No air travel on this one, good old fashion road trip, 2400 miles, less than 4 days, round trip.Minneapolis to Denver. Best Western in Denver, on to Snowmass the next morning. Within 26 hours we go from 900 ft. above sea level to 9900 ft.. You say that is a 9000 ft. difference, eh. The trip itself is like an adventure race.
Pay attention grasshopper. You must sleep and stay at 5000 ft. or below when you are not acclimated. Go up, register and pre-ride the course, then get down fast!! Back to 5000 ft. or lower. You will not go back up to altitude till 2.5 hours before the start of your race...the next day. Jeff earned a 8th place finish on race day. I believe they climbed to over 10,000 ft. during the race. Jeff had a high speed get-off on the final decent, over the bars at warp speed. His pedal clipped a rock. He had to run back up the trail and pick-up his Salsa bike out of the weeds. Didn't lose any places.
Next stop Glenwood Springs, CO.
Pre-race ride.
Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski
Adam Craig
U23 National Champ: Sam Jurekovic
JEFF HALL / SALSA CYCLES 2007
If those crank arms could talk, the experiences they have had this season.
This is the last major race Jeff raced in for the 2007 Mountain Bike Season.RECAP 2007 SEASON
Jeff, in his last 4 major races in the USA, finished: 10th at Park City,UT: 9th Mt. Snow, VT: 11th Sugar Mt., NC: 8th Snowmass, CO. Solid...
3 races in California, 1 in Utah, 1 in Colorado, 1 in Vermont, 1 in North Carolina, Minnesota, Wisconsin, 2 races in Quebec, Canada, 1 in Belgium, 1 in Germany and 2 in Austria.
This is a huge project and it would not have been possible without the backing of many individuals, and groups. I can not even come close to thanking everyone who contributed even as much as the $5 .00 to buy a tire bracelet. I am speaking equally for Jeff and I to: Thank each and every one of you. Jeff and I took great pride to represent the USA at the International World Cup Races. He wore the SALSA Logo and raced the Salsa bikes, It gave him an identity within the highest level of pro mountain bike racers in the world. Can you say "adversity". I told Jeff before the Belgium trip that this is such an undertaking, that we should look at this as a Big Adventure and enjoy the experience. Jeff has been a pro mountain bike racer since 1995, he has been on the USA National Team 2 times. This season would test his skills and grit like never before. Well gang, he went out and turned some heads out there in this Big Adventure.
And for my 2 cents. My job in this scheme is to add support. My title is Team manager, bike mechanic, driver, travel agent and tactician. I enjoy my tasks, the challenges.
Jeff is the Racer.
We don't have any regrets on the results of this season, Jeff and I maximized the resources at hand. The hardest part of the season was having to forgo Jeff's chance to race at the World Championships in Scotland. That is the reality of life. Jeff puts his family first. We had an agreement that there would be no holding back. When the funds were gone, we pull the plug. When Jeff raced at Snowmass we were running on fumes. He kicked ass, beat everyone he had to.
We are still waiting on word of the Olympic Long Team Selection. It should be very soon.
Posted by Mike
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