Lost Trail CX

Last weekend was the first ever Lost Trail CX race. The race was held at the Louisberg Cider Mill - a place that makes cider, has a corn maze / pumpkin patch, and some great terrain for a CX race.

It rained the day before the race, so the ground was somewhat slick and sticky early in the day but by the open race the mud was packed down enough that there really weren't any slick sections. However, while the mud was packed down, there were quite a few rocks that showed up in the course that had earlier been hidden under layers of dirt or mud. These rocks made for quite a few flats over the course of the day. It was supposed to get up in the mid 40s and sunny, but it hovered around 35 degrees and foggy the entire day. The turnout for the open race was pretty small (7 guys), but the guys who showed up were definitely fast (Tilford and Shadd Smith to name just a couple).

I got a pretty bad start (last place into the first corner), but moved up a spot half-way through the first lap. After the first lap I found myself just a second or two behind JP Brocket and Steve Songer. Over the next 4 laps, JP Brocket had a mechanical, Steve Songer crashed, I flatted, and JP flatted again. After all of those issues and the continual passing and being passed, I found myself in 5th place with Songer about 10 seconds ahead of me. He started growing the gap and my back tire kept on bottoming out, so I eased up for last couple of laps and was content with 5th place. I was sure I had close to 30 psi in my back tire when I aired it up before my pre-ride, but I got back to my car and realized I somehow only had around 20 psi in my back tire... definitely not enough for this course.

I thought this was one of the most fun courses so far this year. Since I flatted my front tubular, I also got to try using my one of new clinchers (Clement Crusade PDX). I'm pretty sure I'm going to buy those in tubular form for next year; they had an unbelievable amount of traction in the corners yet still seemed to roll decently fast for a set of really knobby tires. Cross off the old year is in 2 weeks from now and should be my last CX race of the season.

Trying to stay with JP after my flat and his first flat. Photo credit goes to David Tsai.

KS State Championships

KS State Championships were Saturday in Topeka. Last year I raced the day before the state championships (Capital Cup) but not the following day, so I was at least somewhat familiar with the park the race was being held at. However, the course was much different than what was used for Capital Cup last year; while Capital Cup was an all-out power couse, this one was more technical yet still flowed REALLY well.

This was really the first cool cross race of the year (high 40s and cloudy), so it took me a while to get warmed up. Even once I finished my normal warm-up, my legs still didn't feel like they were awake yet. While warming up, I also noticed that more and more fast guys were showing up. David Neidinger jokingly made a comment that we might be fighting for last place today. Even though we both knew that was a bit of an exaggeration, we knew the field was stacked.

I got a first row start because of KBAR points (even if I wouldn't have had the points, getting on the first row isn't hard when the field isn't huge) and got a mediocre start. Through the long straight paved section, I came into the first corner around 9th place. I lost a few positions once we hit the grass and the subsequent technical sections. I could immediately tell that I didn't warm up as well as I should have - my legs just didn't seem to have any energy. For the first two laps, I simply watched 7th - 11th place ride away from me.

Finally, about three laps in my legs woke up and I started to feel better. I made up ground and passed 11th place one lap later. For the first few laps, there were four guys riding together fighting for 7th place, but by this time Adam Mills and and Bill Marshall had put a gap into Michael Smith and Bill Stolte. I was slowly gaining on Michael and Bill S. and eventually caught them with 2 laps to go. I put in a hard dig right at the start/finish and had a 2-3 second gap going into the technical section. Bill was riding this section MUCH faster than me and caught back up to me (note to self - ride more mountain bike this year!). When we hit the pavement with 1 to go,I hit the gas again and got a good 5-10 second gap this time. Bill was gaining on me again, but I was confident that I could hold him off since the finishing stretch was paved and straight. However, I heard him get tangled up riding the small barriers at the end, which allowed me to soft pedal in for 9th place on the day.

A fun day on the bike. Next weekend is Lost Trail CX (check it out... supposedly the course is like a Euro world cup course on the Kansas prairie), then hopefully at least one of the Christmas week races (probably Cross off the old year). I'm pretty much done doing anymore real training for cx this year though - from here on out it's going to be base miles and commuting.

Boss Cross 5 & 6

After a somewhat crappy race at the Grand Prix HPT (really awesome night race on a dirt track in Topeka), I was really hoping for a good weekend for the final Boss Cross races. I'm really not sure why HPT didn't go well; I didn't have any mechanicals or crashes but my legs just didn't seem to be putting down any power. It was pretty frustrating watching guys I can usually hang with easily ride away from me. So, I decided to do an easy week leading into this weekend.

