At MTBNJ’s Mooch Madness in Allamuchy, Louis Berrios WON the Cat-2 40+ race!

“I usually go out too hot,” Louis said, “and a rider smashed the uphill start. I knew it was better to just NOT do that.”

Berrios felt strong and crested the first climb at a hard, sustainable pace, ripped the fast downhill, and knifed into the singletrack, clear for 2nd place on the course. Inside two minutes, Berrios was able to pull back the leader, then begin to carve through the fields that hard started in front of him.

Louis is also a skilled cylocross racer and used this skillset in the race, dismounting at times to carry his speed with efficiency. He knew the key to the race was staying smooth and economical, never going too fast or never going too slow.

Nearly a perfect race, Louis had the fitness to elevate from his peers early-on, then use a smart MTB racing mindset to carry speed through the entire event. “There was no major throw-down, there was no one to battle with,” Louis said. “I never had to bury myself. I could power the rocky sections with confidence and had enough legs to ride from the front. I never actually felt like I was burning matches. When I called on the legs, they were consistently there.”

Elite Endurance athletes had a widely successful day of racing at Mooch:

Allison Oishi WON the Cat-2 race.

Stacey Barbossa WON the Cat-1 40+.

Jessi Kruse and Kristine Angell-Contento went 3rd and 4th in the Pro race! Dillon Van Wart, who won the H2H Pro overall last year and is focusing on enduros this year, was 6th in the men’s Pro race.

Jennifer DeFalco was 2nd in the 40+.

With a slow start to his year, Ryan Heerschap ripped 3rd in the men’s endurance event. Sean Runnette was 11th.

James Pearl generated a superb negative split in the men’s Cat-1 race and finished 4th in a stacked field.

Scott Sugent was 4th in the 50+ Cat-1!

Keith Garrison, a successful cyclocross and track racer, was 4th in the Cat-2 race — the Force is strong in this one.

Nick Morell had a firefight race and finished 5th in the men’s Cat-1 40+! Kirt Mills was 6th, Chris Santalucia 8th — watch out for these three.

Great job everyone – and, now that spring is here, Elite Endurance MTB Academy Workshops commence this Saturday at Jungle Habitat at 9am — flyer to come.

And then Sunday is the Elite Endurance Road Academy Ride at 9am — all riders are welcome. During the ride, which has 3 ride leaders, Coach Lundgren consistently goes over road riding commandments to make the dynamic highly productive and fun for everyone. Info is on EliteEndurance.com.