Gate City Grind TIME

I have never hurt so bad in 2:37 Blurred vision and coughing OUCH. Eye of the Tiger

This is the local race that we all want to do well at. The Pro 1-2 is looking stacked with Louder and Burke coming it's going to be a Grind like no other. I'm going for a crit win for sure and hopefully someone from ICE to win the overall GC. Keep watching this page all weekend long I will put the updates on as soon as I can.

Day1 Prologue
Wow I'm really pumped up! A little nervous but that's all right, I am the local hero(a little pressure). But the real HERO of the day is Justin Rose (my friend) who won his first Pro1/2 with real deal Pro's. Sam got 3rd, 3secs back and I got 6th, 4sec back. Just a little hint for tomorrow it's going to be on death com 4 in the road race, attacks and counter attacks tell Rocky mountain Surgery Center gets a guy up the road in THE RIGHT MOVE. Dinner time now

Day2 Road Race
So it was an 87 mile road race that was 5 laps. Right from the gun Chuck Collins(the amimal) went (bold move). I sat in the field for almost the first lap and Healthy Choice guy attacked and got 50 meters on the field and I went from half way back in the pack and went for it. I look back no one is coming perfect close the gap and keep it rolling. About a lap later we catch chuck and a Park City guy that bridged right after chuck went. The next lap a group of six caught us with Sam and the two Pros. But shortly after that the field caught us how that worked out I don't know. The time up the big hill the pros went and Justine rose went with thin. That break was short lived. Burke one of the pros went again oh my god I was thinking that's why he gets paid. Sam and three other bridged across and stayed out there. The next time up the hill Jeff louder attacked and only two guys could hold on to his wheel(me being one of those guys that had that much pain) We caught the Sam and Burke move but with the final feed zone Burke attacked again. The group was wearing down we tried to bring Burke back but didn't happen and we also got caught by the field 13th on the day.

TT
rode easy saving my self for the crit

Day3 Crit
Three down and one to go. With the two Pro's sitting one and two in the GC with just a few seconds in between them it was a recipe for a really hard race. The heat was really really bad and no shad at all on the course for the riders. The attacks where being thrown down like a ultimate fighting match, none stop. With all the moves that where happening I went with almost everyone besides the one that stayed away. I got 8th on the day which I was happy with how things worked out for the most part. The I daho State Journal wrote "Pocatellan Chris Stuart finished 11th in the top male classification, the best among locals in the event. Justin Rose and Sam Krieg, also of Pocatello, finished 15th and 16th in the category, respectively" More Photos(Thanks Gate City Photos)

Elkhorn Classic Stage Race

I would still have to say this is my favorite race that i will go to all year.It starts out with a 75 mile road race with three climbs and finishes on a 2 mile stretch of flat road. Then a NEW Time Trail course that was 5.5 miles downhill and 4.5 miles uphill with a few rollers. My favorite stage was the down town crit 1hr. of blistering fast speeds, 6 big open corners to go ripping though and all the awesome spectators cheering everybody on. The last stage is a 104 mile road race with 3 climbs that are10 min or more and the last climb of the day that starts at mile 97 and takes about 30 min.
1st Road Race I did a lot of work in the first of the stage covering moves and driving the field to bring back a breaks so I did think I would be able to make it with the main group over the climbs. I felt good and took 8th in the stage.
Time Trail 26th need to work on position don’t feel good on the bike yet
Crit was a great night my team mate Matt W. got six primes and 430 dollars cash. I did a three lap off the front by myself solo attempt, that was HARD. I got 7th in the stage with feeling really good with how it fared out.
2nd Road Race I had a team mate go up the road at mile 10 and was able to sit in the pack all day. The field was moving all day at a very high speed and the break was still gaining time. But with the last small climb over with the break was blown and the field was getting really motivated to bring it back before the big climb. At the base of the final climb I could see your teammate coming back quickly. The field started ripping apart with the blistering speeds going up the climb. I got pop from a group of 16 and held off everyone be hind me to get 17th on the day. Which was great last year I popped on the final climb and lost big time and my GC of third.
GC 15th out of 80 starters
This weekend really got me ready for nationals. I road home from the end each Road Race which also tacked on and extra 35miles. I was really happy how I performed this weekend if I ride like this at Nationals I will have a good showing.
Mark S. 3rd overall GC aka the man
Sam K. 11th overall GC
Hyde Park the team I raced for this past weekend
Matt W 10th overall GC with a wreck on the first day
I was the second GC guy on there team(not bad for being the domestic)

High Uintas

ICE racked up a whopping 16 top-10 stage and GC placings at the High Uintas Classic Stage Race this weekend. With the exceptions of RVK and me, who sort of stunk it up (but we made up for it in beer consumption at the post-race party), every ICE rider who entered had at least one top-10 placing! ICE riders came away with over $600 in prize money as a result.

