Sucker Brook 'Cross

[PJ McQuade]

Cat 3 report. Patrick, Mark Bernard, Nolan and I all had pretty good call ups in rows 1-3. Scott wasn't in an MRC kit so I won't acknowledge him. Course was similar to previous years but some a.m. showers meant slick corners and a few mud bogs, especially in the opening lap. I started OK but was back from the lead group pretty early; I used the jeep road after the barriers to make up spots. That worked until lap 2 when I passed Nolan, who started real strong, drilled the jeep road but took the less desirable right line through some thick mud and suddenly launched into the woods like a rag doll. Soft landing into the brush and back to work. Nolan and another rider passed me but it could have been worse. I felt good on the last few laps and took advantage of the drying course to snag 8th. Patrick Stybar Collins was out of sight, Nolan scored another top 20 and Mark got stuck at the hole shot but worked his way up.

[pcollins]

I started on the front, had my best start yet and got the holeshot. I spent most of the race in 3rd place, made the pass to 2nd place, then a half lap later I was first with 2 laps to go (I think) when I passed the leader who made a bike change in the pit. On the last lap, the lap card said 2 laps, so I yelled at the official asking if it was 1 or 2 to go… he wrongly said it was 2. I let off the gas slightly to conserve for the “last lap” but my Garmin said 36 minutes… confusing. Approaching the finish, I was still unsure of how many laps to go, so I asked if I was done and I heard a “Yes! You won!” from Chris B. I raised my hands just in time to cross the finish line. Strong showing by MRC in the Cat 3 with myself, PJ, Nolan and Mark B.

I applied for a Cat 2 upgrade.
I officially like cyclocross better than road racing… never thought I would say that.

[pace21]

I officially like cyclocross better than road racing… never thought I would say that.

Somewhere onegeardoug is smiling.

Oh, and congrats Patrick!

[JeremyC]

I officially like cyclocross better than road racing… never thought I would say that.

Dislike but congrats

[Jacob]

Nice job! You make it sound so easy.

[NCgaron]

Let me start by saying that this is a super fun course. I made the selection to run my filetread tires today and did not regret it one bit, I only found one spot that I found was bad for them. Okay so lets get down to the race.. I started second row and had a good start and was with the front group of about 8 for the first two laps. On lap number 3 I started to slowly fade back out of the group and I ended up riding with the second group on the road for most of the race. I ended the day 17th. I would say that is okay but still not what I am looking for, My average HR for 41 minutes was 200 with a max of 208. I am shocked by those numbers.

[scottc]

Great results out there today guys!

[Mkidd3]

Sucker Brook is still one of my favorite courses all year. This year with the addition of actual turns in the sand rather than the standard out and back were a nice addition. I was pumped to be lined up third row untill the rider infront of me forgot that he needed to sprint to the hole shot... So that lap was all about making up those missed spots. Was happy with the way I was riding for the first two laps untill I kicked my rear break into my wheel. CRAP!!! Only lost a few secods but I was driving a train of about 10 guys and they didn't feel like waiting. Last two laps going too hard and making mistakes didn't gain me any real ground. Finished 32/56

Great ride by the rest ofthe team!! Congrats Patrick on thw W!!

MRC is quickly becoming a strong force on the CX circuit now!!

[jraguin]

Great job guys. Patrick is a beast and you guys aren't far behind his beastiness...

[onegeardoug]

I officially like cyclocross better than road racing… never thought I would say that.

Somewhere onegeardoug is smiling.