Finally, a True Iceman

It's taken me a little longer than usual to get the post race report up, but that's what happens when you have the flu. That's right, I've been celebrating my Iceman win with more than 48 hours of the "I could die now and not care" kind of feeling that only the flu can provide.

Moving on...Colt from Cyclingdirt came to this year's Iceman to see what all the fuss was about. He got some great event coverage, including a helmet cam of the men's event by JB. I don't think a person can really grasp the enormity of this event unless you attend, but he did a great job capturing the race vibe in general.

Yes, Iceman is in the boonies of Michigan in November. Yes, it's not the most technical of courses. But, it is hands down the most enjoyable and exciting race of my mountain bike season. Maybe it's the near 4,000 people who participate. Maybe it's because of the after party and the general assumption that if you are there you are there to party...but I can't stress enough that it's the atmosphere that makes this event so special.

On a side note, which I suppose shouldn't be so much of a side note, the promoters of Iceman deserve special recognition for their generous and equal payout. Every promoter gets to choose how to structure their payout and Iceman's promoters choose to reward the women and men equally. Thank you! As I rode the same course, raced the same distance and turned myself inside out to get to the finish line first just as Brian Matter did (congrats Brian, incredible ride to ride all those big names off your wheel!), it feels great to be recognized with an equal $3,500 paycheck. The payout was equal...10 DEEP equal! Amazing. I realize that it's in a tough spot in the calendar for mountain bikers. We're either deep into the off season or busy racing cross, but I encourage everyone to put this on your 2011 calendar. It's worth the trip and regardless of your fitness...it's worth the party!

Here's some of cyclingdirt's coverage:

Cyclingnews.com writeup is here

I had a great race. I went into it fit from racing some cross, determined and wanting to win. I had a made a solid game plan and executed it well. The only part that I did not factor correctly was the muddy and slippery conditions. I expected the thousands of racers who went before us to dry out the course more, but seeing as it was frozen when they raced and had just started to melt out when the pros went off at 2:30pm most of the course and all of the singletrack was a sloppy mess. I showed up with small block 8s on and only decided to switch to a Karma in the front and keep the SB8 in the rear at 9:30 the night before. Should have gone to both Karmas, but the only place I struggled was on the steep punchy hills throughout the course so it was all good.

I rode at the front as much as I could and just continued to ramp the pace up slowly. Soon the group had selected to 7, then to 5, then to 3. The singletrack definitely helped weed out the group. (Speaking of, that's where I started to pass a lot of the pro roadies. Male pro roadies from some vacuum cleaner company and another team that started with a "B". Iceman may be a lot of road, but I don't think you can hang if you don't have dirt skills!) Finally, it was just down to me and Sarah Kylander-Johnson. We were doing a good job of sharing the work, testing each other on the hills and putting time into 3rd. The singletrack started to get really messy and that's when I noted that my mud handling skills were going to give me an advantage. I put that in my head until the Williamsburg road crossing. I knew that this was the place to attack. I was feeling good, knew the course had a series of punchy rollers then a long series of flats which, if I could make a move stick and get out of sight, I could power away.

That's exactly what I did. Here's a great time to note the intensity of the Iceman crowds. This is where/when/why I attacked here:

The encouragement of the crowds, the cowbell and knowing I had it in me to attack made it the perfect opportunity. After hammering the 3 short climbs then powering away after the attack using everything Tom at Wobblenaught has taught me (thanks again, Tom) I got a gap and never looked back. From there (Mile 17) I knew that if I stayed out of sight, the race was mine to loose. I used all the energy I had to keep my bike working through the really muddy conditions, to not force shifts and to enjoy the experience. And enjoy it I did! Take a look at the men's finish just for the crowds-the last mile of the course was like this, lined with rabid (a perhaps a bit intoxicated) mountain bike fans:

The best part about the podium presentation was sharing my champagne with Gary Fisher. It was his 60th birthday, so I asked him to open the bottle for me. He did me the favor and also sprayed us all in the face with some pink bubbly. I was so stoked with the experience I had Gary sign the empty bottle for my trophy case.

There's a lot of great coverage out there, so I don't really want to continue on much longer. There's also a video of me lurking on somewhere Facebook smashing my Ice Trophy in the parking lot of the after party. I'll let you find that on your own. Thanks to my teammates and team manager for a great weekend and an even better post-race celebration. Another thanks to Jim at Kenda for making the trip fun and easy for us and for all his incredible support of our team.

I would be remiss if I didn't post this video of Colt kicking Andy and Colin's tails on the fixie rollers. That's right, the man behind the camera handed it to 2 pro mountain bikers:

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