to the venue from the hotel may as well have been a 3 hour ride in the mud because once I got there I was completely covered in mud and soaking wet. I looked as if I had gone swimming in my bike kit and I felt like it too. After getting to the venue I did a quick tire change to get something a little better suited to riding in the rain.

That start of the race was pretty typical and I didn't feel as good as I would have liked to going up the starting climb, which could've been due to a number of things but I battled as much as I could for position. In the process this Belgian guy started giving me a hard time. Everytime I would try to go around him he would hit, elbow, or shove me so that I couldn't get past. I was expecting this in a World Cup but this guy in particular was a real jerk. In one of my many attempts to get around, the guy threw an elbow and connected with my mouth managing to chip one of my front teeth pretty good. Strangely enough I didn't realize it until later in the lap. Then at about half way on lap one, I flatted. Somehow I managed to slice the sidewall of my tire and tear it off the rim. Once this happened I jumped off and took the "Shoe Lace Express" the remaining 2 miles or so to the tech zone where I could get a new wheel. It was in the tech zone when I realized I was missing my front tooth. Despite the tooth and flat I jumped back on my bike and started out on my second lap.

Although things weren't going my way I was determined to finish and not get last place. I rode extremely conservative not knowing the extent of the damage to my teeth and actually passed a few people before getting pulled with two laps to go.



I'm really bummed about this race because I thought I could do well in the muddy conditions and now I have to deal with my teeth. Luckily I got my tooth fixed two days later in Vermont and now I'm in the middle of nowhere Vermont getting ready for the National race in Mount Snow.

To Be Continued...

Robbie

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 last weekend was the Mount St. Anne World Cup in Canada. It was the first of two World Cups in Canada and the site for the 2010 world championships. The course was by far the most technical course I’ve ridden all year. It was a dramatic change from the previous weekends national championships course and a good experience in the mud. The area was fairly damp when I arrived but seemed to be drying out as it got closer and closer to the race. I was worried if switching to mud tires was a bad decision until the day before the race. It poured rain right up to and through the entire race.

The course contained many roots and odd angled rocks that were fairly difficult to ride when dry and once the rain everything was slippery. The most exciting part of the course was a very steep and narrow rock garden that was a do or die section. If you fell on this part you were most likely going to be taken out by the medical staff. Leading up to the race it dumped rain, which made everything nice and slippery for the men’s race. Even with the rain this was by far my favorite course of the year and I hope that the next few races I do are analogous. The field was 107 deep and yours truly was bringing up the rear. It’s funny that if I had finished dead last in this race I would have still had a better finish (number wise) than in the European world cups.
The start was faster than I had expected but I was soon able to move up and gaining a better position. Despite the wide-open route used for the start of the race things backed up as the race went into the singletrack. Not only did the singletrack require that racers slow down and be a bit cautious; it was also too small for everyone who was trying to get to the front. The race bottlenecked and I ended up standing around and walking quite a bit on the first lap.

I felt really good on the climbs during the race and wasn’t losing any positions but once I hit the technical muddy singletrack sections I might as well have been walking because I spent so much time fumbling on little sections. I was able to ride the sections twice but for the majority of the race I didn’t represent a professional mountain biker (not in my mind at least).

I ended up finishing 55th, which I’m pretty happy with and I know that I can do much better. The race was a tough reminder of how to race in the rain but I think I held my own on the descents and the really slippery stuff, as I’ve been told it just takes time.

After the race I traveled with the US National team down to Bromont, Canada, for the next world cup. The race is on Sunday so I have all week to check out the riding here. So far I’ve found a mountain bike park that is run by the Bromont ski resort and has numerous downhill trails that are a lot of fun.

Although I’m only 50 miles from the U.S. this place feels more like France than America. Everyone here speaks French and the culture is French. Due to the proximity to the U.S. there are a lot more familiar things in the grocery stores and along the sides of the roads here but the area has a distinct European feel. From the rooms and bathrooms to the European racing teams that are staying at the same hotel there are many similarities. The geographic layout is also very reminiscent of Europe; there are hills but no mountains and mostly small winding roads through the forest.

This is the second race in the 4 weekends of racing that are going on and my fourth world cup of the year. I’m heading out to ride the course tomorrow so I’ll get a good feeling for whether it is a course that’ll suit me or if it will be a little more interesting.

