Mike Garrigan ready to defend national cyclocross title, kind of

On Sunday, Mike Garrigan, the current national cyclocross champion, raced in a provincial CX event in Niagara Falls, Ont. The 33-year-old has faced such riders as Mathieu van der Poel and Sven Nys in World Cups and world championships. This past weekend, he was up against guys he’s mentored.

“Those guys gave me a good run for my money,” Garrigan said of William Elliott and Peter Disera, both of whom have attended training camps run by the more senior rider. “I respect those kids. I’ve worked with them for a long time. I know they’d love to beat me and that’s important. That’s really good. You have to put yourself out there to get beat up. I don’t like it when guys go to local races and don’t race. That’s bit chicken. If you can beat them, you should show them that you’re there to win. You don’t say, ‘Well, if I wanted to beat you, I could.’ No, just do it. It’s important that once you get on a start line, you try your best.”

While Disera is slated to race at nationals this upcoming Saturday, he won’t face Garrigan. The younger rider will be in the under-23 race. His mentor will have his work cut out for him in the elite event. In 2014, Garrigan had competed in at least 14 C1- or C2-level races before nationals. This year, he’s had roughly four at those levels. He said he was totally out of shape for the Gloucester and Providence weekends of New England’s Holy Week of cyclocross. “I was just sucking wind, suffering like crazy, trying my best, but having fun at the back,” he said.

“I’m certainly motivated,” he added about defending his Canadian championship title. “If I don’t think about fitness or training, and just think about my motivation levels, they’re very high, as well as my excitement and confidence for nationals.”

Garrigan always seems to have a ton of projects on the go. This past summer, he ran a bike tour that centred on Croatia, which is part of a business he’s developing. Also, this past summer, he became the national mountain bike team’s technical coach. He’s onhand at big events to offer advice on technique to riders such as Catharine Pendrel, Geoff Kabush and Raphaël Gagné. Garrigan’s technical coach gig took him to the XC World Cup in Val Di Sole, Italy, in August, to the XC world championships in Andorra at the start of September, then roughly a week ago, to Rio with some Canadian mountain bikers to check out the Olympic course. Packing up his place in Brooklyn between Gloucester and Providence also had an effect on his cyclocross racing.

This year, the elite men’s field heading to Winnipeg has a lot of talent that will make defending the maple-leaf jersey particularly challenging for Garrigan. Five-time national champ, Geoff Kabush, will be there. In 2008, when Garrigan tried to defend his 2007 CX title, it was between him and Kabush. “We had a duel,” Garrigan remembers. “He beat me in the end. He just tired me out. Geoff is always a wildcard. I’ve heard he’s had a good week of training and he’s really recharged after spending some time at home on Hornby Island. I’m sure he’ll be rocking.”

Garrigan also sees strength in Kabush’s Scott-3 Rox Racing teammates, Derek Zandstra and Cameron Jette. “Not everyone knows, but Derek Zandstra rode himself into the top 20 at the Vegas World Cup,” Garrigan said. “Then he had a mechanical, fell back, and then rode through a whole bunch of guys again to 36th. It’s unreal. He has a good motor on him. And Cam’s the type of rider who can ride as fast as Derek or anybody else when he needs to do it for his team.”

At the end of August, Canada got a team focused solely on cyclocross: Red Truck-Garneau presented by Easton. It’s three male riders are podium contenders in the elite men’s race. “Raphaël Gagné is unreal. He’s had an amazing season. I view Raph as a favourite. I’m a big fan and enjoy working with him on the mountain bike side of things. He’s also an unbelievable bunny hopper,” Garrigan said. “Michael van den Ham is riding so well. He was riding with Geoff at last year at nationals, the two of them chasing me. He’s brought his game up some more. And Craig Richey is really strong.”

Evan McNeely and Andrew L’Esperance, both members of Norco Factory Racing, will be playing team tactics, too. With all these teams on the course, does a solo rider like Garrigan feel under-siege? Nope. “That’s normal. That’s fine,” said Garrigan shrugging. “As an independent, it’s sometimes easier. There are no ‘cards to play.’ Just go with the move and that’s it. If I’m strong, I hope I can go with whomever goes. Then the teams can mess around with each other behind. If I’m not strong enough, I’ll just be sucking wind and suffering. If I’m out of the picture, I’ll race with whomever I’m with. And whomever I’m with better be ready because we are in a race.”

The rider then revealed the engaged but also somewhat resigned approach he brings to competition, which showed itself in that the local Ontario affair as well as those big U.S. events. “At the U.S. races, I always get these amazing sprint finishes for 25th or whatever. Once you find where you’re at on the day, then you just have to accept it and enjoy the ride. And, let the guys know it’s on.”