Another Cross Double

Had two more cross races this past weekend. So here is another cross-picture-packed blog post for your enjoyment.

On Saturday it was pleasant and sunny. The course in Cambridge is one of my favorites in the WCA...has a mtb feel to it with some fun singletrack, a couple short climbs, log barriers, and a hill runup. The start took you almost immediately into some singletrack, so I wanted to get a good start. I took off at the whistle and managed to get the holeshot once again. I led a group of about 8 for the first 1/2 lap until a couple other riders came to the front. Two riders broke away on the second lap and stayed away for the rest of the race. I was in a group of 4 riders racing for 3rd. Here we are on the hill runup:

Me hopping a barrier on the backside of the course.

Crossing the start/finish line in my group with one lap to go.

The pace picked up on the last lap, but we all stayed together to contest the sprint. One of the riders exited the last bit of singletrack first, and I wasn't able to come around him on the short finishing straight, so I got 4th place.

It was a bit cooler on Sunday, with rain starting to fall about 20min before my race. Made for a really slick, muddy course with a steady rain falling for the entire race. This course has some long, power sections, a steep hill runup, and some tight corners that were made more fun with the wet course conditions. The start of this race is really wide, and then narrows down significantly about 50 feet later, so a good start was also important here.

I was about fourth rider back after the start, and it wasn't long before we were in a leading group of about 7 riders. Halfway through the first lap, the pace slowed a bit, so I went to the front and sped it up. Only one rider went with me, and we got a gap.
We stayed away together for the first couple laps until he pushed it hard up the hill runup and dropped me. So I rode by myself for another two laps until a group of five caught up to me. One rider attacked and no one responded to stay with him, so now I was in a group racing for 3rd once again. Sound familiar? On the last lap, I attacked right before the hill runup to try to catch them off-guard.
I got caught by one rider, who proceeded to pass me for 3rd, while I held the other riders off for 4th place once again. Can't complain about two 4th place finishes on the weekend...good for points in the standings. Hopefully I can continue to move up as the series progresses.

Thanks to a couple fellow Trek employees Matt and Djonn for the pictures, and also to Matt for this video of the sprint on Saturday:

There aren't any races this weekend, so it will be spent sleeping in a bit, relaxing, and doing some caulking. Good times. I finished building up my Sioux P1 bike...I'll post some pics of that soon. Turned out nice and snazzy. Heather is doing well in her knocked-up state...she is now in her 30th week. Crazy! Won't be long now...we better get that room done. :)