Bump N' Gring Kenda Cup Race

Here are race reports from Dylan and Andrew Alesio who were in Alabama last weekend taking part in the first east coast Kenda Cup race. Otherwise known as the Bump N' Grind, this race was sure to draw some of the biggest names in our sport. Dylan and Andrew both wrote their own reports. Enjoy!

Andrew:

32nd out of 64 pro racers at the Bump n Grind.
Saturday, the day before the race, I rode two laps with Dylan trying to feel out the course. The course was about 30% road, but the rest was some ripping high-speed single track that had some tight turns and roots. Defiantly these trails were really fun and fast. After the pre-ride, I gave by bike some love as I always do before a race. I made sure that my bike was clean and that it worked perfectly. The day of the race I warmed-up with Dylan by riding to the start line from our hotel. The announcer called me up two spots before Dylan to the start line. Dylan and I were side by side at the start line with more rows of racer in front of us than behind us. BANG! The gun goes off, I jumped right behind Dylan and held on for dear life just trying to defend my spot. Then it was time to funnel down to the tight single track. The pack aims for the tight single track and it was still about six racers wide and made for one. Racers started jamming up and Dylan forced his way through the center with me right behind him. When the racers were in the single track it was packed from bike to bike. If someone lagged, made a turn too wide, or something of that manner they would be passed by at least one racer. This was the most exciting start ever. In the first road section I had to catch up to the pack that Dylan was in. I put everything I had to the pedals to catch that pack. I could feel my body telling me to stop, but I did not listen and I caught that pack. I was in the middle of the pack going through the start/finish and into the feed zone. Now the only problem in the whole race was the first feed zone. I am pretty sure that this is a simple physics problem. Two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time. My feed zone man, Matt Miller, just could not bend the rules of physics, as I was right behind Dylan. I flew by Matt with no bottle, and then stopped, while Matt ran to me, the time that was
passing felt like an eternity. I got my bottle and hammered off into the single track. Even with four more laps to go there was nothing that I could do to catch up to Dylan. I finished in 32nd place, 14 minutes and 4 seconds behind the leader.


Dylan-


28th place out of 64 pro men.
Friday 4:00am WAKE UP, 5:00 Jordan Kahlenberg arrived and stared to pack his Honda Element with every we needed. The Trip started with Jordan having to modify his roof rack to allow clearance for the brake calipers. He asked for a hack saw and I gave him a powered reciprocating saw and I minutes the job was done. After getting that worked out we were on our way. After 16 hours of driving we arrived to the wonderful location of Pelham, Al. We quickly unpacked the car and geared up to treat our leg to motion after being immobilized. Jordan got on his trainer, While Andrew and I rode towards Oak Mountain park. The roads were covered with moon light and a weak homemade LED riding light. Riding in the dark was the best way to clear my head and prepare my legs for Sunday race. Saturday Andrew and I got to pre-ride the course. The Pro course was 5-6 miles and had plenty of passing room on the road sections, but zero room to pass on the single track. In the fourth row of the start line, I know I had to play it smart in order to get into the single track without waiting for the masses to clear. Andrew followed me as I slipped through the middle of the pack just wide enough for half a person. It happened so fast all I remember seeing was elbows, feet, handlebars, pedals, and wheels everywhere. I worked my way in to the mid twenties by the middle of the race. During the race I found my self riding with TJ and several other racers. We worked together on the road section and I lead through the single track. Finishing lap 3 of 5, I found myself drafting off of TJ until Sam Jurekovic passed us like a motorcycle. I jumped on the pedals to catch his draft. Once in Sam J's draft, I still had to work hard to stay with him as we teleported to the start finished line. I later resumed back to my speed and finished strong. It came down to a sprint finish and my legs had it. Overall I am happy about my performance. The 29er trend has finally made it to the Pro circuit. It seems that it was mostly dual suspension 26 and 29er hardtails. 12 minutes 33 seconds form first, not bad.