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 weekend’s race was National Championships, one of the biggest races of the year. Despite being only two days of racing, the preparation for this race is different and much more intensive than other races. It definitely isn’t the “biggest race” that I’ve competed in this season but it was very important because of the prestige of the national championships.



The preparation for this race was way different from the previous year. Last year, I was able to train how I wanted and ride as hard as I wanted in order to get fit for the race. However, my health had different plans this year. The illness I developed in Europe has been a lot harder to get over than I had anticipated and caused a lot of frustration in the weeks leading up to the race. Typically I’d be training as hard as I could but due to health issues the most beneficial thing for me to do was rest. Taking time off is harder to do than hard training. It is difficult for me to understand how sitting on a couch and just resting would help me in one of the biggest races of the year. That was really hard to deal with but I think that the rest was the right thing to do and probably helped more than I like to believe, especially in comparison to trying to train hard.

The race was in Granby, Colorado, which is considerably high altitude and thus made getting ready for the race even more tricky. I decided instead of trying to sleep at high altitude to get ready for the race I would go out there a few days early and get the feel of the course and familiarize myself with the area.

The XC race wasn’t on the best trail I’ve ever ridden but it was way better than the stories I heard about it. It started straight up a climb of about 15% and continued to climb for another 15-20 minutes. The descent is the part that was a little lack-luster. After last years nationals at Mt. Snow and racing on many of the best course in the world I was hoping for a technical fast descent. This descent was relatively slow and un-technical. Granted it wasn’t as bad as I had heard but in comparison to other courses it wasn’t as easy to make or lose time on.

The race was the first time this year that I would be racing just U-23’s and wouldn’t be mixed in with the pros. It makes the race quite different. There isn’t as much battling for position and the race comes down purely to riding ability rather passing people.



When the gun went off about forty U-23s went as hard as they could for the climb, I got to the top of the first climb in 4th and then moved up to second place during the rest of the climb where I remained for the rest of the race. Colin Cares was in front in the beginning and managed to keep a 8-15 second lead on me the entire race. I would catch up to him in certain parts on the climb and he would make up time in other places. I would see him up most of the climb and descent but just wasn’t able to catch him. I ended up finishing 15 seconds behind him. As it turned out Colin and I were setting a pretty good pace and we finished right around 5 minutes ahead of 3rd place.

Now its time to focus on the upcoming World Cup races in Mount St. Anne and Bromont. These two races mark the beginning of a trip that includes the Vermont and Windham national races. The next few weeks should be very interesting.

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

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.

After a visit with my doctor and a few mix-ups I finally found out that I had some sort of bacteria and that with some antibiotics it would be gone in 7-10 days. Even though I’m not 100% yet I’m relieved to find out what the problem is and that it can, and will, be fixed. Hopefully over the next 2 weeks I’m able to fully recover and start over heading into the tail end and most important part of my season. Despite being sick and not feeling too hot the last week it has been nice to take some down time and just relax back in my home town. I guess not being able to ride for a little bit has its bonuses.

This past weekend was the first weekend in about 9 weeks that I haven’t raced. It felt strange to not have to prepare for any sort of race and just relax. I’ve become so accustomed to racing every weekend that I was lost when I didn’t have anything to do but rest.



One bonus of the past week was that I got a new road bike to rip around on - a 2009 Specialized Tarmac Pro Sl. The bike is a bit of a departure from what I’m used to but it’s solid. It is by far the stiffest bike I’ve ridden and the new Shimano Dura-Ace components are also better than I had anticipated. I’ve only done some smaller easier rides on it but I can’t wait to really ride it and experience it like it was meant to be.

Another great thing about being back in Salt Lake is being able to do all the great rides. When I left for my trip in March none of the trails were clear and the road riding was limited at best. After two months abroad, I get to come home and shred all the trails that the locals have been patiently waiting for. I feel like I’m cheating but I’m excited about it none-the-less. Over the two months I was gone, I got to ride some sweet trails and be in some really beautiful areas but as great as they were, the local trails still rank amongst the best. I don’t know if it’s that I’ve ridden them a bunch and have just become accustomed to them or that they are just better than the rest, either way it isn’t hard to return to Utah riding. For some reason the local trails just don’t get old and I can spend days riding the same trails and not get bored.

