The first gravel race in Holy Cow history! The Old Man Winter Rally has established itself as the season kick-off for Colorado and even some visiting professional gravel racers. This year, World Tour legend Jens Voigt showed up!
John Maegerlein, a founding cow of Holy Cow Racing, represented the team at this year's Old Man Winter Rally on February 5th, 2023. This blog article is a recount of the events that took place throughout the day.
The Old Man Winter Rally started off a lot like a gravel criterium; it was an all-out stampede and opportunity to trample others for position on the dirt roads of Lyons and Hygeine. But hey, we weren't complaining – it was a ton of fun, us bovine are built for stampedes. The day's goal was simply to have a good time, it was fun to keep pace with the pack.
While different groups were established at the beginning and on the long drag up Left Hand Canyon, Rowena was where the race was defined. Everyone was trying to cyclocross mount and dismount every 20 feet due to thick snow. Eventually, we all resigned to the brutal trail condition and walked our bikes. Rowena felt like it lasted a lifetime.
Once we were off Rowena, we were greeted by a much-needed aid station to restock on hay, alfalfa, and legumes. After refueling, we took on a monster descent down Sunshine Canyon into Boulder. But we were in for a surprise – we hadn't looked at the elevation profile and the next two steep climbs up Linden and Olde Stage caught us off guard. It was a real uphill battle!
My favorite part was hitting the aero tuck down Old Stage to catch up to a good buddy of mine (who dropped us stronger bovine on the climbs). We spent the final 20 miles trading pulls with him back into Lyons. Without him, the day would have felt a lot longer. A few breaks from the wind really helped us mooooove along.
This is absolutely an event I see myself doing for many years to come. Even though it is technically a race, the atmosphere is fantastic and everyone there is just excited to get out and make the most of a February day at the beginning of the season. Holy Cow Racing had an udderly great time at the Old Man Winter Rally, and we can't wait to do it again next year!
--