Saturday was a beautiful day for a race. It rained the previous weekend, so the ground wasn't hard and there was TRACTION! First race all year where you could really corner hard without having to worry about washing out. Every category had smaller fields than normal due to Jingle Cross - there were 13 guys who lined up in our race. I got a decent start, ending up in 5th place going through the first twisty section. Unfortunately, on the first 90 degree corner onto the gravel path the guy right in front of me washed out. I couldn't maneuver around him, so I plowed right into him and hit the ground. It took me a while to get unclipped and back on the bike and by that time I was in 12th place with a significant gap to the back of the field.

Entering chase mode, I began catching the back of the field. One-by-one, I tried to move through the field until I found myself in 6th place. There was a REALLY fun uphill sand section that you could ride as long as you stayed in the rut (not sure why so many people were running it). I rode it clean every time but once, and I think I was making up time every lap in that section. I was gaining on Joe Fox in 5th place, but was also noticing that David Neidinger in 7th place was riding well after a rough first few laps. On the last lap, Joe and I caught Britton (racing SS & Open back-to-back has to be rough). I couldn't quite close the gap to Joe and ended up about 10 seconds behind him. 5th place overall and the final podium / payout spot!

Coming into the sand (ride)run-up (photo credit: Roger Harrison)

Sand run-up (photo credit: Roger Harrison)

Men's Open podium (picture stolen from Shadd Smith, I believe)

I could tell after riding a few practice laps on Sunday that my legs didn't feel quite as good as Saturday. Course was nearly identical to Saturday, just reversed so you got to ride down the steep sand section. Only 12 guys lined up today. I got a great start (2nd place into the first corner!!!), but didn't have the snap in my legs to stay with the leaders. Slowly, I watched riders pass me until I was in 9th place by the 2nd lap. Yesterday I felt like I could keep pushing bigger and bigger gears. Today I didn't have that feeling.

Over the next two laps, I picked off two riders and began battling back and forth with Brett Coppage for 5th place. We were with David for a while, but he took off and neither of us could keep up with him today. Eventually, with about 3 laps to go, I put in a dig on the bumpy back section and opened up a gap. I managed to grow the gap over the next few laps and finished in 6th place. It was a great weekend of racing. Thanks to Joe Fox for putting together an awesome course in an awesome location!

Small field for the Men's Open race (photo credit: Gianni DeAngelo - check out his Flickr page for a bunch of great photos from BC6)

One of the sandy corners (photo credit: Gianni DeAngelo)

Not a sandy corner (photo credit: Gianni DeAngelo)

Colavita & Boulevard Cups

A great weekend of racing in KC - Colavita Cup on Saturday and Boulevard Cup on Sunday. Great weather on both days, great turnout, and fun racing.

Colavita Cup
18 guys lined up in the open race, which was run at the same time as the Cat 3 race. Got an okay start, finding myself around 6th place after the opening straight. The course was similar to 360 Cup last year, with a long uphill drag moving to the north side of the course. After the long uphill section there was a really fun section along a berm with some fast sweeping corners. However, you quickly had to prepare for a series of technical off-camber corners. Apparently I wasn't mentally prepared for this section on the first lap, as I tried to pedal too soon in one of the corners. Pedal hit the ground, both tires lifted off the ground, I flew square into David Neidinger's rear tire and I proceeded to go down, taking a few other riders with me (Sorry!!!).

Levon managed to capture this shot right as I was going down.

Got up, took a while to get the chain back on and the course tape out of the rear derailleur pulleys, and found myself working to chase back on to the end of the open field. The rest of the race was pretty uneventful and I managed to work my way back to 9th place. Free In a Tub tacos after the race were great.

Boulevard Cup
We weren't able to use the berm section of the course that we used last year since there were a bunch of scraggly bushes on the berm, so we used more of the north end of the park, utilizing some of the off-camber sections from the day before. Course was flatter, but there were a few more technical off-camber corners and a sand pit / stair section.

After the crash the day before and my small tangle with Britton at the start of Boss Cross 4, my goal for the race was to ride within myself (and definitely try not run into any more Colavita guys).