On that note I’m getting ready to head to Colorado Springs for the 3rd stop on the PRO XCT Tour. I’ve been on the fence as to whether or not to go because I’ve been so sick but I think a little racing might be beneficial despite the crushing I’ll probably receive. In addition, according to USAC mechanic Joey Ersnt there are some awesome trails in the “Springs” that can give any trail a run for its money. No matter how the race goes it will be nice to be back in a U.S. race where I’m not starting 230th. .

Rob

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.



The Europe excursion ended last week with me flying home 2 weeks early. The decision to come home early was especially difficult with the great racing I was doing and the opportunities I would be missing by coming home. The fact of the matter is that I was too sick to continue to ride let alone race and coming home was the right thing to do. I caught something Giardia like while doing a road race in Belgium, which essentially ruined any chance at having a good race or a good time at Ronde l’Isard, a 4 day stage race in France.

The race was very cool, aside from my feeling awful, we raced through the Pyrennes and did some of the climbs that are used in the Tour de France. Despite being way off the back it was hard not to enjoy the surroundings and I found myself becoming more of a cycling tourist as my sickness continued. I found I could ride for about 80 km and help the team leader, Peter Stetina, before my body shut down and I had to ride slow. The team we brought to Isard was really strong but unfortunately most of us were plagued with an inhibiting sickness. In spite of the poor health of the team, Stetina pulled off an incredible victory on the second stage’s mountain top finish.

Finish of Stage 4 of the Ronde l'Isard

Although I was really sick the entire time my goal was to simply finish the race and avoid a DNF. In the end I did finish and wasn’t even last! I finished in the 70s out of 110, which is fine considering the circumstances. I’m eager to get healthy again and try out stage racing again and see what I can really do.

Now that I’m home the main focus is to get rest and get better. I’m finding that it is very difficult to take time off the bike-I’m lost now. Unfortunately, I have not been able to kick this sickness yet, which is painfully obvious when I ride or try to race. So I’m resting and trying to take care of some business while I’m out of commission.

In the end the Europe trip was a good experience because it is so different. Cycling is much more respected there and it really shows in the races, the fans, and the venues. Everyone wants to be part of the races and that is really exciting. It’s crazy that probably all the fans from every mountain biking event in the U.S. combined would not come close to the numbers that came out to Houffalize(World Cup #3). Aside from the fans the courses are also very different. The loops are much shorter and there are more laps per race. I think this is the best platform for racing because spectators can watch more of the race. Despite the greatness of these things I’m really excited to start racing in the U.S.

My next race is scheduled to be the PROXCT in Colorado Springs June 14th. I hope I can recover in time.

Rob

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’s race marked my first venture into road racing. It was quite the leap going from local hill climbs and crits to a 3-day stage race in Belgium called Triptyque Ardennais. The first day was a rude awakening- it rained the entire time.The course was 130 km and was mostly flat with a lot of short punchy climbs. All of which was not fun in the rain. What was especially fun was riding on roads through cow pastures where “stuff” got flung up onto your face from your wheels. Fortunately everyone was riding very cautiously and despite the rain and the cow pies I was able to finish 4 minutes down in 94th out of 175.


The next day was a bit different. It started out a lot better with blue skies and a newly acquired confidence of sitting in the peloton. At about 60k I got crashed and hit the deck for the first time on a road bike. This guy went down in front of me and the next thing I knew I was on the ground in entangled in a mess of bikes and cyclists. I had never fallen on a road bike before and I’ve never hit the ground so hard I didn’t remember the crash. I got up in a daze and jumped back on my bike but in the time that I spent on the ground the peloton was about a minute in front of me and despite giving my best effort to get back I wasn’t able to. I ended up riding by myself for about 30 minutes before the race director stopped me and I had to log my first DNF(did not finish) of the season. That really stunk but that is the nature of the bike racing and there’s not much you can do about it.


Now that I’m racing road bikes I moved to a new home base in Kautenbach, Luxembourg. I didn’t know that towns could get much smaller than Kirchzarten, Germany but Kautenbach takes the cake. This town consists of a river, church, hotel, and about 10 houses it’s puny the nearest town is 10 k away and not very different. The town sits in a hole and is surrounded on all sides by hills and you have to ride uphill for 8 km to get out. The road house is chaotic with different groups of guys heading in-and-out to a number of different races every week.


