BlitzenCracker
Nicholas Lemke's Webpage
Dairy Roubaix Report
Course and Weather: Start and finish at Wyalusing State Park, WI. 108 miles, 7500 feet of climbing, ~50% on gravel roads, which I covered in 6hours 22minutes for 1st place on the long course. Some of the dirt surfaces were very firm and fast like pavement and a joy to ride – in other places it was soft, especially on a few of the steeper climbs - as traction was poor, I had to go full gas to keep up momentum (I did not want to walk up). Other surfaces were loose gravel over hard pack which was also challenging. Everything was dry so no mud and minimal sand, aside from the ‘soft’ spots on a couple climbs. It was warm. We started in about 62 degrees and sunny and finished near 80 degrees. Although I suspect the data was inflated, my Garmin reported a high of 95 out on course for the day – it certainly felt like that at times on the steeper gravel climbs. I used the mapping feature on my Garmin 810 for navigation.
Bike: Kona Major Jake, CX disc: The same setup that I use for cyclocross racing except for wheels and pedals. 44 cm center-center Bontrager aluminum bars. 1x11 gearing with Wolf Tooth 42 tooth drop-stop front ring and sram 11-32 cassette with sram force cx1 rear der. This gearing was adequate for both descending and climbing for the pace and fitness level that I had for this race. I used speedplay pedals and Bontrager XXX road shoes (thankfully I didn’t have to do any walking).
Wheels/Tires: HiFi Mix Tape disc, aluminum clinchers. I would love to say I was running tubeless, but the fact is I ran tubes with Bontrager AW3 Hard Case Lite 32c tires with folding aramid bead and ‘light, but not super light’ tubes. The set up was flawless (perhaps with some luck). I had 2 extra tubes electrical taped to my downtube to free up room in my jersey pockets for a multitool, a handpump, food, my cellphone and a little card with my emergency contacts. I thought the hard case 32s with minimal tread were ideal. Some riders had file treads but in my humble opinion this was overkill for the 2-3 climbs where traction was an issue weighted against the many long miles of pavement and firm dirt. I preferred the lower rolling resistance of the slicks. PSI, although not measured except with my thumb, was roundabout 65.
Preparation/Training: I’m a coach for Cycle-Smart – I’d encourage you to check out the website
Hydration: I stashed a cooler at the half-way point with 3 bottles and a coke. I slammed the coke, and traded out the bottles, making sure I’d already finished the 3 bottles that I started the ride with (2 on the bike, one in the pocket) during the first 50 miles. I skipped the lone 25 mile feedzone for the sake of staying with the lead group, but I did manage to fill one extra bottle from a photographer who offered water roundabout the 70mile mark – I also took a little water from him to douse myself – this was clutch in temps in/around the 80s. Thank you kind sir! I finished all my liquids at about mile 100, so I arguably could’ve used one more bottle. 2 of my bottles had orange scratch labs exercise hydration mix, 1 had the matcha green tea exercise hydration with caffeine, 3 bottles had Infinit speed that I get from The Feed - although that might seem like a weird choice as it’s prescribed for shorter efforts, but I like the lemony taste. And as I mentioned, I had a coke and probably 1.5 additional bottles of water, about half of which I used for dousing. My bottles were dry by the finish line.
Food: 4 gels, 1 bar, 3 packets of blocks/chomps – I attempted to consume one of these items every 45 minutes and I ran out with about 1.5 hours remaining or at about the 85 mile mark, 23 miles from the finish, so I could have used one or two more gels, as I found myself going back through my pockets and squeezing out the last remains of the gels I’d already finished. I had the voice of Tom Jones, from JBV Coaching, in my head, saying “any bike ride over 4 hours is basically an eating contest.” Wise words. I didn’t bonk, so arguably I had enough food along with the calories in my bottles, but I was admittedly worried about cracking on the last climb or two.
Pacing: My plan was to ride in the fast group, even if it cost a few matches to hang, until the 50 mile point, at which the course splits and some fast riders turned off for the short course - and then ride my own pace from there after stopping at my stashed cooler. I more or less executed this plan well and the race played out in my favor accordingly. I managed to pick up a riding partner or two from miles 55-75ish who had gone on up the road when I stopped at my cooler. The company was great.
