There were some great battles yesterday. My favorite of the day was the single speed as the beer was flowing and we were getting our heckle game on.
BUT we had another battle-for-the-ages in the 4/5 40+. As most of you know I don't do CX, except for maybe 1 race a year. I decided to spend my one $40 race fee on MRCCX to keep the dollars in house, plus its a perfect category to sandbag in. I looked at the predictor, it had me number 1 by a decent margin, which is both good and bad. Varoujan and Brian Massey were right up there too, I think we were all on the front row. I was feeling the pressure to perform. It was a power course, and yes I'm a roadie, but I tend to do better on the turny/technical stuff.
The race starts straight up the hill, it was full gas and I settle into 3rd place which wasn't easy. I move into 2nd early on, then into 1st when I hopped the log in the sandpit and the other dude ran. I pushed the pace hard in the lead for a lap or so, trying to break their spirit like you see Van Der Poel do on TV. It didn't work, about 1/2 way through the 2nd lap Varoujan and another guy caught me. They sat on for a while, even though I eased up wanting them to take the lead. Varoujan finally pulled through and I was hoping to sit in. That didn't work either, he was crushing us. 3rd lap and I'm gassed and trying to recover, I knew I had to drive my bike flawlessly. Hopping all the logs was a HUGE bonus for me as I would come back to the 2 guys everytime before getting gapped again. Also noteworthy, a large majority of my friends were rooting for Varoujan, which I was fine with. Being a HoF heckler sometimes can come back to haunt you (I would get my revenge later).
Bell rang for last lap (5) which was a huge relief. I knew I just need to hang in there and make my move at the end. Hit the sand pit and send the log at full gas, move into 2nd behind Varoujan. He kept dropping the hammer though, I got gapped on the straight coming back to the barn. We hit the mulch, Varoujan made his first mistake and the gap is nothing. He smashes the grass hill and I'm on the rivet holding his wheel. Third place guy is gone so we're racing for the top 2 steps. We hit the tight left hand offcamber switch back and Varoujan hits the deck. I had just enough room to sneak by along the tape, ride the logs and absolutely sprint up the last hill as if that was the finish line. I felt bad taking it that way, Varoujan has raced perfectly up until that point. Thankfully he hung on for 2nd for the 1-2 MRC finish.
This was probably my hardest effort of the year, I had to take a nap in my car later. And Yes I'll upgrade to 3 now, see you next year.
MRCCX
Re: MRCCX
Also 4/5 40+ for me, what a fun race! Started in 24th (3rd row I think), things started a little dicey from the get go when I'm getting bumped by someone trying to move into a gap and almost had to unclip but managed to stay upright and power up the hill and gain a few spots before the first mulch area. I spent a bit of time tailing Erik and Jeff from 545, trying to find a good spot to make my move, I think I end up picking up a few more spots along the way, especially on the little climb following the 2nd mulch area and back through the start area. Unfortunately didn't get my shift in on the last downhill before the finish to gain separation from a couple of guys I'd been trading spots with and came in 16th instead of 14th. Still, it was objectively my best CX result ever, was in top 30% of the field, and I've got my crossresults under 500
I think this might have been the best power I've done in a CX race, had a NP of 240w with IF of 0.85
I think this might have been the best power I've done in a CX race, had a NP of 240w with IF of 0.85