Double cross

This weekend I had two cross races. I also didn't have a camera, as Heather took that to MI with her. So no pictures on this post, although Brooks has some from the weekend.

The first race was Saturday in Cambridge. This is a fun course, some fast singletrack on mtb trails and some good power sections with climbs. Gorgeous day out for a 45min cross race. I got off to a crappy start, probably sitting in 20th entering the first singletrack section. The whole first lap I was in pass mode, passing and bridging to riders in front of me. By the 2nd lap I had caught on to a group of 2 other riders only 20 sec behind the 4 leaders. I sat on for a lap getting my energy back when I saw a straggler from the front group. I went to the front and picked up the pace, which dropped one of the riders in my group. We soon caught the rider in front and we were a group of 3 once again, still 20 sec behind the leaders (now 3 of them). I stayed on the front for another lap and this time when we passed a crowd-filled run-up, they informed us that we were only 15 sec back. We wouldn't get any closer than that though. Entering the final sharp left turn onto the paved finish stretch, I went to start my sprint and my freehub body skipped half a pedal stroke. Fudge!! I soft pedaled it for a second then resumed my sprint, but I had already lost too much momentum. Had to settle for 6th place when my legs felt strong enough to win the sprint for 4th. I felt really good this race, it was frustrating to think that if I would have had a better start I could have been with the 3 leaders, as they were running the same lap times as my group.

On to Sunday's race in Verona. I switched the rear tire on my race wheel to my spare wheel for this race to avoid any further issues with my freehub body. It rained all morning, so this race was a slick and muddy mess. Unlike the Saturday race, I got off to a fantastic start, sitting in 3rd wheel behind Casey and Maciej entering the mucky singletrack. I entered the 2nd corner right on Maciej's wheel when he fell. I hit the brakes to avoid him and watched as 10 riders blew by us. I worked hard to try to close the gap, but it was hard to pass in the muddy conditions, and the course didn't have a big power section for me to make up time. On the 2nd lap, a rider blew by me on a short paved downhill and then had a terrific yardsale crash once he turned onto the singletrack. I was sitting in about 12th place with 2 laps to go when I saw a group of 3 riders a little bit up the course. I picked up the pace and managed to pass them on a gravel climb...but then I had too much speed coming out of a corner and wiped out in the mud and twisted my leg funny. As I hobbled back onto my bike, one of the riders passed me again. I took it easy on the last lap and rolled in for 10th place. Not my best race, but not horrible either.

Thanks to Brooks for doing water handups in both races, even though he couldn't race himself on Sunday since he had to work. He had a great race in the 1/2 race on Saturday, I'll let him tell you all about it.

I think that if I can manage to piece together a complete race, I should be able to snag a podium spot sometime this season. I certainly feel a lot stronger in cross than last season, which is a pleasant surprise since I wouldn't consider cross racing one of my strengths. We'll see what happens...still plenty of races to go.

Heather made it back from MI today. The kids and I missed her, so it's good to have her back. I think that Auntie Alane and Dick are coming to visit this weekend, that should be fun. There are two cross races again this weekend, but I think I am only doing one. I'm not sure yet.