Month: May 2024

The season is well underway and recently I received my brand new Mosaic GT-1 i45 gravel bike. Since the folks at Above Category built up the bike and friend/photographer Jim Merithew shot NewBikeDay photos, this bike and I have been on some serious adventures. It’s all been a bit of a blur recently, springing from one event to another, with a pace that could only be described as ‘fullgas’.

My first outing with the new bike, directly after receiving it fresh from AC, was the Valley of Tears gravel race in Turkey, TX. This was a new race this year, but it was an opportunity that was hard to pass up. The generous prize purse and spot on the calendar the week before Midsouth made it an attractive race for many, drawing a healthy field of pros. I’d already been racing for a month or two going into the Valley of the Tears, landing some solid results and a win in some of my cherished local Grasshopper Adventure Series races, but the form was still somewhat of a mystery. 

Unfortunately, Keegan Swenson, the red-hot favorite for the race, got away with one other rider early on in a super sandy river wash section and that was the last we’d see of him. Keegan went on to win and I ultimately came 4th after attacking out of the chase group with a handful of others and then coming second in the technical sprint to the line.

After Valley of the Tears, Jim and I loaded up the rental truck and headed northeast to Stillwater, OK for the Mid South Gravel. The Mid South is truly something special, one of my favorite events each year.

Last year, I was forced to sit on the sidelines at Mid South due to a nasty stomach bug. But this year there was no stomach bug standing in my way. It was awesome to spend the whole week leading into the event in Stillwater, catching up with Bobby Wintle, enjoying the atmosphere, and watching the chaos build through the weekend. I had a chance to pre-ride the entire course, checking out key sectors ahead of the race. One thing very quickly became clear, this wasn’t going to be any ole Midsouth. Heavy rain in the weeks prior to the event had resulted in seemingly endless hard packed mud ruts, each one chomping at the bit to swallow a tire and send a rider flying off their bike.

Come race day, I was feeling good and ready for the task at hand. We had great weather for the race, but the still conditions and lack of wind made the race far less selective than normal. The front group remained massive until late in the race due to this lack of wind. I attacked countless times, but the conditions and collective strength of the peloton made it nearly impossible to get away from the main group. I sent one final hail mary attack a few KM from the final decisive singletrack sector that was about 15 KM from the finish. I went all in and almost got away, but was swallowed by the chaotic swarm just as the fight for position into the trail was kicking off. I knew I had to play my card, but it ended up backfiring a bit, leaving me far too deep in the group going into this key section of trail. I came out of the trail in maybe 10th or 15th place, but still felt great and managed to ride myself back through a few groups, crossing the finish line in 8th. While it wasn’t necessarily the result I traveled to Stillwater for, I was happy with the sensations and how I was riding. Lots of positive takeaways.

After Midsouth, I enjoyed two weeks at home back in California, getting back into the training groove and knocking out some key training sessions. Soon enough, though, it was time to get back on the road. 

This year I’m exploring a new-to-me racing series, the UCI Gravel World Series. These events are held all around the world, culminating with the UCI Gravel World Championship in Flanders, Belgium in October. I had the opportunity to race the UCI World Championships last fall and really enjoyed the experience, despite a course that didn’t really play to my strengths much… This year’s course in Flanders looks to suit me much better, hence my excitement to commit more to the UCI races this year. 

The first UCI Gravel World Series event of the season took place in Velden am Wörthersee in Austria. I speak German and have a few European and German language sponsors this year. Through some European sponsor and friend contacts, I was invited to attend the race and graciously hosted by the organizer. The location was absolutely fabulous and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there in the Kärnten region. While over in Austria, everything went about as smoothly as it could have, save for the race itself. I felt great on the day of the race and found myself riding comfortably in the front of the bunch for much of the first lap. Unfortunately, just as we were nearing the end of the first lap (of three), two guys closed in on each other in the ~70 person peloton and a rear derailleur went into my front wheel, immediately snapping ten spokes. The wheel instantly became extremely unstable, wobbly, and sketchy as I tried to coast to a stop without crashing.

