TJ Woodruff ONLINE

Yesterday’s XC was a long and arduous battle of four laps on a course of thick, drying mud. I placed 38th after losing most of the ground with a lack luster lap one. I knew I was in for what would be close to a three hour race so I played it somewhat conservatively from the start. From there I went back and forth with some guys and eventually made up a little bit of ground before the finish. I would have hoped for a better result, but I do feel good about riding many parts of the course that others were forced to walk. Maybe this says more of my time lost on the descents than it does of my climbing strength, but whatever the case is I made it to the finish with an alright day on the bike.

Friday was another day to remember. I’m likely the only coach to have two athletes winning national championships at the elite levels. Mike Phillips won the Semi Pro Mens race in convincing fashion. Chloe Forsman also crushed the Women’s U-23 field. It has been awesome to work with these two athletes leading up to this biggest weekend of the year. It was great day to see them both cash in on all of their hard work and dedication in big ways – Star ‘n Stripes! It made feel pretty good about what I do professionally.

Today is the Short Track and another chance to test the skills. I’m excited for that and also to see how all the Midwest crew does out there. Ben and Jesrin will be joining Mike in the Semi Pro field for there first go at the ‘hurricane of pain’. It ought to be a good time… All for now, thanks for your support along the way.

TJ

This past weekend I was able to race in my hometown on the trails that first got me hooked. Tight and twisty singletrack set the course for the 12 hour Stampede in the Park. Held during Spooner’s big Rodeo weekend, the name was a fitting name. Chloe and I teamed up for the 6 hour duo, an event that allowed us to hone our xc intensity. One lap on and one lap off was the drill as the Forewood’s turned in some fast times. In the end we totaled 13 with just fewer than three hours of pedaling each. I wasn’t sure how fast I’d be doing some of the later laps, but it turns out that 30 minutes is just enough recovery for a full on effort every time. We enjoyed the company of a lot of good friends and also got in some great training. New and old faces alike came out for this well run and excellent event. The best part was that 100% of the proceeds went directly to the local Momentum U23 club. What could be better than supporting young people on bikes?

Plans are developing for the east coast trip that is soon to come. It ought to be a fun road trip and I’m really looking forward to my third chance at the rugged Mt. Snow course. As others agree, it is a true mountain biker’s course and the best riders will surely win. I’m hoping simply to finish before coming unglued, having twice bonked here before. If that happens the result will come naturally.

For now, I’ll continue to enjoy my stay here in Wisconsin. It’s been great to hang out at the lake, ride the old trails with old friends, and visit with the family. We even took in the Friday night Rodeo performance. And the rain storms have been great. All for now, TJ

1,2,3,4

I came across the line in fifth at the Eau Claire WORS Firecracker yesterday. It was full on racing from start to finish and I felt pretty good out there for the most part. Mike, Brian, Jesse and Paul were the first to get a gap. Fischer and I chased with Marko in tow. First we got Brian, then we caught Paul and by now Fischer had dropped off the pace. It was Paul and I trading pulls with Marko along for the ride. By now the lead duo was out of sight so we were racing for third. On the final lap Marko launched is first and very well timed attack. Paul dropped me in attempt to respond, but even he couldn’t match the pace. I eventually passed Paul back and it was a full on sprint for the finish as we came out of the woods next and next. He had that little extra left in the tank and took me handily in the sprint to the line. I was pleased to of had a strong race despite losing out at the line. Jesse and Marko are for real on the rigid singlespeed 29ers. I’ll admit I had my doubts, but I quickly learned first hand that these guys have really raised their game this year. Awesome.

Not only was the racing great, but so were the people. I like coming back to my college town of Eau Claire to catch up with familiar faces. Frank, Milton and Marci from the Community Fitness Program came out to cheer. My grandparents, parents, and sister all made it too. Craig and Jess were kind enough to put me up for Saturday night so I got plenty of quality rest there. I didn’t see a whole lot of Craig though since he was going above and beyond to help pull off the race weekend. I think he pulled three straight days of dawn to dusk out at the venue – that’s some serious volunteer work. Just three years ago none of those singletracks existed so it’s pretty cool how far the local CORBA group has taken mountain biking in the Chippewa valley. Post race it was dinner out with one of my first college friends, Joel, and his fiancée, Bethany. Good times and good burgers were had though it took me for ever to convince my race-wrenched stomach that food was in fact a good thing. I even found Sova at his place downtown so we hung out for a bit. He’s gearing up for Ore to Shore and the Chequamagon this season, so let’s hold him to it. I’ll be that many of you miss his presence on race day. Last year it was he and I battling it out at the finish here in Eau Claire if I remember correctly…

With Mt. Snow under two weeks away I’m really getting excited for Nationals. Vermont is a true mountain bike race course and I’ll be honest and say I’ve yet to have a good race there in my two attempts. I’m hoping that the third time will be the charm. I’m feeling good on the bike and have just enough time to fine tune now. This weekend holds a couple potential options for racing so I’ll have to see what becomes of that. Chloe is back from Canada and will be visiting WI as of tomorrow so I’m sure that she’s looking forward to the humidity and wood ticks once again.

Keeping it Real, -TJ