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)
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.
