Cross Eyed Fun!!!

It only took me til the last day of the year to get a cross race in but I finally did it, I really wish I was able to do more but I will take the one I got. Friday was the Cross Off The Old Year Cyclocross race in Shawnee, KS and it was bitter cold with winds blowing about 27-28 mph. This was only my second cross race ever so I haven't seen a lot of courses (obviously) but this course seemed very simple and fast. I was really hoping to race a course that would need more bike handling skills because I feel that would play to me well. This course didn't have a lot of twists and turns like the previous course I had raced but it did have a long run up hill that proved to be my downfall in the race. It didn't help that the last time I ran my bike was my only other cross race in September of 2009!!! There was a fun downhill with a couple slight turns and then launched you on the side of a hill so you were riding an off camber section, it was a hoot.

Since I have so little experience in cross racing I had absolutely no game plan other than ride as fast as I could without actually puking (I will say I came close). On the start I was in the middle of the pack but was able to bridge up to the lead group and shortly after the barriers I was able to make a move and jumped up to 4th place. I made a mistake here, I should have settled in and let someone else do the work for a little bit, the pace seemed a bit slow so after a couple turns I made a jump and got into 2nd place. I quickly found an outside line and went around the leader and hammered into the lead. The pic below is me leading on the first lap as we came around where most people were standing and cheering. It didn't take long for the lactic acid to build up and I was really feeling the burn, I was concerned prior to the race about not getting a lot of riding and not much interval training and it showed rather quickly. I led going into the run up but was passed by 3 or 4 going up the hill and then passed by some more shortly after and I found myself in 8th place...OUCH!!!



The leaders kept increasing their lead on me, I wasn't surprised since I was battling the wind alone and they were in a group but I kept on plugging away. On the fourth lap I was caught and passed by another rider so now I was running 9th but when he went around he seemed to slow down, James told me to stay with him and use him. I sucked his wheel for almost a full lap and then bolted around him and created a huge gap, tucking in on his wheel allowed me to recover a lot.



It wasn't long and I was right behind 2 more riders in my class, I waited for a good place to pass and then went around both at the same time. I surged in front of a single speed racer just before a turn and the 2 riders I had passed got stuck behind him. One of them was spent and quickly fell off but the other stayed on the gas and got around the single speeder and was right on my wheel when we got to the hill. He passed me up the hill but I was riding the downhill better than him so I was able to reel him in on that section. I stayed right behind him in the narrow section and then did a slingshot around him as we sprinted it out. With only one 180 degree turn left and then about 100 yds of pavement left I came into the turn too hot and didn't get the best line. I jumped up and started sprinting and was really hurting, at the last second he came around me and passed me with only 2 ft from the finish. I was upset he got around but I had nothing left, it was a great finish. I ended up 7th but not sure how many were in my class, Molly thought there was about 15. All in all it was a lot of fun, I wish I had done a couple things different but live and learn!!!