http://www.cyclingdirt.org/rss/speaker/5634-Alex-Grant A native of Vermont’s Green Mountains, Grant began mountain bike racing in the late 1990’s around New England. He enjoyed some top regional results as a junior while dicing it out on occasion with riders like Adam Craig and Alan Obye. In 1998 Alex moved to Salt Lake City, Utah to attend college and took a few years away from bike racing to pursue his passion for snowboarding and travel a little.
Once a bike racer always a bike racer; after a few seasons off Alex was back on his bike in 2004 thinking about racing again. In 2006 he started his first national Pro race at the NMBS finals in Brian Head and placed 20th. In 2007 he earned consistent top results both regionally and nationally, highlighted by a 13th place finish at the XC National Championships.
In 2008 Alex placed 11th in the Deer Valley National XC, took the overall win in the Intermountain Cup (with 5 first place finishes), placed 6th overall at the American Mountain Classic stage race, and showed a sign of his potential by placing 9th at the NMBS finals in Brian Head. Grant was also a member of the Monavie-Cannondale 4 man pro team that took the overall win at the 2008 24 hours of Moab.
Alex looks forward to the “epic” racing schedule of Monavie-Cannondale as he loves endurance racing and testing himself against the elements. He hopes to have his best season yet while racing “on the juice!”
Blog: www.alexanderthegrant.blogspot.com]]> http://dyfb4wahkziyr.cloudfront.net/core/images/empty_speaker_m.gif http://www.cyclingdirt.org/rss/speaker/5634-Alex-Grant en-us Sat, 26 May 2012 15:56:31 GMT Sat, 26 May 2012 15:56:31 GMT http://www.cyclingdirt.org/speaker/5634-Alex-Grant/video/628375-Alex-Grant-Team-Cannondale-Factory-Racing-2012 Fri, 13 Apr 2012 10:50:00 CDT http://www.cyclingdirt.org/speaker/5634-Alex-Grant/video/628375-Alex-Grant-Team-Cannondale-Factory-Racing-2012 http://www.cyclingdirt.org/speaker/3271-Jeremiah-Bishop/video/620337-Cannondale-MTB-Team-Camp-2012
The athletes in attendance, included:

Cannondale Factory Racing (World Cup):
- Marco Fontana
- Manuel Fumic
- Martin Gujan
- Jeremiah Bishop

Cannondale Factory Racing (US):
- Tinker Juarez
- Alex Grant
- Keegan Swenson
- Taylor Smith

OverMountain:
- Jerome Clementz
- Mark Weir
- Ben Cruz
- Aaron Chase

Cannondale Women's Athlete
- Krista Park]]> Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:22:00 CDT http://www.cyclingdirt.org/speaker/3271-Jeremiah-Bishop/video/620337-Cannondale-MTB-Team-Camp-2012 http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/240422-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores-2011/video/514096-Stage-4-La-Ruta-de-Los-Conquistadores-2011 Mon, 07 Nov 2011 09:45:00 CST http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/240422-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores-2011/video/514096-Stage-4-La-Ruta-de-Los-Conquistadores-2011 http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/240422-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores-2011/video/513615-Stage-3-La-Ruta-de-Los-Conquistadores-2011 Sun, 06 Nov 2011 20:00:00 CST http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/240422-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores-2011/video/513615-Stage-3-La-Ruta-de-Los-Conquistadores-2011 http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/240422-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores-2011/video/513612-Stage-2-La-Ruta-de-Los-Conquistadores-2011 Sun, 06 Nov 2011 00:42:00 CDT http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/240422-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores-2011/video/513612-Stage-2-La-Ruta-de-Los-Conquistadores-2011 http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/240422-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores-2011/video/513610-Stage-1-La-Ruta-de-Los-Conquistadores-2011 Sun, 06 Nov 2011 00:36:00 CDT http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/240422-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores-2011/video/513610-Stage-1-La-Ruta-de-Los-Conquistadores-2011 http://www.cyclingdirt.org/speaker/3092-Todd-Wells/video/506147-Leadville-Trail-100-Powerline-Helmet-Cam-by-Alex-Grant-2011-ft-Todd-Wells Tue, 06 Sep 2011 11:04:00 CDT http://www.cyclingdirt.org/speaker/3092-Todd-Wells/video/506147-Leadville-Trail-100-Powerline-Helmet-Cam-by-Alex-Grant-2011-ft-Todd-Wells http://www.cyclingdirt.org/speaker/5634-Alex-Grant/video/501005-Downieville-Classic-2011-Helmet-Cam-Alex-Grant Wed, 20 Jul 2011 08:34:00 CDT http://www.cyclingdirt.org/speaker/5634-Alex-Grant/video/501005-Downieville-Classic-2011-Helmet-Cam-Alex-Grant http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/238822-Trans-Sylvania-Epic-Stage-Race-2011/video/495478-Trans-Sylvania-Epic-2011-Helmet-Cam-Alex-Grant Fri, 10 Jun 2011 08:49:00 CDT http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/238822-Trans-Sylvania-Epic-Stage-Race-2011/video/495478-Trans-Sylvania-Epic-2011-Helmet-Cam-Alex-Grant http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/238822-Trans-Sylvania-Epic-Stage-Race-2011/video/494431-Transylvania-Mountain-Bike-Epic-Stage-7
The open men™s class raced to secure their overall spot on some of the best trail conditions the world has to offer. Kona™s Barry Wicks took an early flyer on the initial technical sections but was caught early by GC leader Jeremiah Bishop (Cannondale), second place GC Jason Sager (Jamis) and Justin Lindine (BikeReg.com/Joe™s Garage/Scott.) The trio worked together and in the end it was Lindine who took the final stage victory as Bishop, who rolled across in second, claimed his second overall TSE title with Sager in second and Kona™s Kris Sneddon in third overall.