20 guys lined up in the open race. Watching the carnage from the Master's race earlier in the morning (see video below), I knew if I wasn't in the top 5 coming into the first off-camber corners, I was going to run the corners. Starting in the 2nd row, I found myself outside of the top 10 coming into the first off-camber, so I hopped off the bike and began running. This seemed to work out okay, as I passed a few people but was also passed by a few people. I also ran the sand section every lap, which might have lost me a second or two, but I also passed 3 people who crashed in the sand. After 3 laps, I found myself in 10th place. I passed Britton with 3 to go, and caught up to Kyle Skinner with 2 to go. Coming into the last lap, I put in a hard dig on the uphill paved straight and managed to get a 2-3 second gap. I rode the following technical section smooth and continued to grow the gap for the rest of the lap. Finished 8th place, stayed upright the whole time, and thoroughly enjoyed the race.

Helped tear down the course and had a great time chatting with guys after the race. Thanks to everyone who came out to make this a great weekend!

Carnage immediately following my stupid crash... David fixing his bike, me pushing my bike not realizing my chain was jammed, and another guy tangled up in the tape. 

Managing to stay upright on Sunday. 

Boss Cross & 360 Cup

Alright, 3 in 1 post here. Boss Cross 1&2 along with a 360 Cup report. Sorry about how long it's going to be...

Boss Cross 1
Course was pretty flat and fast with two sets of small barriers, a small stair run-up (and run-down), and a couple of sand pits. For some reason during my pre-ride I crashed 2 out of 3 laps when hopping the small barriers on the flat ground, so I decided to run the barriers in the race. I'm sure I was the only guy in the open race running these barriers, but they got in my head somehow and I didn't really feel like eating it during the race.

Got a mediocre start and was sitting somewhere around 10th place after the first lap. Half-way through the race, my back started tightening up to the point that I had to ease up and occasionally stand up to stretch out the back. For 2-3 laps I felt like I really couldn't put much power down since my back was hurting so bad. Other than that, the race was relatively uneventful. I moved up 3 places and ended up 7th out of 14. Not a bad result, but felt like I could've done better if I wasn't fighting the back problems.

Boss Cross 2

Course was pretty similar to the day before but it was run in reverse. The two sets of small barriers were discarded in favor of one set of large barriers. The stair run-up was also removed, and both sand pits (watch the video...do it...) were rideable today due to the reversed course direction. I also flipped my stem and moved a spacer to raise my handlebars slightly in hopes of alleviating some back pain. My rear tubular wouldn't hold any air (leaky valve extender), but luckily Joe P. let me borrow his rear tubular so I didn't have to use my worn out clincher. Thanks Joe! I was liking the flow of the course and new position on the bike and had hopes of getting a decent result.

I wanted to get in one more pre-ride lap before the race, but when I got to the start I found everyone was already there lined up. To make things worse, this was the largest 1/2 field so far this year with 28 guys starting the race. My start was OK today, but as soon as we hit the first sand pit there was chaos. If I had been thinking ahead I would have dismounted and ran the sand the first time, but instead I got stuck trying to ride through the pit behind two other guys who crashed in front of me. By the time I was out of the sand, I was somewhere around 23-25th place. There went my hopes of getting a good result.

With my brain in "catch as many people as possible" mode, I began picking riders off one by one. With around 3 laps to go I found myself trading positions with 9-11th place. Eventually, 9th place pulled away and I got a gap on 11th place, putting me in 10th. Not a bad result at all, especially after such a miserable start.

Running the barriers chasing teammate Carl.

This isn't me and these are different barriers, but this is about what I looked like on two of my three warm-up laps through the barriers on day 1.

360 Cup - day 2

After not being on the bike at all since Boss Cross 2 (65 hour work weeks make finding time to ride difficult), I really didn't have any expectations for this race. Kelli and I ended up getting to the race later than I expected, so I didn't have time to pre-ride the course. After a quick warm-up and chatting with people who rode the course earlier in the day, I was pretty excited for the race.

Fewer riders today than Boss Cross 2, but still 18 starters in our field. After another miserable start (I know what I need to work on over the next few weeks), I went into the now very familiar "catch as many people as possible" mode. I was REALLY liking the course, my Fangos were hooking up really well, and I didn't seem to be having any problems putting power down in the bumpy fast sections that other people were complaining about. 

With 4 laps to go, I passed Brett in 7th place. There was no chance I could catch 6th place, but two laps later I noticed JP Brocket also caught Brett and seemed to be riding strong after a rough start. I upped the tempo thinking the last lap may be interesting, but was pulled before the last lap. I was a little disappointed because I wanted to see how the last lap would turn out (and the leaders weren't anywhere close to lapping us), but I'm still happy with the result.