Final Words: This was an awesome event on a super tough, well balanced course. The climbing of an Ardennes classic, mixed with dirt. Perhaps most like Strade Bianchi, as far as I can tell from watching the pirate feeds. I utilized the group camp Friday night and stayed in a group cabin with my wife – bunks were $15 per night and everyone was super friendly. The single most important piece of gear for the weekend though? Earplugs. The snoring was hors categorie. I highly recommend this event! Lots of nice people and beautiful roads!
MTB - Kenda Cup/US PROXCT Colorado Springs 2015
On the KONA COG! (click on link or pic to reach race report)
2014/2015 UCI 'Cross Race Reports
Kenda Cup/US PRO XCT
Sunday June 28
2015 Elite Nationals
Monday Jan 12
Not to beat a dead horse, but everyone heard about the schedule change/cancelation/delay from Sunday to Monday. I’m bummed that so many folks were adversely affected by this, but thankful that my situation with a flexible job, a fantastic wife, a great teammate in Michael Wilder and our housing and transportation arrangement allowed us to stay the extra day so that I could compete. Hopefully lessons from this have been noted by USAC and nothing of the sort will happen again. All things told, it could’ve been worse, given outright cancelation was a possibility in the early hours of Sunday. The major challenge of the situation for me was trying to stay mellow through the media storm and uncertainty, and then re-focus for Monday’s race. I admittedly lost my cool a touch come Monday morning when I was kicked out of the pits by a USAC official after waiting 30 minutes in line to wash my bike after a preride of the filthy course. In hindsight his hands were tied as well as Junior races had started and their parents and helpers needed access to the power washers. But I cussed out more than one passing vehicle during my lonely ride home from the course to the apartment on my 30 lb mud-covered bike. Thankfully a hose was to be found outside the apartment and the trashed bike situation was remedied before my 4:25pm start.
I was called-up to the 5th row of a totally stacked 6 row elite field, which was an improvement upon past years when I was between 9th and 12th row of a 100+ rider field of varying skill levels. I had a really solid start and narrowly, narrowly avoided the pileup that saw Brady Kappius, Tristan Uhl, and Allen Krughoff taken out. Narrow, as in I was about an inch from riding over someone’s head. Gruesome. The first two laps went really well and I was battling for about 29th or 30th place – exactly where I wanted to be. I changed bikes at the end of the 2nd lap and, in hindsight, paid a hefty price for having less aggressive tires on my B bike as I crashed on one of the last muddy descents before the finishing straight, breaking my rear shift lever. I was able to continue riding whilst stuck in a 42/13 gear which I mashed down the finishing straight keeping hold as best I could to the now dismembered brake hood. I ran a few sections I would’ve otherwise ridden and pitted the next opportunity. Thankfully I had the presence of mind to realize that Michael, my 1-man pit crew, had only ½ lap to clean my A bike since I’d last pitted and so I didn’t pull all the way into the pit but stopped short and scanned the power washing area where I saw him cleaning my bike. It took about 3 shouts of “MIKE, MIKE, MIKE!!!” to get his attention before he sprinted over in his wellies and handed me my clean bike. I seem to remember him responding to “my f-ing shift lever is broken!” with a deadpan “well, that’s good.” Perhaps he was more concerned with having torn off part of his index finger with the powerwasher - through his neoprene glove!
Anyhow, I smashed out the next two laps as best as possible and passed a few dudes back and ended up riding with Brady Kappius, a super good dude and crazy-good bike handler from Clif Bar who I’d found myself battling with numerous times this year in both St. Louis and Iowa. Unfortunately we were pulled with 2 laps to go and ended up 34th and 35th. We both agreed that the race was fun, if not ideal, and that the off season would be pretty great.
Overall Season reflection and thank-yous.
Some stats first off:
14th in Dallas, my highest UCI finish
87th in the overall USAC standings on 17 points (doesn’t sound phenomenal but considering the lack of UCI events in the southwest and that points are only given for the top 20 places in a UCI event and that a top 90 was required to qualify for elite nats – I feel pretty good about this)
2nd New Mexico State Championship
5 top 20s in UCI events (raced 11 UCI events this season – nearly triple the amount of last season)
35th in Elite Nationals up from 42nd last year where I had a clean race and no mechanicals – definite improvement
Onward and upward for next year, where it's looking promising that I'll have a bike sponsor in addition to continuing many of the sponsor relationships already established this year. I'll still be questing for that UCI point and I'll have my sights on the top 25 at Elite Nationals as well as another state championship. Cheers!
