2012 GES Race at Windham, NY

race report by GROM Racer Jay Fesperman

Good to see signs for NY - lots of miles from NCThis past weekend my Mom and I made the trip up to Windham, NY for the Gravity East race and the UCI World Cup race with my teammate Ben Calhoun. Ben rolled into my hometown of Davidson, NC on Tuesday so we could get our stuff organized and packed in the Pontiac “Man Van” for our departure early Wednesday morning. While my mom was finishing up at work on Tuesday, Ben and I and our buddy Graham Kiley went for a nice swim in beautiful Lake Norman, tripped to Walmart for some last minute grocery shopping and purchasing our patriotic apparel to show our support for team America  at the World Cup. We had a nice goodbye dinner with Graham, as Ben and I wouldn’t see him until National Champs. We hit he sack early Tuesday night so we would be energized for our 10 hour drive on Wednesday.  

We left Davidson around 9 AM on Wednesday morning and headed up I-77 towards Pennsylvania. The drive went smoothly with no accidents or heavy traffic. We rolled into Hazelton, PA around 7 PM and ate our dinner while we got a good dose of laughter watching The Hangover 2. Our practice on Thursday started at 4:30, so we left Hazelton around 11 AM so we could get to Windham in time to get ready for practice at 4:30. We rolled into Windham around 3:30, which gave us a perfect amount of time to get registered, dial in our bikes, and get suited up for our first practice. Ben and I took our first day of practice relaxed, and just cruised over our lines to get the feel of the track. The track was dusty, fast, and rocky. We ate a nice dinner in our hotel room at the Winwood Inn (we saw Specialized riders Brad Benedict and Curtis Keene in the restarant along with many other Specialized cross country riders at the Inn), while we bled our brakes and tweaked our bikes for practice on Friday. 

On Friday morning Ben and I drove over to the resort to meet up with Team Billy Goat Bikes to set up the pit, as they generously let us pit with them for the weekend. Thanks BGBMK! Ben and I rode in the first practice taking 3 practice runs. We stopped and checked out some lines, and worked on getting up to speed. After the first practice we rode up the lift and did a course walk to check out the lines we had been riding, and to find some new, faster lines. Our course walk was very helpful and we had some new things to try out during the second practice at 4:00. The second practice was where we dialed in our lines and got pinned. The roost started flying and we were making some quick runs. The lift lines were very long and there were a lot of riders on the track so it was hard to make practice runs on the fast course. We felt good after our second practice of the day and we were ready for race day on Saturday. 

Practice on Saturday didn’t start until noon so we got time to sleep in and have a big breakfast before we headed out for the day. The weather clear and sunny for the whole weekend and the track was covered with moondust. I took two solo practice runs before my finals to get the flow going and to know how hard to push in my race run. My start time was at 6:00 so Ben and I headed back to the hotel for a swim in the pool and some relaxation before we had to get focused.  My awesome Mom brought my trail bike up to the top of the lift soHelmet after a blood spitting run ben and I could warm up on it and get our muscles flowing before we raced. My race run was going great and I was flowing through the track and railing the loose, rocky corners. I was riding really well half until half way down the track.  I exited a woods section at a super high speed and blew through the tape. I kept going and got back on the track, but the tape was wrapped around my handlebar. I was riding fine with the tape flowing behind me, looking like a total goon, but I kept giving it everything I had and payed no attention to the tape wrapped around my bars. I was bombing through one of the last long rockgardens and my front end washed out and I went face first into a tree. I hopped up and got back on the bike with the blood pouring out of my nose. Thankfully my Smith goggles protected my eyes and my nose when I hit the tree. Even though I was hurting pretty bad and the blood was running down my face I gave it everything I had on the rest of the track and rode strong through the finish. It was one of the toughest race runs of my life, and I made a lot of mistakes, but I definitely learned a lot from it. I ended up finishing 5^th in Junior Expert, which was not where I wanted to be, but I was happy with my finish for how my run had gone. 