I won't be back up to race again until Boss Cross 4 or Colavita Cup / Boulevard Cup weekends, but I'm excited to actually have time to train during the next few weeks. Work schedule seems to be lightening up, so hopefully I can get in some more structured training rather than simply riding to work a few days every week.

Chasing down 7th place.

I'm sure most of you have seen it, but here's a video of the 360 Cup weekend by Keith Walberg. Make sure you check out 1:35... That's a nasty shot to the ribs!

360 Cyclocross Cup (2012) from Gizmo Pictures on Vimeo.

Manion's Weekend

Saturday and Sunday were the first two local CX races of the year. I didn't start racing cross last year until Boss Cross 2, so this was my first experience racing out at Manion's.

Saturday
Drove up to Kansas City and got to the race around 11:00. My race wasn't until 2, but I wanted some time to hang out and relax before the race. I was really unsure about how well I would ride; I was worried since I haven't been training very hard the last month due to our move and long hours at work, but I was also cautiously optimistic since I had a full road season under my belt (which I didn't have before CX season last year).

Start of the Masters race.

Masters race again... A great day and location for a race.

By the time the 1/2 race started, the course was very dusty with loose dirt in most of the 180 degree switchback sections. The Ethos and KCCX guys were out of town for the USGP races in Madison, but there were still 17 guys in our field. I got a decent start and settled in around 7th or 8th place behind Britton for the first few laps. After a few laps, I began picking off a few riders and eventually found myself in 5th place. As hard as I tried over the last three laps, I couldn't make up any time on the 4th place rider. I would seem to gain time on him through the uphill sections, but lose that time again in the loose technical section. I ended up finishing 5th overall.

Sunday
The course was reversed on Sunday, and a few additional small sections were added. No Joe Schmalz (Saturday winner) on the starting line today, but some fresh legs from Nebraska and 13 riders total. I got a miserable start, taking a couple tries to get clipped in, then halfway through the first lap I dropped my chain through the bumpy dried up pond. While I was able to get the chain on without getting off the bike, I still had to put a foot down to get up the short uphill out of the pond area. I'm glad I didn't cause a crash, as David, James, and Adam were able to maneuver past me. By this time I think I was in 11th place, so I made it my goal to ride smooth and pick off as many riders as possible.

Over the next 3 or 4 laps I caught 4 riders and began a back-and-forth battle with the guy in 6th place. With 2 to go I put in a dig, managed to pass him and created a gap. 4th and 5th were only about 10 seconds ahead of me at the time, but I burned too many matches early in the race to catch back up to them. I definitely won't complain with a 6th place finish after such a miserable start.

Overall it was a great weekend. The Colavita team put on a great race at a great location and I rode better than I was expecting I could. I know I need to work on finding the right tire pressure (this was my first race running tubulars and I know I'll be running significantly less pressure next race), but I'm hopeful that I can continue improving over the season, especially once my work schedule calms down a bit and I have time to get in some better training. Next up: Boss Cross this weekend or 360 Cup next weekend.

Start of the 1/2 race on Sunday. Photo credit: Roger Harrison

Through the back stretch of the course on Sunday. Photo credit: Roger Harrison

CX Clinics

Last weekend was the Source Endurance CX clinic featuring instruction by Zach McDonald and Steve Tilford (and few other big names in KC cross). Kelli and I drove up to KC early Saturday morning and arrived at the clinic around 9:30 to register and get the bike unloaded. The day was segmented into sections around specific CX skills - mounting/dismounting, running / hopping barriers, riding sand, cornering & choosing the best lines through back-to-back corners, and course preview. The day was capped off with 1-lap mock races.

The whole day was a lot of fun. Weather was perfect, instructors had some great tips, lots of cool people showed up, and racing at the end of the day was a great way to finish a clinic.

September 19 is the final KCOI/Boulevard CX clinic. You should definitely come check it out - it's a great way to learn some new skills (or re-learn what you forgot in the off season), it's free, and it's a ton of fun. Don't have a CX bike? No worries, bring a mountain bike (I rode a mountain bike in my first 2 CX races). I'm definitely looking forward to being back in the area for the clinic and getting the season started with Manion's that weekend.

Final race of the day. Zach leading Shad Smith and Steve Tilford through the sand.

Horrible video quality (blame the cheap phone), but Zach is once again leading Tilford and Shad through the final corner for the win.

