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.