Before I sign off, I need to acknowledge the amazing support of sponsors, friends, teammates and family. Cross is truly a community building endeavor with bottomless rewards when it comes to connecting with new and awesome people. Even though I’m riding on a one-man team, I count everyone that cooked me a meal, drove me to an airport, let me crash at their house, traveled across the country in my jeep, pitted for me, gave generous equipment support, and cheered (or heckled) me at races as a teammate. I hope I haven’t left anyone out, but I greatly, greatly appreciate all the people below.
Kathryn Lemke
Anne and Terry Lemke
Katie Lemke and Tim Balcerzak
Sue and Randy Kostroski
Rob Doungpanya
Gerhardt Ackerman
Josh Liberles, Becca Schepps, and Alvin Nordell
Brendan Moore and Pete Smith
Matt and Calli Kamphuis
Tony Lemke
Michael Wilder and Suzanne Krepper
Taylor Squillaci and Ryan Travelstead
Sean McCarthy, Scott Smith, and Al Donahue
Ben Lavelle and Ed Hong
Greg Andersen and Family
Mario Griego
John Verheul, Wristen Paschich, Greg Foster, Chris Abbott, Tom Jones, Earl Gage, Mike Hunter, Nathan Rediske, and Mindy Caruso
NM Cyclocross Community – Antonia DeHorney
Dallas Resolution Cross Cup Jan 3,4 UCI C2s
14th! My top UCI finish to date. And only 4 spots out of the coveted realm of a UCI point. Getting closer. The general consensus was no one had much of any idea of what to expect from a Dallas course, but it was certainly unexpected to arrive to a course that had been drenched in basically two days of continuous rain. It turned out, and I know this is cliché, that we had a real Belgian course on our hands. I’m not only talking about MUD, but I’m talking about wide open hillside ascents, straightaways and descents. Descents so muddy that pedaling down was a necessity. Mud so deep that one needed to hop from rut to rut if changing a line. The best lines were found right up alongside the course tape which caused me to snap two shoe buckles, thankfully above the actual locking mechanism. Not only were the long wide open slogs in the ‘field’ but there were hair-raising wooded sections with steep drops, even steeper step-ups (steep short hills), banked corners, ruts that were 12-16 inches deep, tree roots that were like tubes of ice as far as traction goes, and mad heckling fans. This race was awesome.
Sunday was essentially the same course but with more like ‘hero-mud’ conditions, i.e. tacky and not requiring pitting for bike cleaning as Saturday had. After going 1hr13minutes on Saturday (13minutes over the usual specification for a ‘cross race) my legs were toasted, so after riding a lap with Tim Johnson and Anthony Clark I boiled over and faded back gradually from about 15th to 21st. Oh well.
Thanks to Chris Jennings for the title image above and Michael Wilder for the image below of me 'sharpening my axe' as he would say.
2015 Singlespeed National Championships, Wednesday Jan 7
153 riders in this field. That’s nearly 20 rows of 8 riders per row. To give a little perspective, in NM we’re usually lucky to get more than 2 rows in an elite race, and even a UCI C1 race like Jingle Cross will rarely have more than 60 riders (~7 rows). We had almost 3 times that many in the singlespeed race. Thankfully I was on the 3rd row leaving over 120 riders behind me at the start. And this race was fast! Shockingly so. The rule change this year preventing riders from doing both Masters (age group) and Elite races naturally saw a funneling of any rider wanting to get 2 races in during the week into the singlespeed race. The majority of riders in the top 10 have pro-level contracts so I was happy to finish 16th. In hindsight I think I undergeared a bit with a 40/19 which felt great on the steep off-cambers of the dry Austin course, but woefully underpowered on the flats and pavement. Having heard Lindine (the winner) was on a 40/17 only confirmed my suspicion. I’m not sure I coulda mashed the 17 cog, but an 18 would’ve been ideal. A lesson for next year if USAC doesn’t change rules once again.