I managed to come to a stop safely, but immediately knew my race was over. I’ve never DNF’d a gravel race before, something I’m quite proud of, but this was something I knew I couldn’t resolve. I picked up my bike and ran to the next aid station, hoping I could find a neutral wheel to finish the race with, but no such luck. I was unable to continue and was forced to pull out of the race. I was gutted, especially given the long and expensive travel to attend the race. But as I said earlier, everything else during the trip to Austria was so incredible that it was hard to stay upset for long. Julius, the race organizer lent me a front wheel the next day so I could still get a nice big ride in before I flew home. This ended up being one of the most memorable rides I’ve ever been on, crossing over into Slovenia and Italy before returning back to Austria. It was an amazing experience and I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to experience gravel racing in Austria.

After another brief week at home to recover and get the jetlag under control, it was time for Sea Otter, one of the biggest cycling festivals in the world. Originally, my plan was to attend Sea Otter purely for sponsor activations in the expo and some meetings. But the allure of the racing was too strong, especially after the missed opportunity in Austria. I made the decision to register for both the road and gravel races, bringing along my trusty and beautiful RT-1 ITR for its first race day.

The Sea Otter Road Race was a blast and ultimately Nico Roche, a former World Tour pro turned pro gravel racer, and I split the race up and got up the road. We entered the final climb with a ~40 second gap on the shattered field, but as we rounded the final corner into the 3.5 km climb to the finish, a spoke broke on my front wheel and punctured the rim tape. The tire went flat immediately and I could hardly believe it, especially after what had just happened in Austria. Fortunately, the wheel was still turning fine and the climb to the finish was more or less straight. I had opened a small gap to Nico by slamming on the brakes to avoid crashing, but the chasing group was still out of sight. I knew a podium spot was still on the line, so I put my head down and rode as hard as I could on the rim, eventually crossing the finish line to maintain my second place position. I was bummed to not be able to contest the win with Nico, as I was feeling quite good, but was happy with the second place nonetheless. It sure made for an epic story!

Two days later, I lined up again for the Sea Otter Gravel Race. I lined up on the front row and hit the gas hard from the very start of the race. I managed to string out the entire peloton and even cause some splits on the opening punchy climbs. Pretty quickly a lead group of four of us established, soon whittling down to three. We maintained a blazing pace for another 2 hours, before coming into the finishing climb. Matt Wiebe, the third guy in the group, got dropped on the penultimate climb as I put in a big attack, but Rob Britton managed to hang on. He paced up the last climb, leading most of the way to the top. With 200m to go, I opened up my sprint and came around Rob with a few bike lengths to take the win, my first aboard my new GT-1 i45.

After the successful weekend at Sea Otter, it was then time to head to Fayetteville, Arkansas for the final race of this spring racing block. This race, the Highlands Gravel Classic, was the only UCI Gravel World Series event in the U.S. this year. With it being my ‘home’ race in the series, I knew it was one I didn’t want to miss. Knowing my form was good going into the race, I raced aggressively, pushing the pace from early on once again. The race splintered early, as strong crosswinds gusted across the exposed steep climbs. Again I was off the front of the race, with just two others for company. We all took turns turning the screws on each other, each pushing the pace on the terrain that suited us best. Everyone was just strong enough not to get dropped, but just tired enough not to sneak away. As we entered the final road section into the finish, Nico Roche put in a massive attack. As soon as the other rider and I caught back to Nico, I launched my attack over the top and managed to get a gap. With 3 KM to the finish, I put my head down and TT’d to the finish, crossing the line in 1st with a bit more than 10 seconds of a gap.

After the unfortunate and unavoidable mechanical in my first UCI Gravel World Series event, I was thrilled to put it together and secure the win in Arkansas. This result was especially important, as it also qualified me for the UCI Gravel World Championship in Belgium later this year. 

It’s certainly been a whirlwind since I received this beautiful bike back at the beginning of March, but I’ve enjoyed every moment. We’ve already been on some incredible adventures and enjoyed some wonderful successes so far this season and I can’t wait to see where the rest of the year takes us! A big thanks to the entire team at Mosaic and Above Category for putting together this amazing bike!

Stay tuned for a bike check or two coming soon!

