HPCX

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NateMorse
Voiture Balai
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Sep 19, 2017 6:22 pm

HPCX

Post by NateMorse »

I made the trip down to Jamesburg, New Jersey this past weekend for the HPCX UCI C2 weekend. This was my first big travel weekend in a while, so I was very excited and I had heard great things about the course. The forecast also was suggesting some rain for sunday. A muddy race at last!

Saturday's conditions were warm, dry, and windy. The course had a pretty substantial amount of elevation gain, but was fun, fast, and flowy on the downhills! I was able to secure a good start from the second row and got settled into the effort as quick as possible. I found myself in a solid group with Adam Myerson for the first three laps, which I was very pleased with. This group was fighting for 12th place, so I was thrilled to be that far up in the field. Nearing the mid way point of the race, I definitely felt myself losing a bit of steam from all the heavy climbing. Losing contact with this group was frustrating, but I kept my head down and tried to keep my laps as consistent and fast as possible. I also believe I was the only one able to hop the very tall and uphill barriers, so that was a bonus! I ended up slipping to 18th, but was still pleased with the solid improvement over the past several UCI events.

Waking up on Sunday morning to steady rain and cooler weather was a treat. After the driest, hottest and dustiest beginning of a cross season I've experienced in my 11 years of racing, we were certainly due for some true cross conditions! It was truly exciting to get to put on the mud tires for the first time this year. I had such a huge smile on my face during the pre-ride laps. Again, I was able to get myself settled in just outside the top ten for the first few laps, and my goal was to finish top 15. However, a very unfortunate run in with some course tape quickly put an end to those prospects. I somehow managed to get about 10ft of course tape completely wrapped around my cassette and hub, and was only able to get the tape out with the help of a spectators pocket knife! After this seemingly endless minute or so of panic, I made a bike change to get the rest of the tape out and began my hunt to regain positions. I took my main bike back on the next lap as it had the Mud treads on, and was making steady progress picking off the riders ahead of me. Unfortunately, I suffered a rear flat soon after the pit on lap four. I made my way around the course and changed bikes, but by that time, race leader Scott Smith was already quick on my heals. Bad luck aside, I was pleased to be sitting comfortably outside the top 10 once again and had an absolute blast in the mud!

I am looking forward to continuing my progress into next weekend's race in Falmouth, Mass!
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