Sugarhouse Crit & Downtown SLC crit

I was kind of worried how my legs were going to feel, because the last two days I have been off the bike. Thursday was planed but Friday when I got off work it was storming. So I thought about getting on the trainer but then I thought how bad that would suck. So I hung out and ate my classic day before I race meal, Bacon cheeseburger. I got in the car at 6:00am to make it to SLC for Erik A. race. So I went for a 1:45 min ride up Immigration Canyon. Wow it was a great leg opener, real gradual climb for 1hr. I jetted back down to the race course to see the last half lap of Erik’s race, 11th on the day. “That was a real eye opener” gasped Erik. My race I was feeling really good I was in good position most of the race always following good wheels. I saw Burke S. who rides for Navigators, a real deal pro team go up the road and hold a gap of 15 sec. So I tried to jump across the gap when I was within 3 sec so was the field they had caught me. I knew that I had burned a lot of matches and I had to save everything for the finish. Now the thing that sucks with 3 laps to go they announced 2 laps to go. They also announced 2 laps to go when it was really 2 laps to go which I didn’t hear. Which I thought was the beginning of the final lap coming up to the finish line I was killing it thinking I had just won another crit then I heard the worst thing ever 1 lap to go. Oh god. I sat up tried to spin the lactic acid out of my legs as much as possible but I knew I wouldn’t be able to have that kick again. I ended up in the top 20 out of 52 and won the one lap to go. To bad no buddy cares about that lap. Today is the Downtown Utah State championship crit. I going to have a good day I can feel it.

The Downtown Crit was a four corner crit. We took off at 3:00 pm and it was 93 degrees. This was my first 90min crit ever for me and I was excited. Right from the gun we took off, it was fast and furious but only on rode bikes. The fastest lap on the course before our race was 1:10 and we did 10 laps in a row at 1 min and averaged a 1:05 for all the laps. I wanted to quit at 30 min, thinking I have another hour of this. I tried to get in some early moves but nothing was sticking. With about 45 min left in the race a move that was well represented got off the front and lapped the field with 15 min to go in the race. Then the big teams went to the front to string it out and not allow any other attacks go up the road. I got 12th on the day. Not what I wanted but good enough, good training for Twilight and Nationals. Going to spin the legs out today easy and going to get ready to kill it tomorrow. Me and Justin Rose are going to win the P-town crit, it will be one of us. Attack, attack all day long. Then the big Scout Mountain hill climb on Wednesday.
Erik A. in the 2nd pic having an eye opener weekend to the life of crit racing.

Better Than Any Win

Wow what a week!!! I had a great Thanksgiving Point Classic, and I got my first WIN of the season!!! But even better than that, I was informed that my half sister( Jessie) sent a letter to my father last week, with her email address and phone number. Katie (little sister) had already fired her an email across and had received one back. So I wrote an email and sent it across so excited to hear back from her. Got one back and I was just in AW. I tried to find her four years ago and got her number and never gave her a call because I was scared, of what I don’t know. I went on the Tuesday night ride in the POC and saw Jenean (My dad’s x-girlfriend) we talked about racing and how she was going to Lake Tahoe for a century ride(100 miles). The next day I’m at work Katie brings me the letter that Jessie sent to Dad. With that letter was a flyer that said she was doing a fund raiser Team in Training for leukemia. The Team and Training flyer also said that they were doing a century ride around Lake Tahoe. (The wheels started to turn in my head, Lake Tahoe). Holy Shit!!! I called Jenean and told her the story. I asked if I could go with her. She said she would talk to BOB M. because he had the contacts for the place, and give me a call back. Later that night I talked to Jessie for the first time. You could tell it was family instantly, and so much to say that neither one could think of anything to ask about each other. Then I told her that I might be coming to Lake Tahoe for the weekend to meet her and to do the ride with her. All depending on a place to stay and a ride down there. Jenean gave me a call back saying that is was alright and would be leaving on Friday morning. From then on I was a six-year-old and Christmas was two days away. The excitement was unbelievable. I called Jessie back and said I’M COMING TO MEET YOU. Then my phone runs out of battery. I borrowed a phone and called her back and to hear Jessie’s voice filled with so much excitement that is was a feeling that I will never forget. Friday morning comes and we are on the road. 9.5 hours later we arrive in Glensbrook a very very nice neighborhood north of South Lake Tahoe. We dropped off our stuff and made our way into town where Jessie was staying. I give her a call and she is on her way to meet me and the group that made it happen for me. Holy shit she looks so much like Katie scary how much she looks like Katie. Wow the hug was one of the best things I have ever received. I could not stop looking at her. I was so in AW. We went to dinner with the group and talked and talked. The Group left and we played catch up asking question and just thinking how crazy this has all happened. I went back to Glensbrook for the night, liven it up in the house we were in. The next day I rode 40 miles and got my legs back under me, been off the bike for 3 days because a knee problem. Well Jessie’s friend came up from San Fran to cheer her on and to hang out. They drove up to Glensbrook and we all went to Inlcline to get some lunch. We cruised back to the pad that I was staying at and hung out for a while. Jessie had a dinner that she was going to for her Team in Training. While back at the pad, Bob from Florida(the ladies man) not Bob from Idaho, made an awesome salad and amazing pasta dish. I went back into town to hang out with Jessie and I met another one of her friend’s Ryan from Idaho. Well the night was short because of the big ride. The next morning I met Jessie and her awesome group that let me tag along with them(thanks Team in Training San Diego for letting me do that). I had such a great time riding with my big sis that I don’t have the words to describe what that meant to me. By the way the Stuart’s have it in the blood she is also a bad ass. She might even give Dad a run for his money on the hills. The after party was great we got a little tipsy to say the least....... Monday morning came way to quick and we said our good byes. I had the best weekend I have ever had! Thanks to Bob M. Jenaen, Bob the ladies man.