Last weekend, the Mosaic crew loaded up the van and pointed it East towards the red dirt roads of Stillwater, Oklahoma. We had ourselves a blast, saw old friends, made new ones, drank some beers, ate too much pizza… You know the drill. It was the Mid South Gravel weekend, and here’s how it went down.

Ross Leopold

The reviews are in, and The Mid South was one of the best bicycle experiences I’ve ever had. From the days beforehand through the day of the race, Mid South delivered such a stellar course and an amazing day out. Finally to cap it off, all the festivities afterwards were too much fun. The Mid south is 5 star.

Mark Currie

I finally gained the courage to throw my hat in the ring for The Mid South Double, and I’m so glad that I did. The process of figuring this one out has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done in a long time. After two days, 50K of running, and 100 ripping miles on my new GT-1 i45, I landed myself a successful 5th Place in the Double and some of the most memorable miles to date. The feeling isn’t one of relief though, as honestly, I wish I could just do it all over again… like this weekend. Stillwater, Oklahoma is home to some of the kindest people you’ll ever meet, and during this special weekend in Mid-March, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.

What do you say, Mr. Wintle – 7 day stage race next time? Throw a MTB day in there? You know who to call 😉

Liz Barcheck

One of my favorite aspects of race weekend at Mid South was the live music. From the racer meeting and expo, to the starting line, the music helped bring a special life and lightness to the atmosphere. I gave the race a go for a bit, but then settled into the day at more of a ride pace. The rollercoaster hills, dry ruts, chunks of rich gravel, and a few surprise sections of deep sand kept me focused all day. I really enjoyed chatting with people along the way, and appreciated the shorts-friendly temperature. Mostly, I was glad to snag my first century of the year on an incredibly comfortable, nimble, and gorgeous new gravel bike that got attention all day long… thanks Mid South and Mosaic for a big ol hug and high five to start the season!

Aaron Barcheck

Kristen Legan

As soon as we rolled into Stillwater on Thursday morning, we could feel the buzz of this warm and welcoming event, and it felt so good to be back on those red dirt roads. As the unofficial kickoff party of the gravel season, Mid South delivered a blazing fast course and seriously perfect conditions on race day. For me, this race was all about testing out some new ideas, tires, tactics, and, of course, my new Mosaic GT-1 i45 gravel bike. The bike turned more than a few heads out on course with its slithery snake-like paint and super clean and integrated design.

Mid South 2024 is in the books, and if it’s any indication of what’s to come this season, I think we’re in for a spicy year of riding and racing.

Brennan Wertz

The weekend at Midsouth was absolutely stellar, across the board. The weather, the good vibes, the beautiful fleet of new GT-1 i45s on display, and the fast and furious racing all made for an unforgettable weekend. While I came into the race with high hopes for a podium or a win, I was still pleased with my 8th place result. Sure, it wasn’t necessarily the result I came for, but there were tons of positive takeaways and many indications that the preparations have been going really well. I didn’t quite play my cards right at the end, but learned a lot in the process and am already chomping at the bit for more opportunities to race and put these learnings into practice.

Next up for me on my race schedule is a trip to Velden am Wörthersee in Austria for the first round of the UCI Gravel World Series. After that it’s off to Bentonville for another UCI gravel race before buckling down to prepare for Unbound. Lots of exciting events on the horizon and with my beautiful new GT-1 i45, motivation is at an all time high to log some big miles in the next few weeks!”

Thanks for the good times, Mid South. We’ll be seeing ya next year.

 

 

If you’ve been paying attention to the mountain bike world, then you likely know that just a few short months ago SRAM not-so-quietly launched their latest drivetrain innovation – Transmission. The Transmission (T-Type) drivetrain is anchored around one absolutely critical feature – Universal Derailleur Hanger (UDH) compatibility. The T-Type derailleur ditches the conventional derailleur hanger altogether and mounts directly to the frame in question. To accommodate this, the frame itself must be designed with a UDH, and a dropout that accepts the direct mount T-Type Transmission rear derailleur.

