COLE IS BACK
Cole Davis takes the top step in California.
BREAKING NEWS
Cole is back on top, taking the win at the Grasshopper Adventure Series in Ukiah, California over the weekend. After a month to find form again post-injury, Cole is back on top form, and we are so proud to see him taking the win in California. We got a quick insight from him on the day.
Grasshopper Adventure Rides — Ukiah, CA - from Cole.
74 miles. 8,000 feet. A 1,900-foot climb right out of the gate, a technical descent, 25 rolling paved miles, then deep dust and sand, a 12-minute climb, and a 25-minute non-technical descent into the finish. The Grasshopper Series doesn’t ease you in.
Going in, I had a few names on my radar. Griffin Hoppin — 2025 U23 Life Time Grand Prix champion. Cassius Anderson — solid early-season campaign in Australia, top 10 at RADL Gravel. And a wildcard I didn’t know much about: Kyle Ward, a local CycleSport rider.
We had a group of five over the top of the first climb. I pushed the pace on the descent and opened up a lot of gaps behind. Griffin had gone down twice and had to abandon later (he’s okay), but that changed the dynamic early.
Kyle and I hit the pavement together and rode exactly as hard as we needed to hold our gap without blowing ourselves up. Controlled aggression.
Once we hit the deep, loose dust, I started testing. Worth noting we were both running tires with a slick center tread, but I had more knobs to dig in and find traction. Small detail. It mattered.
It was just Kyle and I heading into the descent before the final climb. I pushed the pace on the way down and used it as my launch pad, arriving at the base of the climb with a gap. Then I heard it… my rear tire going flat. I stopped, couldn’t find the hole or any sealant. Pumped it up, chased back to Kyle, and attacked again. Lasted a few minutes before it went flat a second time. Rookie mistake, I forgot to tighten the valve all the way. I emptied my last CO2, hoped it would be enough to get me to the finish, caught Kyle one more time, and launched a final attack on whatever was left in the tank.
I crested the top solo. Carefully navigated my way to the finish.
3 hours and 50 minutes.
Eight minutes faster than Stetina’s 2024 course record.
Post Race Interview
A Note on Cole’s Season
Cole came into 2026 with big ambitions for a Lifetime GP Wildcard and an early injury that forced him to recalibrate. Sea Otter and Athens were honest races from a guy still finding his legs and he showed up and gave everything he had both times. May was about locking back in and rebuilding with focus.
To see him back smashing it in training and now breaking course records on a brutal 74-mile gravel race in northern California? That’s character. SpeedStudio is a better team with Cole Davis fully healthy and hungry, and the guys are heading full steam into Tulsa Tough and US Pro Nationals.
Sponsor Highlight - Wahoo Fitness
Technology Partner
Wahoo is more than a sponsor. It’s a relationship that predates SpeedStudio entirely. Chad and Wahoo founder Chip Hawkins have known each other since before Chip even started the company. That’s a deep, long-standing connection rooted in a shared belief that cycling culture in Atlanta is something special worth investing in. Our Crank It Up event at the studio with Wahoo was proof of that energy. MG and Cole train and race with Wahoo devices, and the KICKR is a staple of our members’ off-season setups.
Wahoo is an Atlanta-based fitness technology company that’s been building the connected training ecosystem since Chip founded it in 2009. They make the KICKR smart trainers, ELEMNT GPS computers, TICKR heart rate monitors, and SPEEDPLAY pedals. Their whole philosophy is built around progress over podiums and making athletes better. Having a technology partner based right here in Atlanta that genuinely cares about growing the local cycling community isn’t just convenient. It’s essential to what SpeedStudio represents.
MGR Corner
Ahhh. It’s good to be home.
This week felt like breathing again. Back to my routines, back to my place, back to Atlanta. No races to pack for — just time to breathe, find the rhythm again, get in the best few weeks of training, and just be.
There’s something people don’t talk about enough: how much easier it is to be disciplined when you’re home. Racing throws variables at you constantly travel, time zones, unfamiliar roads, different beds, different food, the mental load of being “on” all the time. It can pull you out of your zen whether you want it to or not. Back home, the variables mostly disappear. The routine returns. And with routine comes the kind of rigid, peaceful discipline that actually moves the needle.
The mission right now is simple: control. My word of the weeks. Maintaining and polishing form, but in a serious and structured way. It’s way more about holding back than pushing forward, and honestly, that’s its own discipline. We easily let ourself drift past our limit, which in my opinion can do more harm than good.
The training shifts heading into Tulsa and Pro Road. Early season was high volume, high KJ days — building the engine, simulating the long brutal efforts that gravel demands. Now we’re sharpening. Less diesel, more scalpel. Zone 2 is absolutely strict and I haven’t been riding as much with groups because of it. These endurance days are fueled well and finished relaxed. It should feel easy. Then the hard days are genuinely hard — but not too many. Today was 2.5 hours with 5x3 mins at between 500-550 watts. Hard but controllable.
This past Saturday was something special. Spin for Special Ops. I come from a military family — my dad was a Navy pilot — so walking into something like that hits different. It wasn’t just a ride. It was a reminder of what real sacrifice looks like. Huge thanks to Mike and Lule for putting it together. That kind of event stays with you.
Sunday was five hours in the rain. Strict Z2. Meditative as hell. Mind quiet, legs just finding the rhythm, no thinking about watts or pace. Just cruising — explored north all the way up to Milton (or as chad says Tennessee). Took Monday easy and missed the Memorial Day Airport Ride — no stress.
The plan is working. The signals are good. Fitness is there, legs have snap, mind is sharp. Full taper isn’t until next week, but I already feel like a different person than I did a few weeks back in Europe.
CANT FORGET, how good it is to see Cole absolutely flying. I know how dialed he has been these past few weeks post Athens, and I can’t put into words how excited I am to be racing together in the next months, both on top form and fitness.
It’s going to be a good June.
— MG