VAIL TOWN SERIES GOES OFF IN EAGLE..

Large fields greeted all racers at the Eagle Ranch Classic this past Wednesday eve with over 300 racers participating. It was all Jay Henry over Jake Wells in the men's elite race while Gretchen Reeves crushed the women's open field. It was a classic Eagle Race indeed with multiple groups getting mixed up on the singletrack descent and dust flying in the air which are both what make this race super fun. A big thanks to Mike B. from Venture Sports for sitting in on the mic for me so I could come out of retirement for the night and throw down with my bros in the 45+ Expert field, all of which kicked my ass for the most part, but it was super fun and good to be chasin everyone around in circles..

WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE...

Well of course, why would it happen any other way this year? With a winter that was extremely dry through ski season, and colder than an eskimo's pecker in a birthday suit, and then hammered us with snow after the ski slopes closed and remained freezing FOREVER. Then of course, with shit tons of snow still in the high country, it turns 90 degrees for a week and this is the result. The Eagle River is blowing out big time, bigger than ever recorded. Yesterday approaching 7500 cfs when it is normally around 3000 this time of year. Homes and neighborhoods are flooding and it's frightening around here for some folks, I hope it cools a bit and we get a break, but you can't jack with mother nature when she does her thing...here are some pics from Gypsum, crazy.

Rodeo Rapid on the Eagle River in Eagle, Colorado, the hood. This could kill you right now, especially with "the pipe" around the next bend just about a foot above the river.




And then there is the positive side of the H2O thing, as the Herminator and Davis brought "Gunner" to the line at the Teva Big Air for Big Dawgs comp. The rookie started a bit slow but learned quickly...

Gunner prepares for launch

KATIE COMPTON SMASHES TEVA MOUNTAIN GAMES VAIL PASS HILL CLIMB TIME TRIAL WOMEN'S RECORD!

photo Mark Legg Compton

Six time defending National Cyclocross Champion Katie Compton smashed the Teva Mountain Games Vail Pass Road Bike TT yesterday with a time of 31.35 on the way to a dominating victory over second place finisher Kelli Emmett. Compton returned to the top spot of the podium after finishing second last year which broke a streak of two previous wins. Katie also finished second to Georgia Gould, who is cureently on fire, on Saturday in the Teva Mountain Games mountain bike race. If I were a women in the pro ranks, these two finishes would be noted, her comes Katie....

THAT'S A WRAP FROM TEVA....

Alot of people have these during the Teva Mountain Games weekend in Vail, Colorado. They all have huge jobs, and somehow they pull off a HUGE event, it is beyond reason that all of this stuff can go on at once for four days, but it does, and its' great. Can't wait for 2011.

Below is Benjamin Day, he is about to attack the most difficult part of the Teva Games Road Bike Time Trial, the very beginning of the onslaught up Vail Pass in East Vail. Benjamin Day shattered the record on this course two years ago with a time of 25:48, which was held by Andy Hampsten during the Coors Classic. One of the amazing priviledges I have as the race director of thsi event is being able to sweep behind the last rider of the day, in this case Benjamin Day on his way to a dominate victory at today's Teva Games. I follow closely, and make note of his recovery spin cycles and where he steps on the gas, it's simply amazing to witness this power management. I heard him speaking with teammate Phil Zajicek and Greg Krause at the finish line and explaining how he was having some trouble holding 380 watts during the climb, this is a beastly number, this is a well deserving champion...

Katie Compton regained her top spot on the podium in the TT on Sunday with a convinving win, Kelli Emmett finishing second. On Saturday it was JHK and Georgia Gould dominating their respective fields for victories. Local fav Jay Henry finished on the third spot of the podge.

With temps hovering around 90 degrees F today, Gore Creek and the Eagle River reached a twenty year high flooding a small part of Vail Village....it was impressive to say the least. Thanks to the TT set up crew for sand bagging the upper part of the course which was literally under water 15 minutes prior to the start of the race, well done pards...

During today's time trial, Phil Zajicek (10th at the Tour Of California) was getting set to go on the starting ramp, we had 60 seconds until he rolled, so I saw it fit as the event announcer to ask him what he thought about David Zabriskie's YouTube Video, to which he laughed and responded, which one?

TEVA GAMES LET'S THE DOGS DO THE TALKING, THANK YOU.

There, the dogs have spoken, loudly.

DAY AND NIGHT ONE OF TEVA GOES OFF...

The crew that makes it all happen

U2 cover band Under a Blood Red Sky got rockin last night, and the crowd grew late.
A pre-ride of the MTB CX course with the Herminator exposed Vail's typical difficult climbing, with this the entry to Hank's Hideaway, the long decent back into the start/finish. It's a pretty damn fun track, but the first two minutes of the start are brutal...
The Tunnel of Love, it's wet, muddy, and icy in there
Pick a hold, any hold, World Cup venue is being built...
Nonsense from Teva

Herminator SS course re-con ride

And to think this was last week, 80's today....I'm off to day two.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN

Celebration of Mountain Sports start today in Vail, Colorado. It's time to get it on, and in four days, my voice will be gone, it's gonna be killer. If you dig World Cup Bouldering, mountain biking, road biking, running, kayaking, dogs launching into water, slopestyle big air bike trix, fly fishing, great free concerts, awesome food and an amazing scene and vibe, come check it out. I'll be at the venue today, probably ride the MTB course to get the "scoop", and then bounce around at the free concert this eve, look for reports sporadically coming in when I get a chance on A2B as I plan on being in the middle of it, imagine that.

NO BIG DEAL, JAKE WELLS PODGES AT THE GROWLER IN GUNNISON

photo rob odea

It's seems to finally be all together for Jdubs, after years of working his ass off to become a recognizable force in cycling, he is there. Everyone knows him now. Filed under "Are you kidding me?" he just finished less than TWO MINUTES behind Travis Brown at the Original Growler in Gunnison this past weekend after five and a half hours of racing. NO BIG DEAL. JDubs will be showing his arse at the Teva Games this weekend, and I'll be all over him on the call like a cheap suit. Another Trek pro, Kelly Magelky, won the Growler this year. And of course Jake took the win at the Dusty Boot Short Track sereis this past Friday...Speaking of the Teva Mountain Games, 40,000 spectators showed last year, and it gets rolloing tomorrow in Vail, Colorado. see you there. Look for an MTB XC course preview exclusive right here in a couple of days, the race is Saturday and is STACKED with the best pro riders in the country. JHK and Katie Compton try to defend their 2009 titles.