Cherry Pie 2011

This years Cherry Pie race was hot and windy, which I appreciated because the past three years the weather was always cold and wet. The Juniors race started in the morning and there were seven Team Specialized Juniors that lined up with the field. On the first lap Jack Maddux crashed, which took him out of the race. Later teammate Andrew Lanier got into a break with one of the All-Sport rider and they stayed away for a long time. In the field, we were answering all of the attacks and controlled the front. On the last lap, Andrew and the All-Sport rider still had a slight lead, but at the back side of the course, the pace was fast and we were closing in on Andrew and the other rider. We finally caught them at the chicane and it became a field sprint to the finish line. James LaBerge had to close a gap which got him 2nd in the 17-18's. I stayed behind Marcus Smith and went around him to come in 4th overall and a win in the 15-16 category. We learned a lot riding as a team and also won some cherry pie!

Thank you Clif Bar for providing the fuel to help me win and Specialized for the cool glasses and shoes!

-Matt Valencia