Root 66 Mt. Snow Cyclocross Race Report

Pro
4th

A bonus biking weekend arose after I dropped Babs and the boys off at Logan Friday afternoon for their trip to see her side of the fam. I noticed there was some added Saturday activity here at Mt. Snow so I catered my plans to attend. I spent the night in Boston Friday and leisurely drove over this morning to meet Burnsy to race and lodge for the night.
Apparently there was some additional heavy rain here last night, but today was a beauty. Our plan was to get a lap on the XC course in as a warmup to the CX race. Fortunately JB heard over the loudspeaker they were combining classes and bumping our start time up a 1/2 hour so we bagged the pre-ride and warmed up on the road. Of course, the field was tiny, but all you need is Kevin Hines in the pack and you know its going to be a race no matter what to try to keep up with him. Colin Rueter was fresh off a 2-lap warmup and got the hole shot, leading for a couple of laps. I was content to sit behind Kevin and let him dictate the pace. The course was not your standard Mt. Snow short track. Yes it had the same start/finish and it climbed up the access road and dropped you down by the pump house and a 200 degree turn to the finish straight. But added was a loop around a building onto the sidewalk and up a short steep step-up they thought would be a run-up. But we of nasty biking skills negated the need to dismount. It also climbed higher than the ST, a bit of a slap in the face and then used a giant S-turn on a ski slope to descend. So, the question was, what would win: MTB or CX bike? A 'cross bike had the advantage on the flats and the climb, but the mtb could descend better, especially since there was a bit of mud and wet grass to contend with. Colin, Kevin, a Noreast guy, and I rode CX. Burns, and a Cannondale guy rode mtb's. We were to ride 20 minutes plus 3 laps. After Colin was reeled in, the Noreast guy came around me and we continued to trail Hines. Hines' strength was on the climb. He would routinely get a 5 second gap at the very top, but then we would come together by the time we reached the base of the climb again after he fully recovered and was ready to unleash another acceleration. On consecutive laps Kevin bobbled on the step-up causing a momentum stopper, the nthe Noreast guy caught a pedal the next lap and he was gone. Kevin was now inching away as I could not match his climb pace. My slowing brought Burns and the Cannondaler into the mix and I was content to ride behind Burns. The Cannondaler attacked about 2/3 of the way in and neither John nor I responded. I rode his wheel around the base and stayed in contact on the climb, lost some on the descent, repeat, all the way to the finish coming home 4th. I was pretty sure JB had an extra gear to kick in if I came around him, so I didn't bother. I chalked it up to a solid day to prep for tomorrow's XC.
JB and I bagged the pre-ride altogether after hearing there was significant mud out there to save the bikes and the bodies.