We stayed over Saturday night so we could watch the UCI World Cup finals on Sunday afternoon and be a part of the cool event. Ben and I caught up with our buddies Noah Fairburn and Shane Leslie to walk the World Cup track and watch the racing. It was super cool to see all the World Cup guys and see their crazy lines and speed. It was definitely motivating and made me want to work hard so I could be racing the World Cups next year when I’m old enough.  Before we knew it the top ten guys were ready to drop in and the crowd was getting stoked.  We wanted to be at the bottom to see the guys come across the line, see their times stack up, and we could watch their runs on the big screen. The crowd was sick and everyone was getting super loud and rowdyAaron Gwin celebrating with the crowd making it fun for everyone to feel a part of the racing. The suspense was insane as the top ten guys crossed the line and before we knew it the legendary American Aaron Gwin was in the start gate.  When he dropped in everyone was cheering, clapping, banging their cowbells, and going crazy for Gwinny. When he crossed the first split with one second on Steve Smith everyone went crazy. Aaron came through the last jumps and crossed the line in first place with .9 on Steve. It was probably the rowdiest thing I’ve ever been in. Everyone was screaming, jumping and chanting “USA USA USA.” It was really cool to see. Gwin was really happy and he walked around the fence and gave all the crowd high fives. It was definitely a race event to remember. Even though our race runs didn’t go as well as we would have liked, Ben and I had a great time in Windham and we’re looking forward to National Championships in Beech Mountain, NC in a few weeks!

Check out some pics of me and Ben on the mountain in the photos section of GROMracing.com. 

Specialized/GROM at ETSU

Race report by Specialized/GROM Racer - Ben Calhoun & Jay Fesperman

This weekend (April 9 & 10) the majority of the Specialized/GROM Racing team went to the ETSU national championship qualifiers. The rest of the team was busy racing the Port Angeles Pro GRT. ETSU was a relaxed, fun race with the most important goal to qualify for national championships later this year. 

We all had a great time in between races relaxing and having fun. Midway through the day, the downhill was over and we all grabbed our Specialized SX's and sessioned the slalom and 4x track. The tracks were great! Sadly the races were cancelled due to a heavy rain storm. Jay qualified first and picked up the win.

We were the last team in the pits packing up and the tornado sirens in the town started to blare, "Life threatening situation, A tornado has been sighted in the area, Stay away from windows and doors." As the brave Specialized/GROM Racers chilled in the pits determined what to do next. Sam Pensler (top GROM racer) hid under a table to humor everyone. The whole team went to the ETSU library to stay safe and eventually the sirens ended and it was all clear. However, the rains returned just-in-time for the awards presentations, forcing the ETSU race organizers to distribute the ceremonial "Shovels" from the back of the race trailer.  

The next day the team decided to race XC. A few of us raced it on our sweet slalom bikes. The track was fun and everyone had a good time and overall the weekend was a great success for the team, with everyone quaifying for nationals and having a bit of pre-big race season fun. Click Here for more photos (courtesy of Tim O'Brien).

DOWNHILL

2nd JR Ex- Jay Fesperman

3rd JR Ex- Ben Calhoun

3rd PRO- Sam Pensler

2nd PRO WMN- Lauren Daney

SLALOM

1st JR Ex- Jay Fesperman

2nd JR EX- Ben Calhoun

3rd JR Ex- Sam Pensler

CROSS COUNTRY

1st- Ben Calhoun

2nd- Jay Fesperman

3rd- Eric Vest

Dirty Bird #2 - Dirty and Fun

GROM Podium - Jr. Expert - Dirty Bird #2 GROM Podium - Lauren Daney take 1st - Pro Women

Tires made the difference - Specialized Storms - were perfect for the course after Saturday afternoon's rain. The course started out slick and loamy but by the afternoon it was near perfect. Then the moutain rain came and course got according to the young GROMS - fast and a blast.

Sunday morning the course started out slick but was in great shape as race time approached. What a great course with doubles to jump, an agressive rock garden, stepdowns wth good air, and berms glalore.

