WORS #1 Iola Bump & Jump

Iola, WI
WORS #1 Iola Bump & Jump Sunday May 10, 2009
by: Aaron Sturgis

Rachael gave a report of what the Bump and Jump was like in the elite women’s field so here is my brief report from the comp…

“First race of the year is in the books!”  This seems to be the most popular cliché on MTBers blogs this week.  And yet the “first race of the year is in the books” cliché is either spoken with true optimism for the season that is just beginning or with trepidation that the start of the season did not go as planned.

On Sunday I ventured over to Iola for the first WORS race of 2011, the Iola Bump & Jump.  This was my first time giving Iola a go and I didn’t know what to expect.  The inside scoop that I got from fellow bikers was that it was a fairly short loop (5 miles), not very technical, and had a couple “hills.”  As I drove over from Eau Claire I hit rain, sleet, freezing rain, snow, and wind.  But by the time I pulled into the parking lot I was greeted with sun peeking through the clouds….but with bigger wind gust.

I grabbed my number, changed and was able to get a good forty-five minute warm-up in.  I rolled to the start line and before I knew it Don was yelling GOOOOOOOOOO and we were off, officially starting the 2011 season.

I had the worst start of any WORS race that I have done (shoe came unclipped and then rider crashes in front of me).  And because the course starts you climbing up and behind the ski jump and then drops you back down into the ski jump bowl there really is no room for error.  Well, before I knew it I was at the back of the pack and by the time we came out of the bowl and into the woods I was fighting just to save my race.  But by the time we hit the first part of the ski trails/single-track I was able to settle down and started to battle to get some of the spots back.

Lap two and three flew by and after each lap I found myself further up.  I would catch riders, sit in on the short, windy single track, and then pass on the ski trail sections.  By the time I rolled into the finish I had found a group of riders who were clipping a long pretty good.

Iola was a fun course (hats off to the Iola race officials) and it was a spectator friendly venue that allowed to spectators to see riders at numerous points along the course.  The first race of the year is in the books!  Game on….