Hey all,
The last chapter in the 2009 CCC reports here. As many of you who have been reading, this has been one of the most fun, exciting, challenging, and painful 'cross years that I can remeber (and I have done a LOT of 'cross in the past, 17 years I figured). Each race was challenging not only in the competitors, but the course design and conditions.
Turin was the sponsoring club for the final stop at Montrose, which also doubled up as the State Champs. The course was laid out in what i would consider 3 distinct sections; beach/sand, Cricket Hill, and then some nice technical twisty-turny sections. I'm not sure what the temperature was when I got to Montrose, but it was below freezing as the sand was still frozen and riding thru it was actually quite easy.
My one and only goal that I had this year was to get into the top 10 overall for the series. I was currently sitting 11th, and would need a good race to move up one slot. After doing several laps of the course in pre-ride, the next big question was what to where. Do I go with leg warmers or embro, heavy gloves or medium, long sleeve undershirt or short??? In the end I made the right decisions on those as my hands were not cold, the legs were good, and I never felt over heated.
The next challenge was getting a good start spot on the line. After the call ups of the top 10, I slid into the last remaining spot on the front line next to Stanley who was sitting in 10th overall. He and I wished each other well in the race, and got ready for the whistle. Off goes the whistle and I get a good jump. Into the first corner I'm sitting 3rd. Onto the beach comfortably in 4th with the leaders. Mark Yurcheshen yelling at me that all is good!! Once we hit the hill however, the gaps started to open, and I lost another 2 spots and was riding alone in 6th. But there was Mark again, cheering me on. The leaders were about 5 seconds ahead, and I had a gap on a group of 6 chasers. Got thru lap 1 fine, and then my stuggle lap (lap #2). I kept telling myself to push and don't look back. Keep the leaders in sight, ride smooth, and keep the power on. Again hit the beach and there is Mark giving me info and keeping my spirits up. Sure enough got thru that lap in good shape, but I could see Suyko (who has beaten me in the last 3 races) coming on strong. He is a notorious slow starter and fast finisher. Into lap 3, nice and smooth until I hit a technical section and my front wheel washed out on the thawing ground. I got back up quickly, but the damage was done, he caught me. The next 2.5 laps were he and I working together to maintain our growing gap on our chasers, with Mark following us around the course giving me encouragement and energy
Into the bell lap, Suyko and I are neck and neck. We hit the first set of barriers, side by side, Mark is again on the beach yelling at me. However, I made a bad line on the drop-in and Suyko gapped. I tried and tried to get back to him, but I just couldn't. He got 6th and me 7th.
While during the race, I felt good the whole time, I was spent. However, I did end up getting into the 30+ to have some more "fun" and just experience the race. This time I was less in a zone and more aware of what was happening. There were a TON of people out cheering and yelling, and just made the race so much fun.
So I have met my goal. I ended up in 10th overall only 1 point out of 9th. If I had beaten Suyko I would have gotten 9th with Stanley in 10th.
I have to give credit to Mark. He came out and braved the cold, and his constant encouragement all over the course really kept me focused and driven. Thanks a lot!
There again was good representation of ABD, and we also hung onto our 10th place in the team competition. Besides myself the others that I saw were Brad Dash, Ben Demong, Gina Kenny, Sue S. and the Jr Girl St. Champ Jessie Prinner.
Congrats to everyone who raced. Sad to see the season come to an end, but as I sit here writing this, the white stuff is coming down which only means that this weekend instead of a bike, I will be on my skis.
Thanks again for reading. I have got to say that I am already looking forward to 2010 CCC!
Jim
The last chapter in the 2009 CCC reports here. As many of you who have been reading, this has been one of the most fun, exciting, challenging, and painful 'cross years that I can remeber (and I have done a LOT of 'cross in the past, 17 years I figured). Each race was challenging not only in the competitors, but the course design and conditions.
Turin was the sponsoring club for the final stop at Montrose, which also doubled up as the State Champs. The course was laid out in what i would consider 3 distinct sections; beach/sand, Cricket Hill, and then some nice technical twisty-turny sections. I'm not sure what the temperature was when I got to Montrose, but it was below freezing as the sand was still frozen and riding thru it was actually quite easy.
My one and only goal that I had this year was to get into the top 10 overall for the series. I was currently sitting 11th, and would need a good race to move up one slot. After doing several laps of the course in pre-ride, the next big question was what to where. Do I go with leg warmers or embro, heavy gloves or medium, long sleeve undershirt or short??? In the end I made the right decisions on those as my hands were not cold, the legs were good, and I never felt over heated.
The next challenge was getting a good start spot on the line. After the call ups of the top 10, I slid into the last remaining spot on the front line next to Stanley who was sitting in 10th overall. He and I wished each other well in the race, and got ready for the whistle. Off goes the whistle and I get a good jump. Into the first corner I'm sitting 3rd. Onto the beach comfortably in 4th with the leaders. Mark Yurcheshen yelling at me that all is good!! Once we hit the hill however, the gaps started to open, and I lost another 2 spots and was riding alone in 6th. But there was Mark again, cheering me on. The leaders were about 5 seconds ahead, and I had a gap on a group of 6 chasers. Got thru lap 1 fine, and then my stuggle lap (lap #2). I kept telling myself to push and don't look back. Keep the leaders in sight, ride smooth, and keep the power on. Again hit the beach and there is Mark giving me info and keeping my spirits up. Sure enough got thru that lap in good shape, but I could see Suyko (who has beaten me in the last 3 races) coming on strong. He is a notorious slow starter and fast finisher. Into lap 3, nice and smooth until I hit a technical section and my front wheel washed out on the thawing ground. I got back up quickly, but the damage was done, he caught me. The next 2.5 laps were he and I working together to maintain our growing gap on our chasers, with Mark following us around the course giving me encouragement and energy
Into the bell lap, Suyko and I are neck and neck. We hit the first set of barriers, side by side, Mark is again on the beach yelling at me. However, I made a bad line on the drop-in and Suyko gapped. I tried and tried to get back to him, but I just couldn't. He got 6th and me 7th.
While during the race, I felt good the whole time, I was spent. However, I did end up getting into the 30+ to have some more "fun" and just experience the race. This time I was less in a zone and more aware of what was happening. There were a TON of people out cheering and yelling, and just made the race so much fun.
So I have met my goal. I ended up in 10th overall only 1 point out of 9th. If I had beaten Suyko I would have gotten 9th with Stanley in 10th.
I have to give credit to Mark. He came out and braved the cold, and his constant encouragement all over the course really kept me focused and driven. Thanks a lot!
There again was good representation of ABD, and we also hung onto our 10th place in the team competition. Besides myself the others that I saw were Brad Dash, Ben Demong, Gina Kenny, Sue S. and the Jr Girl St. Champ Jessie Prinner.
Congrats to everyone who raced. Sad to see the season come to an end, but as I sit here writing this, the white stuff is coming down which only means that this weekend instead of a bike, I will be on my skis.
Thanks again for reading. I have got to say that I am already looking forward to 2010 CCC!
Jim
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