C*R*U*S*H*ing it in Utah

After a flat and cracked rim ended Josh's first attempt at the Crusher in the Tushar race last July, he returned to Beaver, Utah with the simple goal of just finishing the 69-mile, 10k of climbing, mixed road and gravel race. Celebrating its fifth year, the race has gained serious recognition as a super-challenging test of a riders' fitness and skills, and leaves the choice of their weapon to all participants, allowing road, cyclocross, and mountain bikes on the course, each offering a certain advantage or disadvantage throughout the course as it traverses the Tushar Mountains and finishes at the Eagle Point Ski Resort just above 10,400 feet.

All smiles after a long, hard day.

The action heated up after 10 miles of false flat, and social grinding ended with the start of an hour-plus dirt climb. The field exploded quickly and Josh set a steady pace, just off the back of a leading group of 10 riders, including last year's runner-up Jamie Driscoll and professional WorldTour rider Danny Pate of Team Sky. After a short, high-alpine flat section and first feed zone, the course plummeted down five miles of loose, pea sized gravel road. Josh keep things fast and loose and used every inch of his Clement USH and MSO rubber to stay upright in the switchbacks. He was able to catch a few riders and pass two race favorites who had flatted, fellow Utahans Jonathan Page and Alex Grant, to create a solid chase group of six that worked together for the 10-mile loop. It was every man for himself once they hit the dirt again and started climbing the sage. At three hours in, Josh started to feel the burn a bit and had to dial the race pace back to something more sustainable, knowing that the Col d'Crush was up next: 2,300 feet of vert in five miles averaging eight percent with numerous surges to 20+ percent full of loose gravel. Fortunately a tailwind emerged, a solid line was burned in from racers coming down earlier in the day and a pop-up feed zone filled with Coke revitalized racers at the KOM summit.

But the pain didn't stop there, as Josh and the rest of the racers faced another 1,000 feet of climbing over 15 rolling miles of dirt all above 9,000 feet, with a final mile, 10-percent grade finish. Josh fought off cramps in both legs throughout the rest of the race and managed to fend off a rapidly closing Allen Krughoff to finish 16th on the day, and just under five hours. Driscoll once again was runner up, this time to another local Utah pro, Robbie Squire of the Hincapie Racing.