Extreme Momentum

Jackson Park Cyclocross
September 23, 2007 – Chicago, IL
Cat 4 – 48th

Ah, my first cyclocross race.  Why hadn’t I done this years ago?  It was just like English-style cross country on a bike.  Balls to the wall the entire time with barriers and what not getting in the way.  As I was tiring out, I said “This sucks!”  Not that I hated cyclocross, I was just expressing my frustration about some new and totally fun.  I just need some damn practice.

The Jackson Park CX race was the first of the year in the Chicago Cross Cup and was put on by my team XXX Racing/Athletico.  The weather was perfect (sunny and 70s) and was totally uncrosslike (a new word, copywriter’s perogative).  I talked my girlfriend into volunteering, so we showed up a few hours before my race to help with registration and course marshaling.

Turnout was good and the park wasn’t too busy with other users, so racers didn’t have to contend with errant soccer balls and hotdog wrappers.  I got to preride most of the course and watch some of the other races to see how people handled the barriers.  Always a good thing to do if you’re new to CX.

The Cat 4 race had about 70 guys in it.  Brian Boyle of XXX led a moment of silence in memory of Pieter Ombregt who died the previous week in a crash.  Considering Pieter’s love of racing, I thought it was a fitting way to start a race.

The race started pretty quickly. I was in the back and was soon stuck on the clogged set of first barriers.  Racers literally had to wait their turn to dismount and carry their bike through the first set, which were set on a small uphill/downhill segment.  I actually ran with my bike the entire way and immediately passed about 10 guys.  Thankfully, the race started to spread out in the longer straightaways.  A few of the MTB crew had set some tight, twisty turns on the backside of the course, which led to a few wipeouts and curses.  Overall, the course was pretty quick and mostly on grass with just a few barriers and turns to break your momentum.

I was feeling great from a fitness perspective, but I was too dehydrated before the race and started to lose concentration on the barriers towards the end of the race.  This proved problematic because I hadn’t practiced my mounts/dismounts very much.  I can see where having practiced makes it more of a subconscious movement vs having to focus on it when you’re tired and thirsty.

I ended up finishing 48th.  I had no idea what was happening at the front of the race, but XXX did pretty well. I had a few teammates around me during the race though.  That’s one of the things I really like about CX is that you can be at the back of the pack, but still have your own little race with the people around you.  Plus, you can moved up in the standings and start to pass people.  This is a nice break from normal road races, where you’re really out of the race once if you get dropped from the pack.

Photos by XXX Racing.

Jackson Park Cyclocross Results

IL State TT Championships
September 1, 2007 – Harvard, IL
Masters 30-34 – 1st – 48:06.66
257 watts – 25.1 MPH

But I think this IL state champ jersey looks pretty snazzy.  Unfortunately, I don’t think it qualifies as “black tie”.  That’s right.  I’m sporting yet another (and my first) championship jersey for the XXX team.  I’m saying it’s luck, but friends and teammates have been telling me not to undermine all of the work I’ve put in during the year.

The IL State Time Trial Championships kicked off the month of September on Saturday the first out in Harvard.  The course was the usual Harvard loop course (approximately 32K).  It doesn’t have any significant rollers, but it does have enough terrain change to break your momentum.  Still, it’s a very fast course if you are smart about your pacing.  The weather was near perfect…sunny, 70s, and just a light breeze.  Could things be any better?

After witnessing the carnage of the WI TT championships, I was wondering how the IL champs would go for competition (especially by having the race Labor Day weekend).  Preregistration showed the usual suspects from the MATTS series, as well as some road race regulars itching to go against the clock during a crit-free weekend.  However, you never know who’s going to show up day-of-race.

I was happy I registered in the Masters 30-34 group, because some non-road race studs (aka, tri guys) showed up to dominate the Cat 4/5.  That’s where I’m suggesting luck was a factor.  Over 150 riders competed, but the fastest times weren’t where you’d normally expect them to be.  As Andy Daley pointed out, his time in Pro/1/2 would have only had been 8th in the Cat 4/5.  Yikes!

I was pretty happy with my speed (25.2 MPH) considering my lack of sleep the past week and night before (work has sucked lately).  Ironically, I only got 4 hours on Friday night because I was getting excited about the cyclocross season.  Yep, that’s bad mental preparation when you’re not anxious about the race the next day, but rather about racing that’s coming month later!  My mental concentration during the race was great.  I went out harder the first half than I normally would, because I knew the slight tailwind would help me on the way back.  And, it did!  I pushed 270 watts out (~105% my aero LT) and about 250 watts (~95% aero LT) on the way.  This was probably the deciding factor between my first place finish and the second place finisher that was 12 seconds behind.  Plus, I also attacked the corners, which saved me a few seconds.

North Branch did a great job by stepping up to host the race.  Registration and results were smooth and there were marshals at all the crucial turns.  When it comes to TTing, the one thing that sucks about having and early start time is having to wait hours for everyone else to finish.  However, the weather was nice, so everyone who stuck around didn’t seem to mind.  They had the podium set up, but the kids were the only ones to take advantage of it (the rest of us old farts seemed too embarrassed).  I was pleased to see a couple of other XXXers (Tim and Eric) at the race, since we always seem to represent well at the USA Cycling road and track state championships.  So, dust off those aero bars or just go Eddy Merckx and let’s get a few more riders out there against the clock!

IL State TT Championship Results