May fourth signaled the start of the Wisconsin Off Road series with the Bump and Jump in Iola, Wisconsin. With thunderstorms raging for the two days prior to the race I was sure that the course was going to be pretty muddy. I was badly mistaken. The course which consisted of a 5 mile lap was in pristine conditions which resulted in a super fast and fun race. I represented both xXx Racing as well as Gary Fisher 29er. I competed at the sport level (3 laps)along with fellow 29er team mate arron mock.

The course started with a mass start lead out into flowing crosscounty skiing trails which ended up at the ski jump hill. After that came two miles of climbing with very little recovery in between climbs which got the heart pumping early on in the race. After toppling the last hill the following three miles consisted of fast and technical single track which carved its way around the ski jump area.

I started the race with all those 18 and under as well as all those competing in the single speed divison. Once the famous words were spoken “Ride hard! be safe! and most importantly treat each other kind! 10, 9,8, 7, 6, ….GO!” we were off Arron and myself flying off the start leading the pack through the crosscountry trails and into the single track. After our blazing start i settled back comfortably intothe main pack planning on attacking in the following 2 laps. As the second lap came around my legs didn’t feel as good as I hoped so I maintained a steady pace with the main pack of riders. On the third lap I some how managed to get a second wind and was able to make my way up through the mid pack, picking off several 17-18 riders and finishing in 5th place. Fellow teammate Arron was uncatchable and ended up finishing in 1st place overall with a nice 5 minute gap between himself and the 2nd place rider.

Overall this race was fun fast and a great way to start out the 2008 Wisconsin Off Road Series! Hope to see fellow xXx Mountain bikers at future WORS races!