Ensuring that Mosaic gravel and mountain bikes are compatible with the latest & most current technology, we’re thrilled to introduce SRAM UDH compatibility as an option on our GT-1 45, GT-1X and made-to-order GT-2 45, GT-2 X and MT-2 framesets. Mosaic Batch Built frames will continue to use a standard derailleur hanger.

Wide-range “Mullet” drivetrains have become the standard on Mosaic gravel and mountain bikes as they’re simple, efficient, and offer the rider a generous range of gears suitable for both the steepest climbs, and fastest descents. The latest generation of SRAM T-Type Transmission drivetrains can be paired with a WIDE chainline crankset and SRAM road shifters for an extremely versatile, durable, and modern setup. No more bent derailleur hangers, no more issues shifting under load, and with the option of a 10-52 cassette, no more running out of gears 🙂

Take a moment and check out the build below, a Typhoon Green GT-1 45 built up with SRAM GX Eagle Transmission. To start planning your very own Mosaic/Transmission build, get in touch with a Mosaic Dealer today.

At the end of 2022,

I had numerous meetings and conversations with Mark and Aaron at Mosaic about the upcoming year. We were all thrilled to be working together, planning out a busy year, and looking forward to formalizing a very unique and special collaboration. After nailing down the nuts and bolts of our partnership to-be, it came time to discuss the bikes I would ride and race throughout the 2023 season. I’ve long been a fan of Mosaic and their bikes, building my first GT-1 back in 2021 for my first ever Unbound Gravel 200. I am very familiar with the Mosaic product line and the intricacies of the various models they offer. I have also been racing gravel for many years now and have a pretty good idea of what I like in a bike. Needless to say, I thought I knew what I wanted, what I NEEDED for a successful season. A gravel bike sure, a road bike of course, and I guess a mountain bike too since I would be racing the Lifetime Grand Prix. But in all of these conversations with Mosaic, I never brought up their allroad bike. They noticed. They asked why. To be honest I didn’t have a great answer. I just figured it was a bike that would slot into a gap that wasn’t really there in my ‘quiver’. I could not have been more wrong.

Mark and Aaron insisted I would be making a mistake to not build up one of their allroad bikes, mentioning they had also been working on a concept for a new integrated front end, made possible in part due to some new product offerings from Enve. They generously offered, well insisted, that they build me one of these allroad bikes, utilizing this new fork/stem/handlebar combo from Enve. It would be a bit of an experiment, very much a prototype, and they were convinced I would love it. It was a proposal I was obviously very excited about, but I remained slightly skeptical. I am privileged to have multiple amazing bikes built by the Mosaic team and I worried this allroad bike wouldn’t get the use and abuse it would deserve.

As I look back now, over a year later, I can say with certainty they were so right. My Mosaic GT-1 iAR has without a doubt been the bike I’ve ridden the most in the last twelve months. It’s also the bike I have enjoyed riding the most. It’s been truly eye opening. I’ve traveled the world with my GT-1 iAR, set it up in a variety of configurations, and ridden it to numerous podiums and wins. With this journal post, I’d like to highlight some of my favorite moments we’ve shared together over the last twelve months.

Early in 2023, the freshly built GT-1 iAR was my go-to training companion, accompanying me on many sets of intervals and long winter endurance rides. We had quite a winter in California and this beautiful bike quickly became accustomed to almost daily rides in the rain. For some reason, I waited until the eleventh or twelfth atmospheric river before committing to setting the bike up with full coverage fenders. And of course, once I got them mounted up, the rain miraculously eased up…

After weeks of cleaning and re-cleaning my bike, I finally managed to clear the last of the Huffmaster mud from the crevices on the GT-1 iAR. After taking such abuse, it cleaned up real well and we logged a few super solid months of hard training on the road together.

After this hard block of training (and unfortunately being forced to sit Unbound out due to an untimely Covid infection), I packed up my GT-1 iAR for our first big international trip together. One of my favorite aspects of this bike (as well as all my other Mosaic bikes) is how easy they are to travel with. I use a Scicon soft sided case and can travel with much less stress knowing that despite the airline’s best efforts, the frame is rock solid and won’t be damaged. With how much I travel with my bike, that’s a huge relief!