Training in the Heat

On Labor Day, I decided to ride to Hutchinson. The ride from Hesston to Hutchinson isn't hard - it's only 35 miles and the primary road there is part of the TransAmerica bike trail. My wife was already in Hutch for the day and we wanted to spend some time at their pool before it closed for the year. It was great pool weather, with a forecasted high of 105 degrees, so I thought riding there and meeting her at the pool would be a good way to do some training in the heat. I felt like I did a good job riding in triple digit temperatures this summer, but the last couple weeks I've been spoiled by early morning and evening rides during cooler weather.

I left the house around 1:00 and the temperature was already 100. The first few miles were hot but not unbearable and I kept an average speed of around 20mph into the slight headwind. After 5 or so miles, I noticed I was having a hard time keeping myself cool and I was going through the hot water in my bottles much faster than I expected (note to self - buy insulated bottles before summer next year). By the time I was 20 miles in, I was completely out of water, I was wondering why the hell I chose to ride when it was so freaking hot, and my tempo was hovering around 15 mph.

7th column is the air temperature during the time I was riding.

After a quick stop to refill bottles and soak myself under a faucet in a park, I began the last 15 miles of the trip. I was amazed how dumping cool water on myself and refilling bottles with cold water improved the rest of the ride. Average speeds were back up around 20-22mph and mentally I felt like a new person even though the temp was now up to 106.

I know there have been quite a few studies on core body temperature and power output and I'm sure cooling off under the faucet helped bring my core temperature down and my speed up for the remainder of the ride. However, I wonder how much the mental aspect of being hot affects how well you ride. Once I got back on the bike, I actually had fun riding again; I was getting out of the saddle up hills and pushing it into the headwind, two things I definitely wasn't doing before the water stop. Granted, I also had some extra motivation knowing there was a swimming pool waiting for me at my destination.

Anyway, it looks like it's going to start cooling down next week. Wednesday night CX rides start this week in Wichita, and this weekend is the Source Endurance CX clinic led by Steve Tilford and Zach McDonald. How often do you get to participate in an all-day clinic led by a current master's world champion and the current U-23 natn'l champion? Awesome. Then only two weeks until the season starts at Manion's!

The new Tank 7 kit is here! I know I'm biased, but I definitely think this is one of the best looking kits ever.

State Line RR

The inaugural State Line Road Race was this last Saturday. Put on by our team, the road race was somewhere between a RR and a circuit. The venue was great - only 25 minutes away from my house and rolling through some pretty countryside in Stilwell, KS. The race was pre-registration only, and I was worried about the small number of people who were signed up a week before the race. Luckily, fields started growing as the week went on and we ended up with 52 in the cat 4 race.

I got to the race about an hour before it started. I didn't really feel like riding a full loop of the course since I rode it with teammates last weekend, but I did want to ride the tricky 120 degree uphill corner on the last corner of the course. I rode the 3 miles out to the corner, but as soon as I got out there I noticed my back tire was going flat. Luckily, a teammate was putting up cones in that area and I was able to throw my bike onto his car and ride back to the parking lot with him. I made it back to my car with 15 minutes before the race started and quickly began changing the tube. I was feeling lazy the night before and decided not to pull the 10sp cassette off my other wheelset (my road bike is still 9sp), so I didn't have an extra wheelset with me. Pulled out the flat tube, found the shard of glass the caused the leak, and put the new tube in. However, the new tube wouldn't hold air either. So with around 10 minutes before the race starts, I run back to where all the racers are checking in and manage to find someone with an extra tube. This one holds air and I make it to the start of the race with about 2 minutes to spare.

Our 7 lap race starts and the pace is pretty slow for the first 1.5 laps. I'm glad, as I never had time to warm up between all the tube/tire issues. With primes on the 2nd and 3rd laps (thank you, Boulevard), I decided to go for the 2nd lap prime and used it as a mid-ride warm-up and chance to test the legs. I won the prime and settled into the pack for the rest of the race.

Since the course was on country roads with the center line rule being enforced, it was hard to move up through the pack. I knew I wanted to be top 5 coming into the last tricky 120 degree uphill corner, since quite a few riders were having a hard time with that corner and following hill. I battled for position most of the last lap and found myself around 7th or 8th place going into the corner. I passed 3 people up the hill, putting me in 4th place. Right then, the 1st place rider took off. I hesitated, hoping 2nd and 3rd place would follow him, but they didn't. I decided to pull through, but by then he had a decent gap already. I launched my sprint at the bottom of the finish line hill and was gaining on 1st place, but could also tell 3rd place was gaining on me. I was passed right before the finish line, so I ended up 3rd overall.