I’m going to give road racing another shot this week in France. The race is a 4-stage race in the Pyrennes called Ronde I’Isard. From what I’m told this race should be better than Triptyque because the stages include some cool mountain passes where Triptyque topped out with short rollers. I’m excited to get to ride in the mountains after not seeing any really peaks since I left Utah almost 2 months ago. In addition to nice stages, it will be my first time to France, which is bound to be interesting.

Robbie

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.

The past week in Europe included two races, a Swisspower-Racers cup in Solothurn, Switzerland on Saturday and a Taelercup in Wittnau, Germany on Sunday. The Racers Cup consisted of a much smaller field than what I’ve become accustomed to with only 70 riders. Naturally I was called up in the back but with a field this small I didn’t mind. The course was only 5 kilometers long and included a lot of road riding-lame. The dirt section was much smaller than that of the road and consisted of a steep gravel road/ muddy singletrack climb and a really fast bumpy singletrack downhill.

The parade loop started in a tunnel on cobbles and raced around an old church before starting out onto the actual course. Once the group got onto the course it was a battle to make it into a group and conserve energy by sitting right behind other riders and being shielded from the wind. Although the field was a third of the size of the World Cups I’ve done, the pace was just as fast. After the first few laps I was able to get into a group with my teammate Tad Elliot and we hung in there for a lap or into in the middle of the race. The highlight of the race was on lap 6 when I went to the front with Tad right behind me and we broke up the group and I was able to get away from everyone by the bottom of the descent. I was able to hold this gap for 2 laps longer until I was passed right before the finish of my 8th lap by the leader and ended up being pulled. I made it 8 out of the 9 laps and finished 30th.

The next day I raced a local race about 20 kilometers from where I’m staying in Kirchzarten, Germany. The team and I road to the race where we were greeted by many of the locals who were excited to see the US National Team show up at their local race. It made me and the rest of the guys feel like a big deal which is nice after racing the World Cups. The course was only 3 kilometers long but in typical European fashion was straight up and down.

I was still tired from the previous days race and not ready for the speed that the competition had. Out of thirty guys I was able to ride in the top five for most of the race before I started to come around a bit and move up. On the last two laps I was able to make up a bunch of time on 3rd place and catch 2nd place. On the last lap I got away from him and finished second behind Tad 20 seconds back.

The podium experience is one of the best I’ve ever had because of the sweet prizes that were offered. For second place I was given a 5 liter keg of beer and 100 euros, pretty good for a local race.

This was a good way to end my mountain biking campaign in Europe and now it’s time to change gears and start road racing. This weekend I’ll be doing my first ever stage race, the Triptyque Ardennais. It is a 4 stage 3 day race in Belgium and should make for a good time. I haven’t really had the chance to do any serious road racing and I’m really looking forward to trying it out. I’ll leave Kirchzarten, Germany, (where I’m currently staying) on Thursday and head to the road house in Luxembourg where I’ll be based out of for the next two weeks before concluding my Europe trip and road racing campaign with the Tarragona Stage Race in Spain. AWESOME.

Robbie

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 weekend of racing in Houffalize, Belgium will definitely go down as one of the best events I’ve ever been to. The event was World Cup #3 and boasted the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen at a race. Throughout the several days I was there the streets were packed with spectators checking out the different booths and hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite riders.

The team trailers and tents occupied all of the space on the roads and were only interrupted by the course or spectators. The entire country of Belgium and most of Europe came out to watch this race, and what a race it was!

The course began with incredibly steep pavement climb that helped to thin out the field a little before the first descent. The descents were steep and rooty but provided plenty of room to pass people without having to pull sketchy maneuvers. The climbs were longer and more technical than in Offenburg and entirely lined with fans. No matter where I was on the course there were several people yelling ALLEZ ALLEZ ALLEZ, it was awesome. Even thought the crowds didn’t come out to watch 19-year-old Robbie Squire race around the course the excitement that filled that was in the air was something special.

I like the course a lot better than last weeks Offenburg and have to say that this is my favorite course I’ve ridden thus far. I was dead last in the call up and starting the climb I got stuck in a little crash and had to unclip to back out and get going again. AS the steep opening climb began I was solidly 5 feet off the back of the field and felt a little foolish. However, once I got going I was able to make up quite a bit of ground before hitting the first descent. I was able to ride a lot more of the descents here on the first lap than in Offenburg. It could have been the course or just the experience that I had gained from last weekends race but I didn’t end running the descents here. I did however get stuck in a bunch of traffic and ended up standing around for about a minute before I could get back on my bike and continue racing. While I was waiting some guys had decided to cut the tape and go around the traffic that I was stuck in. I did what I could to hinder the efforts of these cheaters to get in front of me by yelling and hitting some guys on their shoulders. The traffic thinned out as the race progressed and only had to wait a few more times before I could start riding smoothly.