GROMs raced the Pro-Elite course for some really fast times: Luca Shaw 1st, Jay Fesperman 2nd, Will O'Brien 3rd. Pro Elite: Christopher Herndon 2nd. The Pro Women were led by GROM Lauren Daney with a great time of 2.09.

A good time was had by all. Thanks to all the spectators ringing those cowbells and to DB Productions for a great race weekend.

Race Report: Beech Mountain Race 1 - July 10 & 11, 2010

Dual Slalom - Jay 2nd and Will 3rd - Good times had by allby GROM racer, Jay Fesperman

(July 12, 2010)  This past weekend we raced at the first race of the Beech Mountain series. Our team had a low turnout with Walker and Luca already in Colorado and Sam and Lauren unable to attend, so we only had 4 riders. With heavy rain the night before, the Beech Mountain downhill track was muddy and slick. Specialized hooked us up with some Storm mud tires that tracked extremely well on the rutted, muddy trail. With practice and the race on the same day, we had limited time for practicing the track. It was cool riding with our coach Christopher Herndon and learning his fast line choices.

            The trail had dried out a lot by race time, which made it super fast for racing. We all had clean race runs with Ben taking 5^th, Will taking 4^th, and me taking 1^st. After our runs we went up the trail to watch the Pros in a gnarly section. Christopher was scary fast, and we were sure that if the rest of his run was clean he had won. When we got to the bottom after his run we learned he had won by 4 seconds! We were all stoked on the day and we couldn’t wait for slalom the next day.

            Sunday morning started out with the Dual slalom track being tacky from the dew the night before and it got drier and dustier as the day progressed. It was a cool track, with many berms, a  5- pack roller set and some fun jumps. We all were having a great time riding the track and before we knew it qualifying started. Everyone had clean qualifying runs and felt good going into the head to head racing.  The racing started out with Ben racing Nathan Swartz, Will racing teammate Eric Vest and me (Jay) racing Reid Dressler. Will and I placed third and second respectively. Christopher placed first in the pro class on the track that he had built for collegiate nationals a few years back(Lees McRae College). We all had a great time at the Beech Mtn race number one, and were excited to head out to the U.S. Nationals in Colorado the next morning.

Race Report: Northstar Pro Gravity Tour Race

by GROM Racer Sam Pensler

This past weekend I travelled with GROM Racing head coach Christopher Herndon to Lake Tahoe to compete in the Pro Gravity Tour Race at the Northstar-Tahoe Resort.  The race’s place in the Pro Gravity Tour series attracted a number of national and world class athletes and served as a World Championship qualifier for junior racers. 

                Christopher and I travelled for nearly twenty hours on Thursday to get to the race venue.  The fatigue from travelling made acclimation to the altitude, time zone difference, and conditions even more difficult.  The course itself was completely new to me.  The track soil was sandy and dry, coined “moon dust” by local riders and the loose conditions caused braking bumps to swell to axle deep ruts.  Luckily my team bike soaked up the rough sections and blown out turns on the course.

                 I spent Friday practice working to become familiar with the new track and made decent headway before afternoon seeding.  Seeding went well and I placed 17^thout of a field of junior riders about forty deep.  I knew I had a lot of speed left on the track and I would need to carry more speed come race day to reach the podium.  I took several more runs on Saturday with top pro qualifier Brad Benedict and pro rider Amado Stachenfield to boast my comfort level on the course.   Through all the dust and grit my GAMUT chain guide performed flawlessly and I never dropped a chain.

                Race day brought more intense heat and the course became even dustier.  My race run was going well and I flowed through the top pedaling sections.  Unfortunately, I went down in a high speed sandy berm in the middle of the course.  Although I did not achieve the result I was looking for I learned a lot from the new riding conditions and unique experience.  I would like to say thanks to Juan from GAMUT for sharing his pit space with me and Christopher Herndon for accompanying me and helping me throughout the race.

