Cyclocross

So cyclocross…

Last Saturday was my first cyclocross race in Jackson Park located on the south side of the city just past the field museum via lake shore drive.

This race is the first of a series called the Chicago Cyclocross Cup that runs from September thru I believe January? The points and structure of the series is very similar to the Illinois cup that runs throughout the road racing season. I have to honest though, it seems like this series is taken a little more seriously than the ICA cup.

All of you Chicagoland residents know what a pitiful and depressing day last Sunday was, it was nothing but overcast skies and intermittent showers all day long. While Corie and I were driving into the city from Naperville I was thinking to myself “I wonder how many people will actually show up in this weather”. It didn’t take long after arriving at the park to realize my thoughts were those of a true roadie that had no idea what the CX culture was like. Yes, I had heard of the European like hooligans, costumes, and alcoholic post-race recovery beverages, but I had no idea how fun the environment was! On a day that would have cut road races fields in half and sent all 5 spectators indoors this place was jamming! All I can say is I truly enjoyed being there and getting to race almost seemed like an afterthought, almost.

Now the race…

As I said it was obvious that the weather didn’t stop anyone from pining on a number so I was pretty confident that the 100 riders pre-registered for this race were here and ready to ride. Due to the size of the field I knew that starting position would be important so I made sure to be at the staging area 20 plus minutes or so before the start of the race.

Just a quick note for those of you who don’t shave their legs for competitive reasons, Cyclocross is the red headed step child of road racing and mountain bike cross country racing. Meaning that you take a slightly modified road bike and race it around an off road fully flagged course while navigating obstacles such as sharp S-curves, off camber up/down hills, barriers, (forcing you to jump off the bike and then quickly back on all the while maintaining forward momentum (hopefully))sand pits, low trees, and much much more. This course also included a turn that in the slick conditions would gracefully deposit you in a pond should you not handle your bike properly.

Back to the racing, after the aggressive back and forth for starting position I was second row dead center for the start. After the whistle blew I knew it would be a crazy dash for the first turn but I had no idea just how nuts it would really be! Let’s just say next time the whistle blows its game on punks!

After witnessing the mayhem of the start I was able to settle into a bit of a groove navigating the obstacles and riding fast enough not to get passed (much) but not so fast as to eat it on every turn. It seemed like the couple times someone would try and pass me it would be headed into a corner and seconds later I would be running over their dumb A$$ as they thrashed about on the ground after dumping their bike. In fairness I wasn’t exactly making up ground on the riders in front of me but I certainly wasn’t falling behind.

I finished the short 35min race in 38^th place, not too bad considering the conditions and my novice but certainly not satisfying. I am looking forward to racing in more controllable conditions and hopefully placing higher in the field but I absolutely enjoyed every minute of my new found down and dirty method of getting my competitive “rocks” off.

I will be in London, Paris, and Brussels next week for work so keep an eye out for some quick post and fun pictures.

That’s all for now…

Gateway Cup Race Report

The Gateway Cup is a 4 day race series held over Labor Day Weekend in St. Louis MO and as I learned firsthand, a highly contended and hugely attended series.

I made the 4hr drive down to St. Louis on Friday afternoon for the first race of the series held on the streets surrounding Lafayette Park. Races were already underway when I arrived 3 hours early for my race slotted at 7:15pm, now you may be thinking to yourself “hmm… 7:30pm this time of year, isn’t it pretty dark?” well… YES it’s very dark!

These types of races are commonly referred to as twilight races and usually take place middle of summer in the late afternoon/evening sunshine, but for twilight races held late in the season, the higher category elite races normally held last get to race in the DARK.  Don’t get me wrong, darkness falling on the final few races of the night is NOT an oversight by the planning committee nor is it a surprise to any returning riders or the community of fans that show up in the thousands to line the streets with glow sticks, light sabers, and beer.

I had read in the race description that the latter categories race “under the lights” to me meaning that the entire course would be sufficiently illuminated to facilitate a large peloton at high speeds. Well… half of that was right…the half about a large peloton at high speeds, not the part about being sufficiently illuminated. 

 Here is a clip of the race...

Well enough about the conditions and on to the race. As the whistle blew the last remaining light had disappeared off the horizon and the 80+ rider peloton tore off down the course. Knowing that my fitness has suffered over the past two months, and my novice of racing in a 80+ rider group at NIGHT I decided to stay tucked away in the upper third of the group thinking to myself I would stay out of the wind and still be able to keep tabs on the front of the group.

The first couple laps were nail biting and fun all at the same time, once I figured out that the majority of the group knew what they were doing and had the same priority of self-preservation I felt more comfortable staying tight in the group and rounding the corners at 27mph+.

The most interesting challenge of racing at night with inconsistent lighting (besides the obvious) is the ever changing and deceptive shadows. Over the past year I have learned to keep my peripheral vision locked onto my flanks in an attempt to predict moves coming from behind me but during this race I had to do my best at ignoring my peripheral vision and focus only on what was in front of me.

The rest of the race and the following day’s race are pretty anti-climactic, I finished upper half in both races and left empty handed. I’m glad I made the drive down and pinned the numbers on but it’s a hard pill to swallow when you realize that you just don’t have the legs or the lungs to get yourself into position for a good finish.  My success during the first ¾ of the season came from having the fitness to not only get myself into position but also dig deep when it counted in the race to the line. No excuses should or will be made just a lesson learned for next year.  

Next up… ICA Cup review and my first Cyclocross Race.