Damian Gonzalez, Michael David Winery Cycling Team

XTERRA Mountain Championship, Beaver Creek, CO

July 14, 2012
XTERRA Mountain Championship
Beaver Creek, CO

Flew in to Denver and stayed with Circ and Cindi Toepel who are pretty well known within XTERRA community. Circ is a funny man with some good dry humor and excellent delivery. Talk to him if you see him at a race. Later met up with fellow triathlete Heather Holmes. We got to know each other a bit. She is a very cool girl.

The swim was tough for me in altitude. The only time spent in altitude was various races throughout the year, spending only a couple days at each one. Only a few days here as well although I still have a couple more races in altitude before XTERRA USA Nationals so hopefully I'll be ready by then.

Despite gasping for air during the swim, I had a pretty good bike and run. Not the most ideal placing but I seem to be getting better as the season goes. Finished 14th but got some series points and these fabulous shots...

Bike choice for this race

Denver Airport

My bike and stuff

Cindis "old race shirt" quilt

Driving through the rockies

Pre race dinner a Josiahs

Heather busting some raps

Aspens a plenty

XTERRA Setting up

Heather the cool chic!

Riding from Avon to Beaver Creek

Renata being herself

Downieville Classic 2012

Had a great time at the race. Big expo, huge crowds, live music and plenty of beer. I have ridden this course many times on a freeride bike but only raced the XC once as a beginner. This year I did the pro XC race. Even though this is a full suspension course, I rode the Leopard hardtail 29er and had a pretty good finish. The tires I planned to use did not arrive in time and the Yuba bike shop tires did not work on my rims so I used my Schwalbe 2.25 Rocket Rons. I was worried about pinching the sidewalls as these are lightweight tires so I over inflated them to avoid flats. I was just hoping not to cut the casing on the rugged course. I bounced around a bunch and was passed by multiple riders on the downhill but I survived with a time of 2:15. Next year we hope to do the all mountain category (both XC and Downhill race) on a full suspension Leopard.
2012 Results

XTERRA East Champs. Sun June 10

XTERRA East Championship - This Sunday, June 10, 8:00am EST

This is one of my fovorite XTERRA courses and very tricky.

A river swim with current and shallow sand bars and rocks to watch out for. Preswim and planning is a good idea.

The bike is 20 miles of tight and technical single track. Lots of rock gardens and big roots. To top it off the terrain is ungulates with short steep climbs requiring lots of power.

The run is tough only in the fact that the bike section is hard and you will have to muster any remaining core strenght for the tough 10k trail run. There is also a river crossing over a large granite rock field to "the ladder" which puts you back on Belle Island to continue the run. This section has no particular trail or set route and you can end up at th bottom of large boulders unable to reach the ladder. You must practice this or you will end up getting lost.

But most exciting of all this year is the athlete tracking XTERRA will be using for people to follow athletes around the course online or on your phone:

WATCH IT LIVE AT XTERRA.LUCKSTONE.COM

Luck Stone, a presenting sponsor of the XTERRA East Championship, has a comprehensive slate of coverage planned for Sunday’s pro race at 8am EST, that can be found at http://www.luckstone.com/xterra-world-tour-2012

On one screen they’ll bring you live video feeds from eight spots around the course. On another they’ll showcase a social media (GIS) map of the course with detailed positioning and tweets from strategically positioned spotters and finally, in a first for XTERRA, they are equipping every elite with a GPS tracking device that will allow followers to see their every movement. The “myathletelive.com” device reports location, speed, distance, and elevation.
Google Chrome seems to be the best browser for viewing, but fans can use any web enabled cell phone or handheld device such as an iPhone or Droid. Just go to the website xterra.luckstone.com, and follow the various links. Home viewers can do the same from their computer. Our suggestion is to open up multiple browsers and have fun.

And, for those on-site at Brown’s Island Luck Stone will have four 70-inch big screen TVs broadcasting the coverage. Those on-site are encouraged to share their experiences, from here and afar, via twitter with hashtag #xterraRVA
On Sunday, click on the name of the athlete to go directly to the specific URL for that racer.