Warwick NBX - NEPCX Series Finale, Dec 6, 7 UCI C2s Saturday and Sunday
Traveling alone to an unfamiliar 'cross race in a far corner of the country, admittedly invoked some anxiety throughout the week prior to the race. Anxiety for me translates to hypochondria. I was nauseous, stuffy, head-achy and generally entertaining flu-like symptoms all week. Of course, the weekend arrived, I toed the start line, and felt just fine. Lesson for the future: don't pay attention to non-specific fleeting symptoms of non-existent illnesses.
Anyhow, the real boon of the weekend was visiting good ABQ buddy Sean McCarthy in his adopted home of Easthampton and riding along with Northampton-based club JAM. The JAM fund acronym means Jeremy (as in Powers), Alec (Donahue) and Makunda. These three guys started JAM to support New England up and coming racers with equipment, coaching, race support and a healthy dose of general life advice. They've been incredibly successful in this mission, and I was fortunate enough to be able to sponge up as much information as I could during the extended weekend.
The races I chose to attend were two UCI C2s in Goddard Park which sits along the shores of a harbor off the Atlantic. The final two races in the New England series took place primarily in the muddy and rooty woods of this Rhode Island park and along the harbor's sandy beaches. While the roots and mud (which I was told was essentially a negligible amount of mud for the local guys but essentially a shit-ton for a NM racer) kept the passages through the woods slick and bumpy, the beach sand provided a unique technical challenge of riding as far as one could in an unreasonably narrow rut, rapidly dismounting when momentum slowed, and sprinting like crazy on foot to the other end of the beach. I learned that New Englanders generally like to run fast.
Saturday, Day 1, I received a stellar 3rd row call-up but biffed my pedal entry at the gun and mashed my crankbros candy into my shin sending me back to essentially a 5th row start. I worked my way up well in the early laps and was battling for about 15th or 16th place but the early lap chasing cost me in the end and I faded to 18th. This earned me 3 out of the 5 usac points I needed to qualify for elite nationals.
So Sunday I needed a 19th or better to ensure my elite start in Austin. I was called up to the 5th row on Day 2: not great but not terrible. Contrary to the day before I had a stellar start and rode quickly into about 20th. However, the drop into the first beach passage saw the rider directly in front of me go 'ass over tea kettle' and take me with him in the process. I got up quickly but also noticed that my left shift lever was twisted inward. I somehow managed to right the lever while sprinting along the sand and carrying the bike, but now had an uphill battle to race back into the top 20. I chased all-out for the next two laps at a consistent 15 second gap from the next group of 5 in front of me which I estimated to be places 21-17 or so. Halfway through the race I began to get that sinking feeling that I wasn't going to close the gap when simultaneously my left lever slipped downward as I rode over a series of bumpy roots. Apparently the lever was damaged in the first sand incident and its grip on my handlebar was now insufficient. I lost 2-3 spots before pitting for my second bike and was now sitting 23rd or so. I chased as much as I could, but with only 1.5 laps to go I knew I was out of contention for my desired placing. I finished 23rd.
Disappointment is a unique beast. I knew inside that I had done all I could to finish as high as possible. It's easy to beat yourself up after a race and it's tempting to look back over the race and criticize yourself for the moments when you should've gone harder or been smoother. The truth is though that in that moment you were doing your best - doing all you could to go as fast as possible. I emptied the tank and came up 23rd. It wasn't for a lack of trying during the race nor during my race prep or training in the weeks prior that I came up short. That said, I know I can continue to improve and that there are gains to be made by improving my bike skills, getting to more races where I'm being pushed to my limit, and perhaps trying a few new training and nutrition techniques. Hopefully JAM doesn't mind that I was soaking up their knowledge and techniques all weekend for use in my future cross campaigns. I suspect they don't, as ultimately, although they want to be the best, they also clearly love the sport of 'cross and want to spread that enthusiasm. It's a sentiment that is contagious and is one that I share.
I still have two opportunities to qualify for Elite Nationals. One is via petition which usac has offered for those who came close to qualifying with solid uci and past nats results, but not the requisite points. I've finished approximately half of my UCI races this year in the top 20 so hopefully I'm a good candidate. The second opportunity, should the first fail, is to place in the top 18 or so at January's Resolution Cup in Dallas the weekend before nats. I'm determined to qualify one way or another. Wish me luck!