I retrospect, I should have launched as soon as 1st place guy did but I'm definitely still happy with the outcome of the race This is my last road event this year (and likely my last race as a cat 4 on the road), so now it's time to start thinking about CX!

Sorry I don't have any pictures from the race. I'll add some to the post when I get them.

Decided to start a blog...

I've finally decided to start a blog. After one season of cyclocross and nearly one road season under my belt, I've found that races in my memory have already started running together. Hopefully blogging about these races (and other ramblings that come to the top of my head) will be a good way to recap races and stay in touch with the cycling community.

Might as well start with a few recaps from the last two weekends...

Tour of KC
Longview cat 4 crit on Saturday was hot (high 90s). This was my first "real" crit with a big field (ignoring one TNW and Spring Fling 2 back in March when I was pretty out of shape), so I was pretty nervous leading up to the race. Hearing horror stories about crashes in previous years and pre-riding two of the technical corners didn't help the nerves either.

However, once the whistle blew my nerves were gone immediately. The first few laps were pretty quick, but eventually the tempo settles down a bit and I tried to stick around the top 5-10 riders, as I really didn't want to caught in a crash. I'm glad I did, as 4 laps from the end a KCBC rider went down and they had to neutralize the race. Luckily, the KCBC rider was fine after a trip to the hospital to make sure. After sitting around for 10 minutes waiting for the race to start up again, we started up for the final four laps. Coming into the last lap, I was sitting 3rd wheel around the last two corners and stayed there to the finish. There was a crash on the 2nd to last corner a few riders behind me; I couldn't tell what happened but apparently someone was trying to attack through the rough corner and went down into the curb.

Downtown crit on Sunday was also hot (102 degrees). This course was much less technical and luckily there were also fewer serious crashes. Once again, my goal was to stay towards the front of the field. With about 4 laps to go, I decided to attack and see if anyone would go with me. No one did, so I sat up after half a lap and tucked back into the field. Unfortunately, I tucked too far back into the field and couldn't make it back up to the front as well as I wanted to. I didn't have much of a sprint left, but still managed to take 8th place. Mental note: If you're going to take a flyer off the front, do it in a smart manner and make sure you're dedicated to it... Not like I did in this race.

Tour of Lawrence
KU campus circuit race on Saturday has been one of my goal races; I feel like I can go uphill pretty well and the circuit race has plenty of hills (around 400ft of climbing every lap, and 5 total laps). With quite a few out of state riders, I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of competition but I was still really excited. Did I mentioned this race was also hot? 101 degrees hot. First 3 laps were pretty tame. I pulled up the big hill on two of the laps, but didn't make any big moves as it was obvious that it was going to come down to the final lap on the big hill leading into the start/finish.

Fifth and final lap came around and I hit the bottom of the last hill at the front of the pack. Pushing it much harder up the hill this lap, I attacked half-way up the hill and rounded the corner into the finish stretch in 1st place with a bit of gap on the two guys behind me. Unfortunately, I hardly had anything left for a sprint, and one guy came around me before the finish. I'd love to see a photo of the finish, as I bet I held off the 3rd place rider by less then 6 inches at the finish.

In retrospect, I think if I would have attacked the hill earlier I could have held off for the win. I'm still completely stoked to get 2nd place at a major regional race like this though!

Downtown Crit on Sunday was a lot of fun. This race also doubled as the KS State Crit Championships. Luckily, this race was much cooler (only 96 degrees)! Largest field I've ever been in (76 riders), a fast fun course, and tons of spectators make for a great race. It was much harder to stay towards the front of the pack in this race since the field was so large, but I worked hard to stay in the top 20 or so riders. With one lap to go I was sitting 2nd wheel, but with half a lap to go I somehow found myself sitting around 15th. I managed to move up through the back section to 10th and I passed one rider on the final sprint, putting me in 9th place at the finish.

Apparently there were quite a few out of state riders in the top 10, as I was the 3rd place rider from Kansas. What a day - managed to get some unexpected hardware along with the great cash payouts from the weekend!

Stole this photo from Keith Guilford. His wife managed to capture the photo right as I was trying to decide if two raised hands or one raised hand would be more appropriate. Instead, it just looks like I'm going for a quality butt grab.

On a completely unrelated note... Is it CX season yet? Just bought a set of Challenge Fango tubs that I'll be gluing up to the Zipps next week. 2 months to go... 2 months to go...