Race Report: Snowshoe Race #1

by GROM Racer Will O'Brien

This past weekend, the 2010 Snowshoe Powerade race series was kicked off. All of the racers enjoyed amazing dry weather throughout the weekend, creating a loose and fast downhill track. The GROM team pits stood-out among the other tents and provided a hang-out spot, as well as a place for repairs for the team and other racers alike. O'Brien hitting the road gap

 

The team started practice early Friday after getting the bikes dialed in for the fast track. Coach Herndon helped the racers pick the fastest lines, as well as gave riding advice and tips. The racing started with the giant slalom race on Saturday, which consisted of tall, high speed berms and was well received by all of the racers. The two-run combined-time format placed Junior GROM racers O'Brien and Fesperman in 2nd and 3rd with others finishing nicely as well.  GROM racer Sam Pensler finished well in the elite class and coach Christopher Herndon had the fastest single run time of the day.

 

Sunday brought more great weather and made for amazing track conditions. The Specialized BigHits were riding flawlessly over the high-speed roots, rocks and corners; the RockShox BoXXers and Cane Creek DoubleBarrels soaking up the rough, dry track, while the Industry 9 wheels kept everything stable. Unfortunately, racer Luca Shaw crashed during practice and joined his brother Walker Shaw and teammate Ben Calhoun on the sidelines. GROM racers took 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the Junior category, while Sam Pensler took 7th in the Pro category. Female GROM racer Lauren Daney took the top spot in the Pro Women's class.

 

GROM Lauren Daney takes 1stOver all, a weekend of clear weather and perfect track conditions was enjoyed by everyone. All the GROM team wishes Sam Pensler good luck in California this coming weekend as he competes in the Pro GRT at Northstar Resort.

Snowshoe Race #1 Results Overview:

Giant Slalom

Amatuer 17 & Under - 2nd: Will O'Brien, 3rd: Jay Fesperman

Men's Elite - Christopher Herndon - 3rd

Snowshoe Powerade Series Downhill Race #1
Women's Elite - 1st: Lauren Daney
Amatuer 17 & Under - 2nd: Jay Fesperman, 3rd: Will O'Brien,  4th: Eric Vest
(Ben Calhoun, Luca Shaw, and Walker Shaw on the injured but healing well list)
Men's Elite - 4th: Christopher Herndon, 7th: Sam Pensler

GROM Racer at 2010 Icycle

Gravity racer Eric Vest returned to the Icycle race in North Fontana Dam in 2010 to get some wins in this year's race. Not only did he race, Eric was the first Icycle rider to ever "podium" in the three events (2nd in Mens Beginner Cross Country, 2nd in Mens Rigid, and 2nd in Mens Downhill). Eric seems to do well out in Fontana where in 2008 he was the Icycle's first "Ironman" entering every event that was held. One interesting fact about this race is that the Downhill competition takes place afterdark. This adds additonal challenges of depth perception, obstacle identication and avoidance plus the excitement of out riding your lights. Nevertheless, Eric was up to the Challenge and ended up on the podium three times.

Also in attendance at the Icycle were GROM Racing sponsors Specialized, Sycamore Cycles, Cane Creek and Industry Nine.

Take a look at some of these photos from the race.

Eric and his winnings  

Great New GROM Stuff

GROM Racing sponsors have the good stuff coming in in prepartion for the 2010 season. Over the past couple of weeks, I9 has sent the components for the wheels and GAMUT has sent the chain guides. This is an exciting time as these sponsors are putting up their best components to help GROM Racers finish well in 2010.

Take a look at these great I9 wheels.

Each GROM Racer selected variation on red and black spokes. These wheels will look great on the course plus we know they will provide the stiffness and safety that these aggressive riders will need.

Dropping a chain can be one of most frustrating challenges a downhill or slalom racer encounters. Thanks to GAMUT, GROM Racers should have a few less worries on the course when riding with GAMUT chain guides. Racers of all ages and skill levels will agree, GAMUT makes a trouble free chain guide that keeps you moving. Take a look at these newly received chain guides.

Notice the red in the chain guides...it will look great on the new Specialized BigHits with red and black I9's.

Many thanks to both I9 and GAMUT for supporting GROM Racing. 2010 is going to be a great year.