Here we are again, sore legs from the ol’ mid race cramps and long hours on a bus, sitting behind a computer screen, figuring out where to start. So it’s 2017, and the first few PRT races have come and gone; it seems like just yesterday I was headed to Redlands with a bum leg […]

Going ‘Cross to CHINA

12 months, it’s been 12 months since I started training for the 2016 season. Since then I’ve been to Tasmania, Malaysia, Dubai, Canada, and 20 some states. There’s been some rest here and there, but the offseason hasn’t actually officially begun yet. Last year, I took a leave of absence from cyclocross. A broken Scaphoid […]

20 Seconds

Rooted! As my Euro teammates would say. In context, “Dude- that race was so (expletive hard) I’m so rooted”. Rooted was pretty much exactly how I felt after Air Force Classic. It was the week after Philadelphia Classic, and I really had no idea how much longer I could hold the momentum. Thankfully I had […]

Le Tour of the moon- (Gila)

After driving from Fayetville to Alberquerqe then taking the mountain pass to silver city, it was clear we had landed on the moon. Upon opening the sprinter van door, we found ourselves gasping for precious oxygen. We threw our specialized evade helmets on, and headed out for exploration. The climate was dry and foreign, but […]

Perfectly Arkansas

Once Redlands finished, we headed home and got one week of training in before we headed back out to Arkansas for the UCI Joe Martin Stage race. It’s a 4 day race in Fayetteville, that goes through the Northwest corner of the state. My leg started to feel a lot better after resting for a few […]

1.5 Legs

There’s always a point in an endurance athlete’s career when they reach a pinnacle of fitness, one higher than they’ve ever reached before. Each workout you start pushing new boundaries, and you can’t wait for the first race. Then, it hits you like a ton of bricks. What’s that annoying pain in my thigh? Hmmm. […]

When it pours there’s a race for the Rainbow.

2015 is a wrap; and it ended way differently than I would have expected. Joe Martin was my last post, since then- I’ve broken 3 bones, been in countless of states, and raced in a World Championships. I’m still trying to piece together the whole broken bones issue. Literally. The first one came at Winston Salem […]

Joe Martin UCI Stage Race

Joe Martin- It was my second stage race last year, and the first stage race I was fit enough to not feel as if my legs and lungs were being trampled on by a baby elephant every gasping moment. So when I found out the race was going to be UCI event this year, I […]

Author: jakesitler

Jake Sitler diary: An American embraces the gutter life at Schaal Sels

An American at An Post Ras

China, Spain, Camps, Cramps, and Bama’