I felt a lot better this week than last week as I was climbing faster and not feeling as fatigued and sick. I was steadily moving up through the pack on the climbs and even on the descents. I’ve never though of myself as a good descender but aboard my Specialized Epic I flew down the rough sections leaving my competitors in the dust. Unfortunately, I ended up snagging something and flatted on my 3rd lap. I rode half a lap with a leaking tire at about 5 psi before I could get a tire change in the tech zone which ended up being as far away from me as possible. Once I got a wheel change I was determined to make up the positions I had lost while nursing my wheel back to the pit but ran into some more mechanical trouble. Despite these problems I was able to pass about 50 dudes and finish as the 4th American. Not the day I was looking for but a good one nonetheless. The most important thing is that I was feeling good and I got to experience the legendary race that is Houffalize. I hope I get to come back here next year.

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 weekend was World Cup #2 in Offenburg, Germany. This was my first World Cup race ever and only my 4th professional race. I knew it was going to be tough and my start position only amplified those thoughts. I was lined up last, dead last.

In a field of 230+ guys that can really hurt any chance at a solid race. When the race started I waited about 5 seconds before I even clipped in. Once I was clipped in, I was able to ride through the start/finish before having to unclip because of a crash that happened 2 meters from the start finish line. Really? Come on this is a World Cup and these guys can’t go 10 feet before crashing? I admit that it was really easy to get tangled up in the mess that is the start of a World Cup.

The race consisted of the usual chaos that larger field races have except here the racing is much more intense. From the get go it was a mad battle for positions. Guys were trying to pass any way they could which made for some sketchy riding. The worst part about the large field of racers is the bottle necking and the traffic that caused me to just stop and stand around for probably a minute or two during the first lap.

Unfortunately, none of these things contributed to me having a pretty bad race.


At the beginning of the race, I was able to hold my position fairly well and even move up a bit but I wasn’t able to get into my groove and I felt like I was crawling around the course. After the first couple of laps I started to come around a bit and pick up the pace a little. I started to catch a lot of the people that I had been riding with earlier but unfortunately I had taken to long to “warm up” and by this time I had already lost enough time to be pulled toward the end of my 4th lap. I finished 175th out of 195 starters. I didn’t have any mechanicals or anything just had a bad race. Hopefully next weekend's race in Houffalize, Belgium will go better. I know this is my first World Cup but it is still disappointing.

On a lighter note, the course was awesome! Laps took about 17 minutes and it consisted of short climbs and very steep descents. The descents were essentially drops that you could roll down if you were going slow enough. I’ve never ridden anything like it in the U.S. and it was a bit intimidating the first time around the course but after some more training the drops were a lot smoother and not a big deal. By the time the race came along I was comfortable enough on the descents that I could make up time and pass on them.

The crowd here was also something that I’ve never seen in the U.S. Reports are that there were upwards of 20,000 spectators for the men’s race. The drops were especially popular and the fans were 5-10 rows deep. There were more people at one of the 4 drops than at any U.S. race. With crowds like these it is easy to see that cycling is a prominent fixture in European sports.

I’m staying in a hostel in Kirchzarten, Germany. From what I’ve heard it's quite a hotspot for mountain biking. The local trails are less than two minutes from the hostel and were home to the 1995 World Championships. The trails are great but I can’t seem to find any singletrack longer than a kilometer. AHHHH it is frustrating but still a lot of fun.

This coming weekend will be World Cup #3 in Houffalize, Belgium. This is a legendary course and I’m really excited to get to ride it. The course is a favorite of several people I’ve talked to and apparently consists of more drops and technical sections than Offenburg-I can’t wait. I’ll leave with the team on Friday and we’ll drive 4 hours to Houffalze where we’ll stay in a hotel for the remainder of the weekend.

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 weekend I was in Salinas, California for the Sea Otter Classic cycling extravaganza. This was the largest cycling event I’ve ever seen. Teams and companies packed into this small valley creating a city of cycling bliss. I only went into the expo twice to hang out in the shade at the Specialized tent and couldn’t believe how many people had come out to see the races and browse new product lines. All of the commotion reminded me of being in a big city like New York where you can hardly move without bumping into someone.

