This past Sunday the 17th, Main Street Bicycles with the help of North Branch Cycling hosted the fifth race of the Chicago Cyclocross Cup Series.
Sunday October 3rd, Half Acre Cycling hosted Race #2 of Chicago Cross Cup series at Hopkins Park in Dekalb. Jeff, Jes, John, Ken, Mark and myself toed the line to represent North Branch in five different categories and classes. Once again, North Branch Cycling's representation is on the rise as is our results.
NBCX Growing and Stronger
Leading the day, Jeff Provisor took on the Masters 40+ and came home 42nd in the large field, and improved impressively on his previous starts. Next out of the blocks was Mark McNeill in his first competition of the 2010 series. Mark did not disappoint and came home with a very strong 6th place in the Masters 50+. New member Kenny Benavides, has been riding the Master 30+ for us the season, and he too improved on his previous result at Race #1 at Jackson Park. Kenny took a strong 22nd in very competitive Masters 30+ field. John Hoffman and I are in our second season as 4a compatriots (and occasional commiseraters), and we have both improved our form and results over last season. John came home 13th, and I 27th in a very strong and competitive 4a field. I would have loved to have improved on my top 20 finish in Race #1, and I'm sure John would have loved to added another podium to his early season run for the overall; but this just goes to show how fierce and seasoned the competition in Chicross Cup has become. Finally, the hard-luck recipient of our bunch was Jes Cisneros competing in 4b. This was Jes' first competition of this young cx season, but the gods did not show him any favor when a videographer filming the flyover came out on the course just as he made his way down. The inevitable collision taco'd Jes' front wheel beyond adjustment and Jes would have to abandon with two laps to go.
The Course
As I just mentioned, the Hopkins Park course featured a real honest-to-god flyover festoon with hecklers, hipsters, a cowbell and Flemish flag. This is---I believe---the first of its kind in the Chicago Cross Cup. The rest of the course was a slight variation of previous years with wide sweeping turns, a run-up with double barriers, fast tarmac sections on the front and back side of the course, deceivingly bumpy grass straights, and roots, roots, and more roots. This was my first cyclocross race two years ago, and it is still one of my favorite venues.
Cameron's Race Recap
Unfortunately, I was not the recipient of a call-up this week as I was at Race #1, but I did have a pretty reasonable starting spot on the third row. The starting straight was long, wide, and only ticked a bit right before a wide yet sharp left turn. Traffic in the first two rows was very slow to get up to speed at the start, and I spent most of it waiting for a line to open. My inside position on the first turnoff in this instance backfired, and I was choked from the front by about 30 places.
The course started with this left turn followed by a hard and tight right turn, but then straightened out over a mix of surfaces. I was able, at this point, to start picking guys off. That is, until I got stuck behind a bigger, not quite fast, not quite confident rider. Finally, at the flyover, the big guy had some trouble when he bumped a step with his front wheel. I jumped on this, and made the pass at the top of the flyover.
From here, I was turning myself inside out trying to make passes. In hindsight, I might have been better off stalking a bit more before making moves. Remember though, this is the first lap and 4a races are notoriously difficult to predict lap count. Jackson Park was only 3 laps, so I started this race thinking the same thing. I was so intent on making as many passes as I could that I went through the start finish without checking the lap count. Finishing my second lap nearly ready to pop, I looked up to see still TWO laps to go! At this point I had picked up about 8+ places and was tickling another top 20. The bad news was double, 1) the last five or six guys I had passed did not go quietly into the night, but instead were hanging tightly right on my wheel, and 2) I now had TWO LAPS to hold them off! This situation did not last long, unfortunately. Coming out of the wide left turn after the front straight, I laid on it too early and dug my pedal on a surface undulation.
There they went. All six of them. $@#$&! All that work in the first two laps went down the toilet. I got back on my bike in the blink of an eye, but the damage was done and I pedaled frustratingly through the front side of the course. After a minute or two of whining and crying, I began to see a few of the riders who benefited from my spill come back in my reach. I spent the third lap trying to gain back what I had lost, and I did manage to grab four spots back on the front side of lap four. Once again, these guys did not go quietly, and I was pursued by one rider in particular (I'm not sure of the team, black or gray with red and white, but not xXx) for the remainder of the race. I did everything I could to shake him or block him, all the while, I was still trying to pickoff another rider out ahead. My corner diving lines did well to hold off my chaser but they did nothing to aid me in gaining a spot on the rider ahead. On the last straight, leading in to the last root-ridden hairpin before the finish, my chaser made his winning move, and worse yet, with another rider in tow. I made a last ditch sprint to the line but that was all but undone before it happened, when I botched the final rooted hairpin turn.
If I've learned anything so far this year, it is this:
Go, go, go. Recovery comes at night.
When bad luck befalls you, or you are over-anxious, stay inside yourself and trust yourself.
Make others pass you, don't give them a free ride by doing something stupid.
North Branch's time trialing squad has quietly been posting consistent results in the American Bicycle Racing time trial series.
On June 26, 2010 three members medalled at the 40 KM test promoted by Team Apache in Paw Paw, IL.
Jack Arnolde racing in Cat 4 finished second. John Hoffman racing in Masters 40 placed 5th and also set a new club record for the distance. New member Brad Moore, training for Ironman Louisville, placed second in Masters 50 and also established a new club record.
Podium placings and new club records have been a regular occurence this season. Hoffman established a new club record in the 33 km distance and Jack Arnold also posted a club best in an early spring 10 mile test.
Club records have been updated and can be viewed in the Race Results section of the Members Only Forum.
Matt Samples has proven that he can race without crashing by taking 1st place in the combined Cat 4/5 Masters race at this past weekend's crit at Wonder Lake. He also finished second in the Cat 4 only heat. Congratulations Matt!
Cat 3 rider Ed Hernandez recovering from a lingering knee energy also raced. It looks like he may soon be getting support as soon as Matt upgrades.
Full results here- Wonder Lake Crit