Day 1 Trek Cup:
We arrived Friday afternoon before the Trek Cup; the weather was amazing. We got the chance to pre-ride the course, which is always an advantage. We rode a few laps then went to some sections that were difficult. The coolest feature on the course had to be the "Trek run up" which most people ran. We finished up at the course and headed to the hotel for some rest before all the fun started.
The cat 2 race started in the afternoon but I was up and at it by 7 a.m. because my little brother was racing the juniors 10-14 at 9 a.m. Watching my brother Paul shred the juniors up, brought back awesome memories from when I was 9. It was just amazing to watch him and almost see myself at that age. It really reminded me of how much I love the sport and what it's all about. After watching his race I was fired up!
My new teammate (Josey Weik) and I got to the line and everything in my mind just seemed to quiet down. Then the whistle blew. The feeling of adrenaline is something special. I shot down the hole shot like there was a rocket attached to my Focus bike; and never looked back. Half way through the 2nd lap Josey had almost bridged the gap. We we connected and we worked together taking pulls on different sections of the course. 
We rode very well together and in the end we came across the line hands in the air.
Day two, Trek Cup:
Today would be slightly different. The course was changed a little, but the bigger change was our competition. We had to race with David Lambardo, who is a very successful junior cross and road racer. Josey and I would have to use very good team tactics to make this work out for us.
I had a good start, getting the hole shot. It wasn't surprising to look back and see David locked onto my wheel. Josey was about 7 seconds off due to a bad start. After 2 laps a gap had been made and it was just Josey, David, and I. Josey and I worked as a team attacking David right and left making him work to catch back up. He kept on pulling us back. Man, that kid is strong.
We came through the start/finish with 3 laps to go. Several chasers within 30 seconds of us. As the race had progressed I found some sections I felt very strong in. One of those happened to be an off camber set of turns after the barriers on a HARD downhill. My Challenge tires, hooked up amazing. I attcked hard into the barriers jumping them as fast as I could. Halfway down the decent David wrecked taking out Josey with him. It was time to go. 
Coming through the line with 2 laps remaining, 2nd was only 15 seconds behind. I didn't look back and just told myself "screw it or do it" I put my head down and turned it on. That lap my lead extended about 7 seconds. With half a lap to go I new I was going to make it to the line first. I stopped taking chances and just tried to stay smooth.
Riding onto that finishing stretch was amazing. I don't think I've been that happy before. All this hard work has finally started paying off. I saluted God and put my hands in the air. I was stoked! Despite Josey's wreck, he still fought for a strong 6th place. It was an awesome weekend for Red Zone Elite taking the win on both days.
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