Being a Specialized sponsored rider I was given the privilege of sitting under their tent and almost being a celebrity. I got to sit behind the table with posters and swag while people came up to the booth and checked out my bike: my bike has fans now all I need is my own fans.

The racing started with Short Track on Saturday. This would be my first short track race in the Pro field so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I knew that a good call up would be key to any shot at a good race and to my delight I was on the second row. There were about 75 people in the race and to be called up 10th out of such a field is a real ego boost.

The race started fast with every person risking it all to pass. I have been in chaotic starts before but I wasn’t expecting the level of intensity from these guys in a Short Track. I was getting pushed, bumped, elbowed, and cut off as I battled for position and ended up well down from my starting position. As soon as we hit the hill I was able to make up those positions and settled into a group about 2 laps into the race and then held that position for the majority of the race. I managed to finish 18th which isn’t bad for my first Short Track but it definitely wasn’t the best race I’ve had. The most important thing to me in a race is how I feel. I didn’t feel like I was riding at my limit and that my muscles weren’t opened up. It’s tough because I would be more satisfied with feeling stronger and having a poor finish than feeling terrible and having a descent finish. It wasn’t all bad though, the short track provided me with a good warm-up for the main event the next day, Cross Country.

The course wasn’t the best suited for me but it was pretty close. It consisted of one 19-mile lap and one 10-mile lap, the promoters decided to shorten it from two 19-mile laps because of the intense heat. It was around 100 degrees out when the race started so that means that on black tarmac the race started on it was about 110.

Aside from being dangerously hot, the 145 rider field made for a dangerous start. My call up wasn’t as good as Short Track so I started in the back which wasn’t a big deal because we road along a car racing track for a mile or so before we hit the dirt. However, 145 people gunning for a good position caused a lot of chaos with several crashes and lots of yelling. I just tried to keep away from the middle of the group where all of the problems manifest, and get a descent position heading onto the dirt. I was somewhere in the 30-40 range onto the dirt which wasn’t as good I wanted but not bad nonetheless and the wide trails made it possible to do a bit of passing.

About 20 minutes in I started to have some mechanical problems. I was sitting in the teens and steadily moving up and thought that I would just ignore the problem and finish the race with the mechanicals. It turned out that my crank arm was loose and caused me to have to run into the tech zone. I had thought that I broke the crank but after a mad search for tools the mechanic managed to tighten the crank and I was off again. This had cost me a lot of time and I drifted back to the 50-60 range. Although I was out of the hunt for the high placing I was determined to finish the race despite the problems I had and would have. The mechanical problem was reoccurring and caused me to have to stop in the tech pit each time to re-tighten the bolts. Luckily for me the support in the pit was very good and I was able to finish the race. I ended up finishing 34th and the 5th Under-23 rider. Although it wasn’t the result I was looking for I was content because I still managed to finish high enough to earn 1 UCI point. I’m looking forward to coming to this race again so I can give it another shot.

Now it is off to Offenburg, Germany for round #2 of the World Cup. This will be my first ever World Cup and I’m excited for it, nervous but excited.

Rob Out

The Robbie Report is a new 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 travels across the United States and Europe racing his bike and living out a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The Robbie Report

Life at the Olympic Training Center has been great. The food is good, the rooms are comfortable, and the weather is very easy to train in. This place is so focused on producing Olympic quality athletes that I feel obligated to work hard.

From the staff to all of the athletes, every person here is focused solely on the 2012 Olympics. Another oddity of this place is the diversity of athletes here. I’ve heard more different languages in the cafeteria than I do in the airport. The majority of these international athletes are track athletes and more specifically throwers-these guys are huge. One of these athletes is easily the size of the entire U-23 national team.

Another bonus is the presents I’ve been getting from Specialized. The 2009 equipment is coming in and I’ve been reaping the benefits. As of now, I’ll be racing in all brand new stuff and new equipment for the up coming Sea Otter event- I couldn’t be more excited.

Sea Otter is this weekend and it will be my first time to the event. It is recognized as one of, if not the largest cycling event in the U.S. drawing thousands of racers and spectators. The Pro field will be larger than any I’ve ever encountered which should make things interesting. In addition to being the largest field I’ve ever seen, the competition should be pretty intense as well.