This trip was unforgettable and featured some of my favorite rides and races of the entire year. I first flew to Finland for the inaugural FNLD GRVL event. After that I flew to Germany to visit my relatives and then drove south into the Dolomites in Northern Italy for a two week training camp. After that, I drove to Andermatt, Switzerland to compete in Octopus Gravel, one of the races in the Gravel Earth Series. The climbs were epic, stunning, and incredibly steep. The race was made up of multiple timed climbing segments and after a close battle with Petr Vakoc, I managed to win! Between the podium at FNLD GRVL, the win at Octopus Gravel, and the many memorable rides in such beautiful places in between, this trip was definitely the highlight of my summer!

After the big block of racing and travel in Europe, it was time to return to the U.S. to focus on the second half of the season. I got another big block of training in back at home before heading into the mountains of Utah and Colorado for altitude training. I was riding my MT-2 hardtail a lot at this point as Leadville was rapidly approaching, but was still doing a lot of specific intervals on the GT-1 iAR. As I did this next big block of travel as a road trip, I could only bring two bikes with me. After spending so much time on the allroad bike earlier in the year, I was fully sold on the concept and the versatility the platform provided. This versatility enabled me to head off into the mountains with just these two bikes, even though I would be racing a wide range of terrain.

The two main highlights from this part of the season were SBT GRVL and the inaugural U.S. Gravel National Championships. I went in the early move with Keegan Swenson, Payson McElveen, Petr Vakoc, and Adam Roberge and we were all in, but unfortunately were caught after a few hours of driving the pace together. After that, my engine overheated and I suffered for the last two hours to the finish. 

After SBT GRVL and a few more weeks of training it was time to line up at the first ever U.S. Gravel National Championships in Gering, Nebraska. I had no idea what to expect at this event, but really loved the course and felt it suited me really well. I made the final selection over the last climb with Keegan Swenson, Alexey Vermeulen, and Payson McElveen. We took turns attacking each other in the final 10 kilometers and Keegan ultimately got away from the rest of us. In the end I sprinted with the other two and ended up third after a bike throw with Alexey. I was thrilled to land on the podium at Nationals, both for the result and the automatic qualification for the UCI Gravel World Championships.

After qualifying for UCI Worlds, I had to change some plans around to fit that race into the already busy schedule, but that opportunity was definitely not one I was going to miss. And it certainly didn’t disappoint! Racing with the likes of Wout van Aert, Gianni Vermeersch, Matej Mohoric, and many others from the upper echelons of the sport was incredible. On top of that, coming together with many of my fellow American professional gravel racing colleagues as teammates for this unique event was really special. Many of us spent the whole week before the event pre-riding the course and getting to know each other better. For this trip, I brought the GT-1 iAR as well as my GT-1 45 since there was very little public information about the course. I’m glad I brought both bikes, because after arriving in Italy and pre-riding the entire course, it turned out to be far rougher and rowdier than we had anticipated. 

After the experience at UCI Gravel Worlds, I headed back to the Dolomites for a week of gravel riding with my Italian clothing sponsor Q36.5. During this week, I was able to spend more time exploring this beautiful region aboard my trusty GT-1 iAR.

After the busy, eventful, and unforgettable summer of adventures with my wonderful Mosaic GT-1 iAR, it was time to return home for the off-season. By this point it probably won’t come as a surprise that the adventures continued… As I began the build up to the 2024 season, I found some fun and creative ways to get the base miles in. First a local bikepacking trip through the California Wine Country with a few of my Orange Seal Academy teammates. After that, another group of friends and I rode down the California Coast to Los Angeles on our ‘Coast Ride’.

Both of these trips featured at least a few days of rather dreary weather, but this year I was much more prepared. During my brief rest period off the bike this winter, I brought my GT-1 iAR down to Above Category for them to reinstall the full fenders. This configuration has been a dreamy winter training setup and helped me log many more hours on the bike in comfort than any year before. But this setup will have to be the topic of another article. It’s been that good!

Thank you all for following along on this journey and a huge thank you to the entire team at Mosaic for creating this incredible bike that has enabled all of these crazy adventures. Looking forward to another year of adventures with this dream of a bike!