Trek CXC Cup
Sept 20 and 21
C1 Saturday, C2 Sunday
I dove headfirst into the 2014/15 cross season with a UCI c1 race in Waterloo, Wisconsin, home of the Trek factory and corporate offices. Of course, I also called Wisconsin home for 25 years of my life so this was not only a great opportunity to open my racing account at the highest level available in the country, but also to catch up with old friends and family. And eat some cheese!
I was staged 4th row on Saturday behind the pros with permanent series numbers and those luckies with uci points. Speaking of uci points (which get you preferred starting position for one calendar year), after scouting the startlist, evaluating the course and my fitness, and generally thinking optimistically, i realized that this first race would be one of several opportunities this season to gain a coveted uci point (one of my primary goals for the season). This would require a top 15 finish.
Overnight and morning weather brought some rain to the extremely dry, grassy and punchy course. This actually improved course conditions making the sometimes slippery dust and grass more tacky, although not quite to "hero-mud" conditions.
Once the start gun sounded I moved up quickly while staying safe and out of trouble. The most challenging features of the course included two tight downhill switchbacks followed closely by an equally steep return uphill on what seemed like a 45 percent gradient, but was probably closer to 30. Steep up and steep down either way. This was the type of feature that illicited an "oh shit, scary" reaction from me after seeing it the first time and biffing it the first couple pre-race attempts. It was also, of course, the most densely fan and heckler packed location on the course (we'll call it F-, for short). Some people apparently don't appreciate the irony of a beard combined with an aero helmet. Aerodynamically neutral and offsetting? Anyone? When i peak for nats I'll shave the beard and...watchout jpow.
Back to the race - this first section (F-) was clearly gonna be a dismount and running section in first lap traffic, which was straightforward enough. Yet I managed to, perhaps against good advice, ride safely down it, saving some energy, and then dismount for the crowded runup. 1st disaster area averted. Next was a section of wide open grassy turns, followed by a barrier section followed by yet another switch-backy descent and ride-up, though this one was a more F+ version of the first, in essence marginally easier. All of this I navigated with relative ease amidst fiercely competitive traffic and found myself in the top 25 (thank you to the fam and friends for the constant time gaps and position updates throughout the weekend). But, with the most difficult sections behind me, coming into a grippy grassy offcamber sweeper I suddenly found myself on the deck with another rider rolled over the top of me. "Tire off!" Shouted a kindly passing rider as I attempted to remount. I had rolled a tubular off my rim! First time this has happened as formerly I prided myself on my tire gluing abilities. I was able to slip the tire back onto the rim and ride to the 2nd pit entrance and change to my cousin Tony's trek crockett (also in baby blue to match my ensemble) and get going again - full gas. Back in the mid 40s yet still on the latter parts of lap 1 I took a moment to reassess the day's top 15 goals and set off in pursuit of whatever I could salvage. I started passing with a vengeance and by a lap later I was in the top 35, two laps later top 30, and then settled in with a group sitting around 25th. At this point the chase efforts called for sitting in a lap or so to "recover" and then I set to work eking out a couple more places during the last 4-5 laps. I ended up 22nd, which is of course not top 15 but was also not 45th. I could be happy with the fitness, bouncing back from a touch of adversity, and the overall effort. Also, I heard belgian tape is nice for keeping tires on.
Day 2 brought a uci c2 race, a lower category and payout, but essentially the same course and field of racers. Today would require a top 10 to attain a uci point, which I didnt find particularly realistic. So I set my sights on a top 20 and focused on riding a clean race - minimizing mistakes and preventing mechanicals. I ran another 2-3psi in my tires and removed the wheel that had rolled the day before. I'd be on HiFi mixmaster aluminum rims today, but I love these wheels and they are not a disadvantage compared to deep dish carbon wheels.
Start position was 5th row, one row back from the day prior. My start was clean and after an aggressive first two laps I was riding in 18th or 19th. Solid. "Stay here, move up when possible" was my train of thought. I felt also that last year I was finishing stronger late in uci races and making several passes on late laps, so I felt contented to sit and conserve a touch for later in the race. As a side note, early laps in uci races seem to take an eternity. After racing what feels like 40mins, often I check the lap counter and find that it reads 7 laps to go, i.e. Another 40-45 mins of a one hour race still remain. Ugh. Time warp.
