can someone please feed the skinny guy

With over 600 racers in attendance, extreme heat, and awesome trails, The Fairhill Classic this past weekend was a great race.  Matt Miller flew the GMA flag proud as the Elite field took off into the woods.  Matt stayed true to his patented slow start and entered the woods in around 20th position.  He continued to ride smooth and smart and found himself in 6th place at about1/3 of the way through the single 27 mile lap. 
Sometimes Matt gets so caught up in rad trails that he forgets to eat, and Sunday was one of those days.  Of course not eating and bike racing don't usually go hand-in-hand, and the Giant rider lost a few positions by the end of the race to finish in 9th place. 

Race Report: Bulldog Rump AMBC XC

By: 3 Chilean Llamas and 1 Peruvian Newt.

Jordan takes the win, with Matt in 4th!

A staple on the Mid-Atlantic race calendar for the past 15 years, the Bulldog Rump in Andover, NJ is a great representation of fast, fun, east-coast riding.  It's not too technical, but just enough.  It doesn't climb a ton, but just enough to make a difference.  It's got plenty of places to pass and sort things out, which is always a good thing in a race.  It truly is an overall great race course, and is why it draws such a great crowd year-after-year.

Lining up to start, one would think that the pro field would be a little thin, due to a Super Series race happening the same day, but you'd be wrong!  Strong riders such as Dave Weaver (Alan), Maurice Gamanho (MtbNJ.com), Ray Adams (PAValleys.com), and Mike Montalbano (Dark Horse) all showed up to keep the boys in blue in check on the day.  The race started FAST, with Ray Adams leading things out with Weaver, Maurice, and Jordan K in tow.  After some sorting out, Dave and Maurice took off, with Jordan catching on shortly after.  Quickly, Jordan went to the front and set a solid pace that slowly shed Maurice and Weaver over the course of the rest of the lap and the beginning of the second lap, leaving him out front on a solo ride.

This pretty much sums up how everyone felt after a hot day of racing.

Meanwhile, Matt was riding smooth and getting stronger as the race progressed, catching riders as they faded to make it up to 3rd at the race's mid-point.  After fighting it out with Montalbano for a bit, he was forced to concede as the heat was taking it's toll, but he continued rolling strong, holding onto 4th.  Jordan rolled in for the win, holding his gap over a surging Montalbano and happy to have a win under his belt for the season.

Another great race for the team, with more to come!  Thanks again to all our sponsors and supporters!  And to think, it's only July.......

Race Report: Long Pine Classic, M.A.S.S.

By: Who do you think?!?!

Long Pine Classic podium, Jordan 2nd, Matt 5th.  

It's always nice when you can start a race report with a podium shot!  The Giant Mid-Atlantic Cycling Team celebrated 'Merica's Birthday in Michaux State Forest at the Long Pine Classic XC race.  It was an old-school single-lap throw-down with plenty of walks and climbing.  Despite it being a big 'ole fat american holiday, there was still a strong field of Pro/Open racers at the start line, ready to hold off on their (intercourse) beer drinking until 22 miles later.

With a lead moto to start things off, we rolled out nuetral until the road turned upward and it was game-on. It was here that Matt & Jordan took things easy while everyone traded barbs up the first climb into the singletrack.  It didn't take long for people to get in over their heads, and our intrepid duo soon found themselves up with the first chasers without too much effort (a combination of crashing and lapped riders helped too).  We rode some fun singletrack for a while, making a little time up on the lead duo, then hopped out onto a fireroad where Jordan set pace up to the leaders.  Once caught, we had about 6 or 7 in the lead group, and things stayed relatively calm in the next singletrack section while we passed sport racers.  On the next fireroad, we regrouped and Brandon D set pace towards the next section of trail, which was a long doubletrack climb.  Here, Jordan took over the pace and quickly set himself apart from everyone else, tapping out a gap of over a minute at one point.  Matt stayed reserved and patient with a teammate ahead, and rode smooth and clean to the finish for 5th.  Jordan solo'd the rest of the course until getting caught by Aaron Snyder with 500m to go.  Due to some confusion on the location of the finish, Aaron took the win in a 'sprint'.

After the race, we had a chilled case of Inercourse Brewing Co. Bareville Pilsner ready to go, which needless to say vanished quickly while we waited for awards.  Awesome day on the bike for Giant Mid-Atlantic!