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Matt Bigos 2011 season wrap up report.
10.18.2011
2011...
3 continents, 5 countries, 7 states, 50,000+ miles, 65+ races, 4
National titles, 2 top 5 World Championship finishes, 2 UCI World
Championship team nominations all in 10 months. To say that 2011 has
been a busy year is an understatement! Things came together late for
me this year, making the move to BH in March of 2011 and the fit was
great from the start. After a rocky 2010 season that saw me narrowly
miss out on the road Worlds team left me hungry all winter.
My season kicked off with a domestic schedule starting in the end of
January and building towards the first UCI Para Road World Cup in
Sydney. With some issues with the UCI and a change in my
classification, I was forced to race in a different disability
category and things looked a bit bleak for my year, and it was only
May! After picking up a pair of 5th places in Sydney, I returned back
stateside to hit the road even harder to keep after my goal of making
the road Worlds team! Before heading to road nationals in Georgia in
mid June, I had a little matter of my first trip of the season to
Europe. Home for 3 weeks after Sydney, I was headed off to Spain for
the second round of the World Cup Series. I was able to get the UCI
to see me again and reevaluate me for classification. They decided to
place me back where I had been racing in 2010! Too bad I missed out
on picking up the wins in Sydney, but I moved onward! Spain saw me
pick up a 6th in the Time Trial and a 4th in the Road Race. Getting
closer to the podium finally! Back stateside and home for one day
before I headed off to Georgia to get ready for the USA Cycling Road
Nationals! Being the road Worlds Selection event for the 2011 event,
it goes without saying that the pressure was on for the Time Trial.
Not being one to crack with pressure, I pulled off what could easily
have been the ride of my life- I pulled off a win in the Time Trial at
Road Nationals! I followed that up in the days after with a win in
the Criterium and Road Race to make it a clean sweep for 3 titles at
Nationals! With my win in the Time Trial, came a nomination to the
UCI road World Championship team. My first trip to worlds was nailed
down!
One more World Cup left for the season and a trip to Canada. The
course was great and I felt it suited me to a T! But, I think I used up
a good bit of my luck in Georgia. The day of the TT I picked up a
stomach bug and needless to say, lost some weight that morning! Raced
to a 6th in the Time Trial after not being sure I would race or not.
Tried to rest, eat and recover as best I could, two days later the
Road Race was up. I rode my heart out on what was the best course of
the year for my climbing legs. I pulled off a 3rd place and my first
trip to the podium at a UCI event! With a long season on the road and
racing I headed home, but not without hitting a few days at Super Week
first and then enjoyed a much deserved break before building back up
for Road Worlds! Build up for Worlds was great; few weeks at home in
San Diego, some local southern California racing, and then off to Colorado
Springs for a 2 week prep camp at the Olympic Training Center before
heading to Denmark. Things rolled smoothly and racing began; the Time
Trial was up first. I was able to finish 5th in the TT. My first
trip to a World Championship event and I was in the top 5. Not bad
for a skinny road race guy! Still being hungry and not content with
no medal in hand, I went into the Road race as one of the guys to watch and
rode rather calm, and tried to hide as much as possible to try to save myself to
make it to the end. A big crash almost put me out of the race early
on and ended up costing me a chance at the podium, but I was able to
get back into the field for most of the day, before finally having to
deal with cramping issues and fatigue after chasing back on early from
the crash. I had to watch the top 3 riders ride away and ended up
being caught by a small chase group and hung on for a 5th. Not what I
really wanted, but I had to take it for the time being.
After returning home from Road Worlds and what had been a big year,
one would think it was time for a break. Nope, onto the track it
was. 3 weeks home and all of it was spent on the track getting ready
for Track Nationals being held in Los Angles. Track Nationals also
work as the selection event for the 2012 UCI Para Track World
Championships being held in Los Angles in February. First and
possibly the only time worlds will be held in my home country- to say
I was motivated for track nats is an understatement! Few weeks on
the boards and my legs were feeling pretty good for racing. Sometimes
though, life happens and plans change. Due to a family emergency I
was forced to miss racing the pursuit and miss most of my training for
the week leading up to nationals. I was able to make it back into
town the night before the Kilo however and still race. Somehow, out
of somewhere, (probably a dark place I shouldn't think about too much)
I pulled out a ride that was enough to win my fourth national title of
the 2011! And that came with a nomination to the Track World
Championship team!!!!!!!!
This has been by far my biggest season of my career! With it came
some amazing highs and dark lows. None of this would have been
possible without some of the most amazing sponsors and equipment on
earth! My BH bikes have been nothing short of amazing all season long
and played a HUGE part in all the success I had this year. I've
already started my 2012 build in hopes of a good ride at the Track
World Championships and defending my National Titles next year and
hoping to make that team for the little event in London next season!
Words aren't really strong enough to say what it means to have the best
people and products behind me!
Thanks for following the journey!
Matt Bigos
Check out Matt's Facebook page for more details on his year and what he's up to.
Matt's blog is another good read for stories about his great season.
