It's hard to believe that we're at the close of the summer racing season. It seems like just a few weeks ago we were planning, training, and anxiously waiting for our new team jerseys from Hincapie. It has been a great "first year" for the Troupe. We've learned a lot and made some improvements along the way. This season has been full of great racing, riding, and surprises.

 

This weekend marked the end of the Rim Nordic XC race series - the best race series in Southern California.

The crew at ‘Rim’ always puts on a great race thats perfectly organized and runs like clockwork, and this weekend was no exception. Bikes were tuned, temperature was perfect, and the course was fast for the final race of the series.

 

Overall, things went well. Tim got out to a solid start and held 4th for the first 7 mile lap. But the increase in riding volume caught up with him on the steep climbs and he slid back for an 8th place finish. Meanwhile, Roy and Ben rode hard and chased the field. Roy would come in next in 10th, with Ben in for 12th just a few minutes back. Damon raced in the single speed category and finished 5th - securing a 3rd place in the overall for the series.

 

With the summer XC season wrapped up, we turn our focus to the fall endurance races: 24 Hours of Adrenaline / Hurkey Creek, 24 Hours of Camberlin Ranch, and the 12 Hours of Temecula. At each of these events, we'll have solo riders and teams entered. We’ve been getting in longer rides and we’ll be ready to rock at these events. There is also a number of XC races this fall including the final big race of the season, the Big Bear Fall Classic.

 

But with all the great news this season, this update also has some bad. Troupe rider Randy Profeta recently crashed on a training ride with Tim and suffered a severe head injury. The crash happened late in a long ride a few weeks ago. Since then, Randy has spent days in the ICU and has since been moved to a rehab center. It will be a long road back to recovery, but we know how strong and determined he is and that he'll be back.

 

He and his family are in our thoughts, and we can't wait to have him back in action.