The women™s class rode a parade loop today with the top five taking a trail ride together and enjoying a perfect day in the sun. Amanda Carey (Kenda/Felt) is the 2011 TSE champion followed by Selene Yeager (Team CF) and Vicki Barclay (NoTubes/FTC/Performance Labs), who won the final days contest.

In an odd twist, the singlespeed class was all business when Morgan Miller (West Virginia Night Club) said no deal to a single speed parade lap. As fate would have it, Miller, who won the stage, took advantage of a flat tire by second place GC rider Rich Dillen (Team Dickey) and moved into second overall despite a frantic chase by Dillen all the way to the line. Rich Straub (Freeze Thaw/BikeFlights/NoTubes) rode a conservative race and secured his overall TSE title.]]> Sat, 04 Jun 2011 18:53:00 CDT http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/238822-Trans-Sylvania-Epic-Stage-Race-2011/video/494431-Transylvania-Mountain-Bike-Epic-Stage-7 http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/238822-Trans-Sylvania-Epic-Stage-Race-2011/video/494344-Alex-Grant-Transylvania-Epic-Stage-7 Sat, 04 Jun 2011 13:44:07 CDT http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/238822-Trans-Sylvania-Epic-Stage-Race-2011/video/494344-Alex-Grant-Transylvania-Epic-Stage-7 http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/238822-Trans-Sylvania-Epic-Stage-Race-2011/video/494213-Transylvania-Mountain-Bike-Epic-Stage-6
As the open men went up the first singletrack climb off the start Jeremiah Bishop, riding his Cannondale Scalpel 29’er prototype once again, opened up a 25-second gap but sat up at the top to regroup with teammate Alex Grant, Sneddon, his teammate Barry Wicks, Sager and a few other contenders. When the group finally hit the big climb Sager attacked. “He went like it was a road race and instantly got a gap,” explained Bishop.

As the group followed, Wicks was setting pace for his teammate Snedden, who was second on GC. At this point Grant went to the front and pulled Bishop up to Sager.

“When I saw there was separation I slowed down a little just because that far out you need people to ride with,” said Sager. “I heard that Sneddon was gaining faster than Grant so we had to go right away and leave Grant at that point. We were going man to man. Kris chased hard and I went hard.”

As they progressed through the 38-mile course Bishop played it safe, knowing that Sager was on a mission to put time into Sneddon and possibly take over second place in the GC. As the pair hit the rocky singletrack climb leading up to Tussey Ridge, Sager got the jump as Bishop followed, eventually getting around and opening a small gap on the technical section. Unfortunately Bishop lost his chain on the backside of the mountain allowing Sager to join back on. Once the pair hit the final four-mile gravel road to the finish Bishop, knowing that Sager was working to get back time took only took token pulls to keep the pace up. Once the pair turned onto the steep, one-mile grassy climb that funneled to the finish line Bishop attacked and won with 30 seconds to spare over Sager and 7mn:37sec over Grant. But the Jamis rider’s efforts were not in vain, he was able to secure second overall in the GC heading into the last day, 7mn:30sec behind Bishop. Sneddon fell back to third overall, 7mn:31sec behind Sager.

As the open women rode up the first singletrack in a compact group all the major players were accounted for early. Heading into the fireroad climb Amanda Carey (Kenda/Felt) opened up a convincing lead but once into the technical trails Selene Yeager (Team CF) closed the gap and eventually passed her going across the ridge. Once off the rocks and on the final run-in to the finish Carey was able to catch back on to Yeager and then pull away for a solo victory, all but securing her GC title at the conclusion of tomorrow’s final stage.

