FEATURE
PIKES PEAK INTERNATIONAL HILL CLIMB – PART II
P102
Myself, race winner Bruno, Aprilia rider Kevin
Heil, and race administrator Nick Razzano tried
to console an inconsolable man. Eventually,
Joseph was put on the train that takes tourists
from the Summit back to Manitou Springs, where
he was taken to the Primrose Hospital to be with
Connor. As I write this, Connor is out of a five-
day intensive care stay, his overall condition now
stable, with head and neck injuries that at this
stage, look like he'll be able to recover from.
If I thought that was to be the end of the
drama—it wasn't.
The race never got to run its full course.
Crashes and weather conspired to make the
100th Anniversary of the race a 95 percent start
event. Sitting in the café after about six hours of
waiting, we were told the final competitors were
nearing the Summit and we should head to our
machines.
Everyone did so, then another red flag. And a
full-scale blizzard.
The top of the mountain was under a foot of
snow in about 15 minutes. It was yet another
first in a day of firsts for me, and negotiating
the mountain in the opposite direction, under a
blanket of snow with stone cold slick tires, wasn't
a lot of fun.
The crowd was incredible. It was a good half-
hour of slapping hands with the fans as we slowly
made our way back to the pits, and that made me
feel a bit better.
DONE WITH… FOR NOW
The result of fourth place overall, second in the
Heavyweight class and 2016 Rookie of the Year
has only hardened my resolve to get back to
Pikes Peak and complete the race properly. Fail-
ing at something I know I can do is one thing that
drives me nuts, so plans are already in place to
right the wrong of 2016.
Despite the result, racing Pikes Peak was the
most exhilarating, life-affirming thing I've ever
done. Everything about the place makes you glad
to be alive, to be able to experience it and take it
in. That's what's good about tough endeavors—
they make you all the more appreciative of every-
thing in your life, and make you want to do better.
I'll be back, you can bet on that. CN
The disappointment
was hard to describe,
but we'll be back—
bet on that.
