Verge NECCS #7 Downeast Cyclocross Report

Elite
12th/43

Not a typo! I guess the stars were aligned for me today resulting in my best CX finish evah. A fan best summed it up by saying mid way through “You’re having the race of your life.” And from there, the Dirty Dancing song lyrics rang through my head spurring me on to the finish.
As much of a pleasant surprise the result was, I think it’s pretty cut and dry how it came about. Conditions were deplorable as a cold rain fell all day long relegating this new course into a muddly mess. I rode 1 lap on my pit bike and it took like 15 minutes as the going was slow. When I was done I had no recollection of what I rode and prepared myself to go into the race blind. The layout was typical for this venue: pasture, dirt path in the woods, several elevation changes. I would not call this a typical CX course, but then again what is? The week before I was riding on a sidewalk along the ocean! So my mindset was transformed to the knowledge everyone else was in the same boat (no pun intended!) and I simply needed to stay positive and just ride.

Photos by real man Paul Weiss braving the elements as well!

I was the first called up on the 3rd row and I picked a sweet outside line. After the whistle we sprinted up the short pavement and onto a long dirt section.

It sounded like there was a bit of congestion behind and to my right. I motored on sucking the mud and water flung up by the Sexual Camel in front of me. Given the conditions of the rest of the course, I opted to start in my small ring and avoid the possibility of a miss-shift once things got hairy on the trail. It seemed to work as we soon strung into a single file and I was amazed that I was holding my own and not getting dropped or passed. It’s hard to remember much from there as the remainder of the race turned into a focused individual effort of riding a smooth line and staying mentally tough. Manny Goguen and I swopped spots back and forth for a while. Unfortunately he was underdressed for the conditions and ended up dropping out. I was very glad to be rocking the old-school Kona skinsuit with thermal undershirt, leggings and storm gloves.

My finish I think is fairly easy to justify and explain. I had a great start and was in mountain bike-mode using the years of mud riding experience to my advantage. The course conditions also eliminated the power riders’ (read: roadies) ability to crush any open sections and I happily spun around in my 36/25. I was still hating the course, but the prospect of having a great finish on the day kept me motivated and on the gas. Plus, the fans’ cheering in miserable conditions were huge ego boosts and I was grateful for that.
Equipment-wise, the top mount brakes were a huge advantage. What the hell do people have against them?!

And every mountain bike racer knows s/he should have this in their toolbox:

So I got to post-race spin alongside my bovine friends and relish the moment.

As one of the Pete's from Embrocation Cycling demonstrates. This is no joke. Since it was pissing rain, many of us set up trainers in the cow barn. It freakin' stunk!

But the moment was fleeting as my thoughts soon turned to tomorrow’s race. The course was simply going to be run in reverse meaning conditions would be similar and I would have to back up today’s finish with another strong run. So much for celebrating.