Todd Wells, Jinglecross 2007

So I drop an email saying, "Yo T-Wells!" I've been wanting to do this for years, ever since I got hooked on reading Todd Wells' weblog a few years ago. From the tasty wraps at RGP, to the home updates, picking on his little brother Troy, trips to Mexico with Meg, and the occasional international bike race, Wells is hard to keep up with.

So, Todd Wells shoots a note back to let CyclingUpdate.com readers get a handle on why one of the most infamous cyclocrossers in the blogosphere is so excited to race in Iowa.

For those who aren't familiar with the former IBM MBA who threw security into the wind to race his bikes full time and ponder the mysteries of the bicycle racing universe, including, "Where's Gully?" Being a current MBA student, I'm wondering just how he could pull it off. Oh yeah, he was a junior and senior phenom, too.

Wells, a perennial contender at any level of racing cyclocross has a stars-and-stripes hanging in his closet from 2005, where he lapped Jinglecross promoter John Meehan twice. Since then, the jersey has been handed off to two crossers making the hop across the pond to Belgium, whereas Wells graces Iowa with his presence at Jinglecross.

CU: How does Jinglecross figure into the season?

TW: "I start my cross season a bit later then a lot of guys. Since I race a full mtb season starting in March and ending 2 days before the Vegas Cross race this year, I need to take a break. That means when everyone is racing gathering UCI points, I'm taking time off the bike and starting to do some training. That makes Jingle Cross a great race for me to increase my fitness to help accomplish my goal of winnning nationals."

CU:Have you raced in Iowa before? What are your expectations of the race and the crowds of Mt. Krumpit?

TW: "I have never raced in Iowa before, the closest would be Minnesota. It seems like all the UCI races have been getting better and better the last few years. They have been run very professionally, had great crowds and the coursess have been awesome. I'm sure Mt. Krumpit will be on par with everything I've seen so far. Plus you guys have all those Reindeer on your website so it's gotta be good.

CU: What do you think of the US 'cross scene and where is it going?

TW: "The US cross scene has been growing each year. It's great to see such a cool sport gaining so much exsposure in the US. I think it's more exciting to watch then road or mountain bike racing, it's in urban areas and it has the "extreme" factor with the weather that people seem to like."

CU: Who is Gully and what should he doing? Will he be at Jinglecross?

TW: "Gully is Marc Gulickson, my former teamate on Mongoose and the guy who got me into cyclocross. He was national elite champion in either 1999 or 2000, not sure which.

He won't be at Jingle Cross, he's probably busy designing Hutchinson's latest ad campaign."

So, if we're really, really lucky, we might just see Gully at Jinglecross. Otherwise, we're destined to see the biggest weekend of racing in Iowa cyclocross, ever, with T-Wells putting on a clinic for how to have a great time living the cyclocrosser dream.