After a weekend void of racing, I’m a little confused on how to continue the rest of the week. Having a race every week is something I’m used to and helps keep me organized in training, without it, something doesn’t feel right. Not to worry though, after this weekend I’ll be racing every weekend for the rest of the season-whoa. Racing every weekend is nice because it allows me to gage where I am and lets me get out and see some great trails.

I’ve become very familiar with the trails around Chula Vista, as there are very few of them. Riding around here has been mainly on the mountain bike due to the dangerous drivers around here. One day out on the road, I came across a sign that had the death toll YTD (year to date) on the road. What type of road has a 10’x10’ sign with how many people have died on that road? 

Needless to say I was a bit put off by that sign but continued to ride conjuring up excuses to why they had that sign on a seemingly peaceful road. The scenery was beautiful but was contrasted by the horrendous riding conditions. Aside from there being no shoulder, the traffic passed me with very little consideration to whether I would live or not. On the way back, I was run off the road by a semi-truck and buzzed by several others. Without the traffic, this ride would be one of the best road rides out there. The roads were smooth, the surroundings were beautiful, and the mountains provide plenty of climbing that makes you forget you’re in southern California.

As this week comes to an end, I’ll be preparing for Sea Otter and getting ready to move out of the Olympic Training Center. After Sea Otter I leave for Europe for the 2nd and 3rd World Cups. I’m fortunate to have had this experience and am excited for the races in Europe.

Rob out.

The Robbie Report

The Robbie Report is a new 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 travels across the United States and Europe racing his bike and living out a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Since Fontana I’ve been living at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California. This has been vastly different from any of the weather I’m used to as well as environmentally different. Chula Vista is said to have some of the best weather in the country and the conditions haven’t disappointed.

Environmentally, this area is much more arid than Utah and with the proximity of the U.S/Mexican boarder there are a number of boarder patrol units on the dirt roads where I’ve been training. The trucks treat the dirt roads as a rally course which is unnerving when descending around blind corners. Fortunately, they have been very courteous and I haven’t had any close calls.

In an attempt to ride something other than dirt roads I attempted to ride anything that resembled singletrack. What a mistake! The beginning of every “trail” was a lot of fun cluttered with rocks, drops, and considerably steep. As soon as I was enjoying myself the trail disappeared and I was left 1000 meters from the road with no other option than shouldering the bike and walking back up. After doing this two more times I came to the sad truth that there aren’t any trails and I would have to settle with dirt roads.

This weekend’s race, the Sage Brush Safari, more than made up for the lack of trail riding, was a great race with some of the best singletrack I’ve ridden in a race. This race was claimed to be a classic American race as a one big loop race versus the several shorter loops that many newer races consist of. The descents consisted of smooth berms with numerous jumps –a lot of fun.

In addition to being an awesome course, I placed 4th in the elite category. This marked my first time on a Professional podium. I was really excited with my finish. I managed to make the Pro podium in my second professional mountain bike race. Granted the field wasn’t as competitive as the first Pro XCT at Fontana. However, the competition was still tough.

The race started off calmly on a pavement section where the Sho-Air squad and the U23 team were on the front controlling the pace until we hit the dirt. Sitting on the front of the Elite race was a new experience for me and I felt out of place. Once my teammates joined me on the front it was a bit more comfortable, that is until the race tilted up. The Sho-Air team along with Schultz hit the gas and the race began. Taberlay and Schultz attacked and I was in no shape to answer so I just did my best to stay close. I came to this race with the intention of using it as a training race and the previous days of riding were definitely evident once the attacks started. After a series of attacks, I settled into 4th place chasing Sam J. up the infamous Los Pinos climb.

The climb seemed to be never ending. Every corner I rounded revealed another steeper section of road. My legs started to hurt, but I knew that this was the last serious climb of the day and that if I could power up it, the rest would be all downhill. It was on this climb that I was able to drop Prado and cement my 4th place position. The arrangement going into the downhill would end up being the same as the finishing positions. Although I wasn’t able to catch Sam I was happy that I was able to stay with him for most of the race. All in all it was a great race and I’m happy I got the chance to race it and have a great result. The next race for me is Sea Otter which will boast a more competitive field with a much larger international representation.

Until then I get to enjoy my new bike, the S-works Epic, as well as the new equipment that Specialized has been generous enough to provide. It won’t be too hard.