Cactus Cup 2020
Despite COVID-19 and a postponement of the March race date, the Specialized Cactus Cup held it’s race this past weekend at McDowell Mountain Preserve. The race followed local COVID-19 protocols with a maximum 250 rider limit, a limited venue and awards ceremony. They recommended social distancing and wearing a mask when in close proximity to other people.
I attended the Cactus Cup as a coach. I work with the Construction Zone MTB racing team as their Director of Performance and coach to several of their athletes. I also had a few other athletes attending the race.
The first stage was reorganized from a STXC race into a 6 mile TT. The starting temperatures were just over 100 degrees which is not a normal temperature for this time of the year. I helped my athletes prepare for the increased temperatures with a shortened warm up and bags of ice to keep them as cool as possible before the start
All the athletes did well with Chloe Woodruff winning the Women’s Elite, Kyle Trudeau taking second in the Men’s Elite, Bethany Rasmussen winning the Women’s 19-29, and Sean Hahn winning the Mens 50-59 category. After the race, first priority was rehydration and cooling down for an early morning stage 2 start.
Stage Two started about 8 am with temperatures around 75 degrees. The race was 40 miles and should take between 2.5hrs and 3.5hrs depending on rider level. We had two feed zones for our Construction Zone athletes and encouraged them to take on more hydration than normal. 75 degrees was better but the increasing heat would encroach on the riders quickly.
Again Kyle Trudeau placed 2nd in a sprint finish to his CZ teammate Jared Becker. Athlete Bradyn Lange held on to Kyle and Jared for about 32 miles and then dropped back to finish 3rd on the stage. Chloe again finished 1st along with Sean Hahn. Bethany placed 2nd but held on to her 1st overall to another Tenac Athlete Laney Hahn. Also, Shawna Glazier won the 40k women’s event.
The heat did affect many riders and again priority was on rehydration and cooling down to aid in a quick recovery for Sunday’s final stage.
Sunday morning and stage 3 introduced many riders to a new category, Enduro. The race loop was 19 miles and included 3 timed stages. In between stages, riders rode to the next stage and focused on recovery before the next intense effort.
Chloe Woodruff won the final stage and the overall GC for the Women’s Elite. Kyle Trudeau retained his 2nd overall placing. Bradyn Lange placed 2nd in the Enduro event and 3rd Overall. Sean Hahn won the 50-59 Mens age group. Lanie Hahn won the women’s 19-29 age group with Bethany Rasmussen taking 2nd.
Overall a great weekend of racing and performances by the Tenac Athletes. Thank you to the Cactus Cup for running an event that felt safe and reorganizing the event so there could be an event. I look forward to the Cactus Cup in 2021.