4 laps in, unfortunately, I slid out on the 2nd switch back of the course's main antagonist feature (F-) that I described from day 1. This cost me 5-6 places and a lot of momentum. The higher tire pressure, drier conditions, and hard effort to come back to a small group on the finishing straight before this section - making me a little cross-eyed - may have all been to blame for the crash. Once again, I collected myself; the bike and I were uninjured and I set back to making up ground. Significantly less had to be made up compared to the day before, however.
Several laps of chasing found me in about 23rd or 24th. I started to fade a bit with about 4 to go and felt myself being brought back by a group of chasers behind when, lo and behold, I was passed by 2013 elite nats podium finisher Zach McDonald. This, my friends, was a good wheel to follow. I made what felt like a herculean effort to get back the gap he'd already opened on me and settled in to following his masterful lines around the course. His presence was just what I needed to get back on track. Noticing raleigh-clement rider and 2012 single speed national champ Craig Etheridge chasing just behind us was all I needed to stay motivated and dig deep. The three of us rode the last 3 laps together with Zach and I trading pulls. It occurred to me that in this company I should absolutely not be on the front of our group, but I felt I was the strongest on the open power sections and I was motivated to keep yet another group of 3 chasing riders from coming back to us. I attacked Zach and Craig with 2/3 of a lap remaining, got a gap, but was brought back and countered by Zach whose turning is comparable to Hansel, so hot right now. I felt like Derelikt zoolander with only the ability to turn left on a course with approximately 50% right hand turns. Nonetheless i had gapped off Etheridge and at the finish, again ended up 22nd. The difference between a c1 payout and a c2 payout for 22nd place? $47. That's $65 vs $18 to be specific. Yes, Mom, I'm keeping my day job.
Thanks to the crazy large support I received all weekend from family, friends and sponsors. Matt and tony in the pits. Mom and dad on the cameras and cheers. My sis Katie rallying the cheering sections of Kevin, Kerrin, Arun, Aditya, Jarred, Todd V, Tim, Dad K, Jereme, Maggie, Calli and all the rest. And Ed for all the support, good food, and forcing a double fernet and coke on me post race. Thanks to Sponsors HiFi wheels, the Feed, Craft hair studio, wolf tooth, crankbrothers, mad alchemy, and castelli. I love wisconsin! And love to wife Kate! Be home soon!
Switchback F- pictured below
Jingle Cross Rock
Nov 14, 15, 16
C2 Friday, C1 Saturday, C2 Sunday
After an 18 hour drive and a midnight arrival on Thursday, we awoke Friday mid-morning to sunny yet chilly conditions in the low 30s. Michael, Ryan and I set off from our apartment to get the legs open and pre-ride the course, about 5 miles from our AirBnB base. The trek involved the crossing of an Iowanian corn field, the dense nutrition source supplementing the local corn-fed dames that Michael, Ryan, and Tony were so interested in throughout the weekend.
Upon arrival, the course was in fair, semi-frozen, yet dry conditions. Later that evening, under the cloak of night, the course would freeze completely and provide some fast conditions for the UCI events. I, for one, was thankful for my choice of low tire pressure (sitting around 19psi front, 20psi rear to mirror the evening temps) and thankful that the HiFi Extended Play 39mm carbon rims didn't object to frequent bottoming out. I was granted a decent call-up in the 5th row in a field about 60 deep. A clean start and a rad ride through running traffic on Mt Krumpit brought me up into the top 25. I was with several illustrious pro riders in this group from various teams like Redline, Clif Bar, and American Classic: exactly the company I'd like to keep. I managed to hold the reigns of this reindeer sled until about 2 laps to go when I started to crack up a bit from 50 minutes of riding over my head. I ended up 20th and with a 2 dollar bill in my pants for riding Mt Krumpit in the last lap.
