After finishing my cross country running season, I spent three days lying on the couch then was back on the bike and ready for some serious cycling. I decided to do my first cyclocross race the following weekend in Bristol Tennessee.
The race was tons of fun, and I am now hooked on cyclocross! Check out the Maxxis Spiral of Death.
True to cyclocross style, it was cold and rainy. As a cyclocross virgin, I raced cat 4. There was just over twenty riders in my race. The guy in the tall red socks in the center of the picture started out hard, gapped the field immediately and held on to win the race.
I had an alright start but did no barrier practice prior to the race. The one barrier on the course was early on the first lap, and as a result of my poor mounting skills, I got passed by several people. I ended up getting stuck behind traffic as the red socks guy rode away from the pack. Before long, I moved up to second place but was dragging a pack of guys behind me, many of which passed me again on the next barrier. Eventually, I passed them all back and the field spread out. I had a good back and forth battle with the kid in the glasses behind me in this picture. I would continuously get small gaps on him on the climbs but he kept catching back up on the barrier. Eventually, I put the hammer down and dropped him for good. I wasn’t strong enough to catch the leader, however, and ended up second.
My ungraceful attempt at running and jumping on my bike seat. Big thanks to Went for letting me race his bike.
The course was all short rolling hills with some mud pits and lots of very tight turns.
This guy won my race. I started gaining on him towards the end but didn’t have the power to close the gap. A bit of an over exuberant celebration for a cat 4 race if you ask me.
Will Black won the men’s 1-2 race despite being in his 40′s and on a single speed.
Carla crashed early in the first lap but quickly recovered and dominated the women’s cat 1-2 race. I think she beat over half the cat 3 men.
Our assistant coach Robin finished second after a hard fought battle.
The race was tough but a lot of fun and, I am now totally hooked on cyclocross.
Great start in cyclocross Nate! You’re a natural for that discipline. Glad you were able to borrow a cross bike. Looked like a fun course and tough competition. Wish I was set up to build a Trimble cross bike for you! Unbelievable that Will Black from Houston was there and winning Cat 1 on a single speed – he’s an amazing racer!
Getting into Cross!? Sweet Nate!