In the hotly contested single-speed race, Morgan Miller (West Virginia Night Club) took yet another win ahead of Rich Dillen (Team Dicky) and GC leader Rich Straub (Freeze Thaw/BikeFlights/NoTubes).

“When Morgan saw Straub it was over, f**k it,” quipped Dillen. “I had stopped to straighten my rotor then I rode behind Miller for a while but when he saw Straub he was gone. I wanted no part if it.”

Greg Martin (Club Ride) who started the day in third overall retired from the race mid-stage and in so doing moves Miller into third overall on GC, 8mn:04sec behind Dillen and 29mn: 07sec behind Straub.]]> Fri, 03 Jun 2011 21:17:00 CDT http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/238822-Trans-Sylvania-Epic-Stage-Race-2011/video/494213-Transylvania-Mountain-Bike-Epic-Stage-6 http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/238822-Trans-Sylvania-Epic-Stage-Race-2011/video/494179-Alex-Grant-Stage-6-Transylvania-Epic Fri, 03 Jun 2011 17:37:08 CDT http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/238822-Trans-Sylvania-Epic-Stage-Race-2011/video/494179-Alex-Grant-Stage-6-Transylvania-Epic http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/238822-Trans-Sylvania-Epic-Stage-Race-2011/video/493910-Transylvania-Mountain-Bike-Epic-Stage-4
As the bunch roared up the paved, 20-percent grade road off the start towards the singletrack all the contenders were accounted for minus Kona’s Kris Sneddon who missed the selection and later, his teammate Barry Wicks who flatted yet again today. As the group came into the first feed zone at mile nine it was the Team Jamis duo of Jason Sager and Adam Snyder, Cannondale’s Jeremiah Bishop and Alex Grant, Justin Lindine (BikeReg.com/Joe’s Garage/Scott) and Drew Edsall (Super Cool Bike Shop/Fastpaceracing). As the group exited the feed Bishop was left behind and while unleashing a frantic chase flatted twice before the finish. For the next lap and a half this selection stayed together until Sager attacked on the gravel road climb, splintering the bunch. From there he rode solo all the way in to take his second stage in a row.

For the women, Amanda Carey (Kenda/Felt) was first onto the singletrack followed by a paceline of firepower consisting of Selene Yeager (Team CF), Sue Haywood (Shenandoah Bikes/Kenda/Turner/I-9), Rebecca Rusch (Specialized), Vicki Barclay (NoTubes/FTC/Performance Labs) and Sonya Looney (Topeak/Ergon). Looney was the first to pop as Yeager began to pull away and Haywood and Rusch began to chase. This increase in speed was enough to gap Barclay shortly after. On the short but steep gravel road climb midway through the first lap Haywood and Rusch regrouped with Yeager. Haywood was the next to go on her own while Rusch and Yeager worked together to bring her back. Eventually Yeager had to back down and let Rusch go. At one point Haywood looked to be closing in on Carey but it wasn’t enough. Carey won by a safe two-minute margin over Haywood and a charging Rusch. This extended Carey’s GC lead over Yeager to nearly 16-minutes.

While neither category saw major GC changes the men’s field has grown exceptionally close with less than five minutes separating the top three.