Saturday was the C1 race - the weekend's main event - which saw some heavy artillery arrive in town, with the likes of JPow and on-form rider Stephen Hyde at the start line. Fortunately for them, I was granted a dead last call-up, so they need not worry about my up-and-comer type assaults on their 'cross kingdoms. 71st out of 71 entrants. On a row all by myself. At least the only way to go was up. A clean and fast start saw me move up into the 40s only to be crashed by someone looking to pass on the narrowest and most slippery part of the course. The combined sense of urgency, supreme confidence, and temporarily fresh legs always makes for a real shit show in the opening lap of UCI races. Everyone thinks they can win at that point. The risk-taking is impressive. So from 40s to dead last again I went. Re-passing the same 20 people plus another 10-15 by mid race saw me battling for a top 30 spot. The snow began to come down and the heinous double-ascent per lap of Mt Krumpit began to take it's toll.
Saturday's course also included a true Belgian-style off-camber switchback descent off a grassy hillside finishing with a 30+mph drop into yet another off-camber corner. Pretty gnar. And the snow and changing course conditions made it all the more butt-puckering, to borrow Michael's phrase. I managed to ride it clean throughout the race and was really looking forward to getting it out of the way 1 more time in the last lap, when my front tire began to feel a bit too soft. Having already passed the pits and being mid-way up the 2nd ascent of Krumpit for that lap, I had no choice but to either run down the switchbacks or ride it on a front flat tire. I made the rational choice to run, but somehow the tired legs and torso didn't get the message to swing themselves over the top tube and dismount, so I found myself riding instead. Holy Sh%$, that was probably the nuttiest descent I've ridden on the cross bike in my life. Getting bucked and bounced around with questionable traction at high speeds in freshly fallen snow and quickly forming mud over ice while bottoming out my carbon rim made for a pretty white-knuckle twenty seconds of my life. Somehow I made it and rode the rim to the last entrance of the pits, but unfortunately was passed by 4 guys in the last lap and ended 33rd.
The last race of the weekend, Sunday funday, saw me with a more reasonable and less 'random' (according to the UCI official who felt bad for me the previous day) call-up on the 5th row. I had a clean start, but maybe not my fastest, as I found myself chasing the same group of guys I'd been with on Friday. The course was a bit more muddy with temps causing the mud to accumulate and then freeze on the bike. Thanks to Michael and Tony for manning the pits for me, although I ended up not needing a bike, as the late afternoon sun descended and the temps dropped to firm up the mud, causing less accumulation on the frame. I mixed it up in the top 25 and ended up 24th, shuddering one spot on the last lap due to a jammed shoe-bottom crammed with ice, so much so that my crankbros cleat could not meet my crankbros pedal.
Friday's race earned me one point towards qualifying for elite nats. I now sit in 92nd, one point out of the top 90 (the minimum ranking for qualification). I'll need to grab a couple more points at my next UCI event in Rhode Island to be within the top 90 when the registration window for elite nats opens on Dec 10th. Until then I plan on doing a nice training block in ABQ and then flying out to meet good buddy Sean McCarthy and the JAM fund team in Warwick on Dec 4th. Cheers and thanks for the listen and big thanks to title sponsors Craft, HiFi, and the Feed and additional sponsors Wolftooth, Crankbrothers, Mad Alchemy and Castelli! And thanks to my Pop, Terrence, for the pics and Mom Anne for the big support!
Gateway Cross Cup
Oct 25 and 26
C2 both days
My initial intent on attending the Gateway Cross Cup in St. Louis, a 15 hour drive from Albuquerque, was to get a shot at a UCI point in the historically lower-attendance race. Last year’s race on Day 1 had 28 finishers, with UCI points going 10 deep. However, pre-registration for this year was nearly double, with 55 entrants for Saturday’s race. Thus, expectations were scaled back to aiming at a top 20 finish in order to grab a few USAC PRO CX series points, which go 20 deep and help one to qualify for the Elite National Championships (based upon new criteria for this season).
I hooked up with fellow NM ‘Cross Riders Michael Wilder and Taylor Squillaci for this trip, to simultaneously share travel expenses and for good company on the long drive. Quotable lines from both Michael and Taylor were had throughout the weekend, though unfortunately I did a poor job of documenting the PG rated ones and will resist the urge to share any of the crasser content. The 15 hour drive saw us arrive late Friday night to our host housing arranged by the race directors. First major plug for this race is that the race directors put us in touch with amazing host housing, making for a comfortable stay and the chance to connect with some of the nicest people I’ve come across in my cycling career. An oft underrated aspect of traveling to races is taking advantage of opportunities for host housing – it not only saves money but the conversations and connections are invaluable.
