Wisp XC Challenge

On May 20, 2012, Travis Olson made the trip across the border to Deep Creek, Maryland to test his mettle in the Wisp XC Challenge mountain bike race.  The race venue was on top of the mountain at the ASCI Whitewater Park.  Little rain the week before and high temperatures provided dry, dusty trails and very hot conditions.   Travis competed against a large field of sport-class riders and one racer in Travis's category was of particular concern as he always bests Travis in road cycling races. 

Due to the heat and length of the course, Travis chose to wear a Camelbak hydration pak filled with GU Brew electrolyte drink to stave off dehydration and cramping.  Travis's normal routine for fueling up for a race is to grab a pouch of GU Strawberry or Watermelon Chomps 30 minutes prior to race start, eat half, then eat the other half while at the starting line.  The Chomps digest well, and Travis says they taste like candy making them easy to eat.

The whistle blew at noon sending the field gunning it across a rocky access road into a tight single-track trail.  Travis redlined his bike to enter the trail in sixth place overall to avoid the bottlenecks and stalling that is common when trapped in a large pack of riders entering tight trails.

The 17 mile course consisted of two 8.5 mile laps and began with 3 miles of rocky and technical downhill, several miles of flowing singletrack terrain, then ended with several miles of steep climbing.  Travis managed to stay focused and upright to keep his place at the front of his field.  At the end of his first lap, he began to catch and pass a few of the Expert riders who had started 5 minutes ahead of the Sport class, however the persistent threat of being caught by a number of strong riders kept Travis looking over his shoulder the entire 2nd lap.  The constant threat kept Travis motivated to carry the Consol Energy Racing banner through the heat and rocky terrain to a 1st place finish in his category on the 17 mile course, and more importantly, in 9th place overall in his class.  Here are the complete results.