What I Eat: GF, DF, SF PIZZA

Udi's GF Pizza Crusts
Sauce: boil tomatoes, peel, smash and simmer them in herbs (oregano, basil etc) and garlic
Daiya non dairy cheese
Organic crimini mushrooms
Olives
Fresh basil leaves optional
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

XTERRA Real

Apr 1 2012
XTERRA Real, Granite Bay CA
Photos by Leslie Miller

Our race team had a great showing with Paul Dimas, Nick and Nate Diaz, David Miller myself and even David Philips, owner of Michael David Winery. Dave Phillips is somewhat new to mountain biking and this was his first XTERRA. We pre rode a couple times leading into the race and he made big improvements after every ride. He had a great race and was happy with his first XTERRA finish. Paul, Nick and Nate took 1st, 2nd and 3rd in their 25-29 age group, David Miller took 2nd in his and 5th overall and I took 3rd overall.

I had several kinks in this race but it is always good to work them out in the early season races rather than in bigger races. Here are the kinks :)

1. Switched wheelsets so I should have switched cassettes too. Cog teeth skipped the entire time despite my test ride a couple days before. It's hard to simulate an actual race.

2. I ran non-tubeless tires tubeless. I burped a bunch of air and tire was nearly rolling off the rim near the end of bike course. I've done this in the past with success but with a full suspension bike. This time I rode a hartail so the dips were really putting entire body weight on the rear tire. I should have compensated by running higher pressure or tubeless ready tires.

3. Water was below 50 degrees so I didnt get enough of swim a warm up. I tend to need a long easy warm up and stretch but was tough to do so in such cold water.

4. I took a tumble in second half of run and I'm pretty certain it cost me one place. When I fell, Tim Helms closed his gap and had me in sight at that point. He didnt know I fell but at that point my focus went from catching 1st place to fighting for second. He got me by a few seconds but this is a good example of how every second counts and how you cant ease up on the run until you cross the finish line.

Aside from my drivetrain and tire issues, I rode a new carbon hardtail frame from Leopard Cycles. We have confirmed a sponsorship, but before I committed 100%, I wanted to really test the bikes ability. I normally ride a FS bike, but this carbon hardtail was amazing. Ideally you need to have both a hardtail and FS in the arsenal. I will also add a carbon hardtail 29er into the mix as well which sits in between the two. For this course I definitely rode the right bike. For the XTERRA West Championship in Vegas I think the 29er HT would be the way to go. It's wide open fast course. Its rocky and no tight and windy turns so a 29er would absorb and handle this course perfectly. Heres a shot of the setup I rode at XTERRA Real.

What I Eat: Carob Macca Choclate Chip Cookies (Gluten Free)

Dry Ingredients:
1 cup of Bobs Red Mill Organic Brown Rice Flour
1 cup of Bobs Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
3 TBS Carob Powder
2 TBS Macca Powder (optional)
1 TBS Mesquite Powder (optional)
1 Tsp of Baking Powder or Baking Soda
1 Tsp xanthum gum
1/2 Cup of Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips (optional)
Wet Ingredients:
1 Cup of Organic Brown Cane Sugar
2 TBS Cacao Nibs or cacao paste (optional)
1/2 Tsp Salt
1TBS Brown rice syrup
1 Organic Egg and 1 Egg Yolk
1/2 cup of Coconut Oil (you can do half coconut oil and half raw butter for non vegans)
1-2 TBS of Almond or Rice Milk
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
2 TBS Raw Almond Butter or almond flour (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 deg.
Mix dry ingredients in bowl.
Melt oils w low heat in saucepan and mix in wet ingredients. Avoid Microwave.
Mix all ingredients together
Let batter cool a little and then drop spoon fulls of batter onto cookie sheet
Bake for 15 min. then let cookies cool before enjoying.

What I Eat: Heavy Beet Salad

Got some fresh produce from my race sponsor Michael David Winery and olive oil and vinegar from our other sponsor, Bellindora. Michael David has a produce farm and cafe at their winery on hwy 12 and ray rd.

Michaeldavidwinery.com
Bellindora.com

Spinach or Arugula
Beets (raw or oven roasted in foil w olive oil)
Avocado
Goat Cheese (otional)
Raw Sunflower Seeds
Dressing
Bellindora Olive Oil
Squeeze a wedge of Orange
Dash of Bellindora's Balsamic Vinegar
Celtic Sea Salt (a pinch)
Whip in a bowl and pour over salad.