The second major plug for this race is the course, which we groggily previewed Saturday morning. The course included numerous long straight-aways that made for high top-end speeds, 2-3 dismounts per lap depending on your ability to ride one of the two sets of ‘belgian stairs’, a surprising amount of climbing, and some tricky off-camber sections that became increasingly dusty and dry throughout the weekend. All of this in a beautiful Midwestern park with rolling hills and fall colors. It was a course that tested speed, running ability, climbing fitness, high-speed cornering, off-camber control, and on this weekend – tolerance for 80degree unseasonable heat. A very complete race course and venue in my humble opinion.
For brevity, I’ll mix my two days of racing together in a quick summary as they played out in a relatively similar fashion. I had a third row call-up both days, which was awesome, and had a clean start each day. Half-way through the first lap of each day, on similar downhill switchbacks into steep uphill climbs, I and others were temporarily hindered by poor decisions from other riders. The first day someone attempted to ride a set of stairs in heavy running traffic and essentially brought everyone behind them to a halt when they botched their attempt. And the second day, when everyone was riding a very ride-able section, a rider dismounted and essentially dive-bombed, while running, everyone going into a sharp corner, causing all those behind to dismount. Frustrating decisions from both riders and poor etiquette in my opinion, though arguably on day 2 I should’ve thought of dismounting sooner. Ultimately, these small setbacks cost me any realistic chance of making the split with the front group of racers like Berden (Birdman), Driscoll, and Matter, about 15-20 riders each day. So, I found myself in a chase group of about to 3-4 riders, 5-15 seconds in arrears of the front of the race in the opening laps. Still not a bad spot to be.
The remainder of the race, each day, saw me hanging on to the small group I was with as we pulled back riders who had made the front group initially, but popped or had been caught in no man’s land behind the front group unable to make contact. Attempting to remain calm through the chaos of the opening lap and having a favorable call-up allowed me to conserve energy for the middle and end of the race, thereby allowing me and the group I was with to pull back several places in the latter laps of the race, which always feels awesome (as the alternative is imploding late in the race after making too many hard efforts in the first laps and losing numerous positions in the last lap or two).
Both days I found myself with younger riders from the Pro’s Closet out of Boulder who showed good technical skills and strong engines – these riders, who are still U23, certainly have bright futures. Watching Brady Kappius from ClifBar on Day 2, within our group, ride everything on the course, including both sets of Belgian stairs and the barriers, was pretty rad too. Skills to pay the bills. For Brady there were zero dismounts on this course. Staying with these riders through the race frequently put me in over my head both physically and technically, but I knew we were going fast and I was determined to hang on. Once that elastic breaks there’s little coming back to a group going this fast, so I gave it my all to close small gaps and stay smooth.
Ultimately, picking off riders in the latter half of the race brought me to 17th on Saturday and 19th on Sunday. Both days I was too gassed to make more than a half-hearted attempt to win my group, so the downside is I always finished last from my group. Yet the upside is that I was in the mix for 14th on Saturday and 16th on Sunday – which is inching closer to the UCI points. And, regardless, Saturday’s 17th place is my highest UCI finish to date! And in a much deeper field (about 2x the size) of my previous best placed 18th from LA last year. The satisfaction of seeing improvement year to year never gets old.
Congrats to Michael for finishing on the podium in his men’s open race over the weekend – he’ll be mixing it up in the UCI races in no time. And congrats to Taylor for improving on his day 1 UCI race by moving up five places and 1 lap closer to lead lap on day 2. And no crashes! Lastly, Al Senft from ABQ and his wife Sheila were in St. Louis and had solid finishes in their races as well.
My next UCI races will be Jingle Cross (3 days!) in mid-November followed by NEPCX in Rhode Island in early December. I’ll be looking to grab more USAC points and attempting to put myself in a position to nab that first UCI point as well. I’m currently 79th on the USAC series standings (with 6 points) wherein the top 90 qualify for Elite Nats. I have to remain within the top 90 until Dec 12th, which is just a couple days after the NEPCX race. Wish me luck!
Awesome shot below from Michael Wilder and his new Shimano camera. Title pic above from Velonews/Cyclingnews/CXMag