In singlespeed action Morgan Miller topped the day followed by Rich Straub (Freeze Thaw/BikeFlights/NoTubes) and Greg Martin (Club Ride). Overnight leader Rich Dillen (Team Dicky) finished fifth, losing the jersey back to Straub.]]> Wed, 01 Jun 2011 22:29:00 CDT http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/238822-Trans-Sylvania-Epic-Stage-Race-2011/video/493910-Transylvania-Mountain-Bike-Epic-Stage-4 http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/238822-Trans-Sylvania-Epic-Stage-Race-2011/video/493893-Alex-Grant-Stage-4-Transylvania-Epic Wed, 01 Jun 2011 19:25:11 CDT http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/238822-Trans-Sylvania-Epic-Stage-Race-2011/video/493893-Alex-Grant-Stage-4-Transylvania-Epic http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/238822-Trans-Sylvania-Epic-Stage-Race-2011/video/493590-Transylvania-Mountain-Bike-Epic-Stage-3 Tue, 31 May 2011 17:08:00 CDT http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/238822-Trans-Sylvania-Epic-Stage-Race-2011/video/493590-Transylvania-Mountain-Bike-Epic-Stage-3 http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/238822-Trans-Sylvania-Epic-Stage-Race-2011/video/493573-Alex-Grant-Stage-3-Transylvania-Epic Tue, 31 May 2011 14:26:30 CDT http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/238822-Trans-Sylvania-Epic-Stage-Race-2011/video/493573-Alex-Grant-Stage-3-Transylvania-Epic http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/238822-Trans-Sylvania-Epic-Stage-Race-2011/video/493445-Alex-Grant-Stage-2-Transylvania-Epic Mon, 30 May 2011 14:29:00 CDT http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/238822-Trans-Sylvania-Epic-Stage-Race-2011/video/493445-Alex-Grant-Stage-2-Transylvania-Epic http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/238822-Trans-Sylvania-Epic-Stage-Race-2011/video/493312-Alex-Grant-Stage-1-Transylvania-Epic Sun, 29 May 2011 19:22:00 CDT http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/238822-Trans-Sylvania-Epic-Stage-Race-2011/video/493312-Alex-Grant-Stage-1-Transylvania-Epic http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/237850-10-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores/video/372880-La-Ruta-Stage-5-Highlights Sun, 28 Nov 2010 10:39:00 CST http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/237850-10-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores/video/372880-La-Ruta-Stage-5-Highlights http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/237850-10-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores/video/369059-Stage-4-la-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores-2010 Sun, 21 Nov 2010 09:45:00 CST http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/237850-10-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores/video/369059-Stage-4-la-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores-2010 http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/237850-10-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores/video/368682-UNCUT-Lead-Group-Over-Crazy-Bridge Sat, 20 Nov 2010 23:45:00 CST http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/237850-10-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores/video/368682-UNCUT-Lead-Group-Over-Crazy-Bridge http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/237850-10-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores/video/368663-UNCUT-Stage-4-GC-Leaders-Group-Climb Sat, 20 Nov 2010 23:35:00 CST http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/237850-10-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores/video/368663-UNCUT-Stage-4-GC-Leaders-Group-Climb http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/237850-10-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores/video/368693-UNCUT-Stage-4-Overall-GC-Podium Sat, 20 Nov 2010 23:02:00 CST http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/237850-10-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores/video/368693-UNCUT-Stage-4-Overall-GC-Podium http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/237850-10-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores/video/368341-Stage-3-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores-2010
Federico Ramirez (3rd on GC) attcked hard and early on stage 2 to try and get back time on Alex Grant (2nd on GC) and Ben Sonntag (1st on GC). He got away with Milton Ramos, Luis Pinto, and Luis Mejia (Who's was DSQ before stage 3 start for taking feeds out of the feed zone on Stage 2. South American riders protested and refused to start until race leader Ben Sonntag got on the mic and gave a speach about playing by the rules that got everyone on their way. See video on CyclingDirt.) Sonntag struggled to find his legs today on the volcano climb and teammate Alex Grant took one for the team and stayed with him all day risking his own 2nd place on GC. Lico had 4:30 over the CFR teammates at the top of the Volacano. Milton Ramos rode away from everyone on the decent to win the stage. Lico, who lives on the road in to today's finish, flatted but had a quick change. He finished 3rd, only 3:45 ahead of Grant and Sonntag. 1, 2, 3 on GC stay the same but Lico moves within 4 mins of the lead and 2 min of 2nd place. Total time was ~3.5 hrs. for the winner. Full results, video, photos, report, coming soon to The Dirt!]]> Fri, 19 Nov 2010 21:25:00 CST http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/237850-10-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores/video/368341-Stage-3-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores-2010 http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/237850-10-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores/video/368348-La-Ruta-2010-Stage-3-Helmet-cam Fri, 19 Nov 2010 17:57:00 CST http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/237850-10-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores/video/368348-La-Ruta-2010-Stage-3-Helmet-cam http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/237850-10-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores/video/368223-UNCUT-Stage-3-Grant-Sonntag-Schultz-Chase Fri, 19 Nov 2010 14:36:00 CST http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/237850-10-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores/video/368223-UNCUT-Stage-3-Grant-Sonntag-Schultz-Chase http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/237850-10-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores/video/367985-Stage-2-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores-2010 Thu, 18 Nov 2010 21:36:00 CST http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/237850-10-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores/video/367985-Stage-2-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores-2010 http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/237850-10-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores/video/368042-La-Ruta-2010-Stage-2-Helmet-Cam Thu, 18 Nov 2010 21:26:00 CST http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/237850-10-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores/video/368042-La-Ruta-2010-Stage-2-Helmet-Cam http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/237850-10-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores/video/367886-UNCUT-Stage-2-Leader-1st-Climb Thu, 18 Nov 2010 12:30:00 CST http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/237850-10-La-Ruta-de-los-Conquistadores/video/367886-UNCUT-Stage-2-Leader-1st-Climb