…lot’s of stuff to “tangentize” about. It’s sounds like one of those words like “positivity” except according to my spell checker only one of the two is made up.. I’ll let you guess which one.
If I stick to race talking I probably have a mix of two or three races behind in recapping.
The U.P. State Championship was a short 10 days ago held back on Nov 12th. The coin flip that morning landed the right way pointing me East 3hrs over to Marquette MI. So packed up, remember the time zone change and got there a solid 45minutes before the race despite the doubters and disbelievers.
I came over pretty pumped to do the race, the lighter side of me was looking forward to seeing all the racers & friends I’ve made in the UP racing over the years. The competitive side was looking for a good duel to thrown down some hard core ‘cross racing and work on taking home what slipped by me in last years finale there.
The drive over was worrying me as I saw loads of snow piled up across the U.P. from earlier in the week, but I kept telling myself that once you drop into Marquette it’s usually gone and sure enough that was the case. Prepping and registering I was looking around to see what to expect of the course and the competition. Awesome designed course – it had a “spiral” section that should be the envy of any cross race. It rounded racers counterclockwise into the center of a circle and then spit them out in a clockwise direction without intersecting… It was a mind twister at first. It looked like it should dead end in the center but the well engineered design had an exiting circles that existed between the entering circles. I liked it so much I think should be a mandatory ‘cross race course design. The rest of the course had a nice blend of on/off road, cornering, hills & barriers.
Knowing the UPCross series from last year and taking a peak at this year looked like it should be competitive regardless. Despite rumors to the contrary I fully expected a very capable T. Gauth, who jumped me early in last years race for the win, to show up. How would he pass up a race in his back yard. As time passed it appeared he would be a no show. I’d been feeling real strong & was looking forward to the rematch. (Note to TG, next time I drive my butt 3hrs over there, have the decency to drive 3 miles, show up & give it a go….. J/K.) It would’ve taken a darn good day on my part as he’s come a long way and made some good strides in his bike racing.
The rest of the guys aren’t slouches and everything before the starter says “Go!” is talk & hot air that quickly needs to be backed up by lungs, legs & some crazy mad skillz. Ultimately I determined I could get by racing my wide tired Superfly MTB with the rear powertap wheel and use the brand new day old Trek Cronus ‘cross bike in emergency or backup.
I started 2nd row & alittle back at the start & the only guy on a MTB but comfortably worked into 4th place for a good share of the first lap. Somewhere towards the end of that lap Ryan Tervo & myself separated ourselves from the other guys. I told him to hang on as I went to the front, he may have rolled his eyes or given me that “Oh brother! here we go!” look. As it was, Ryan stayed within a few bike lengths initially. There was a first lap prime/prize which I happily took in from Jesse Bell as I crossed ahead of Ryan in the start finish area.
From that point and laps that ensued I worked on building breathing room to the chasers. Initially it was Colby Lash & Ryan Tervo – those stubborn guys didn’t give me a break in letting up for several laps. I’d gotten a 10-15 second lead, backed off just alittle but they’d be holding it, so I’d have to push harder & finally after 4 laps or so the gap started to grow again into the 20+ seconds range & grew from there. That’s the unknown about ‘cross racing. You don’t know who’d going be having a good day and safe distances aren’t always as safe as they seem.
With 3 laps to go, my most excellent last minute pit crew of Tom Carpenter & co. told me it was about time I used a ‘cross bike, in a ‘cross race. I’d also had enough laps with the powertap recording output so I gave up the Superfly & got on the barely fitted & dialed in Trek Cronus Pro I’d picked up in Duluth at The Ski Hut the night before. It went surprisingly well, in fact Tom C. commented on how much more time I put into the chasers as a result in the final laps. Not sure if they were getting tired, or riding the ‘cross bike was faster. I just knew it was working.
The dynamics behind me were changing a bit however as Andy Steven (who had a heck of good Ore to Shore MTB race this year) pulled up to Ryan T. who’d been chasing me solo after dropping Colby L.
I road in the final lap steady but safe to win. It was pretty nice to get this years U.P. State Championship, after winning the UP Series last year. The guys behind had a exciting finish with Andy finishing 2nd, Steve Kuhl pulling up to get 3rd, followed by Colby who had an “altercation” with Ryan (5th) in the final turn. Probably not fun in the moment but I think they reasonably kissed and made up after. Who says bike racing ain’t a contact sport?
A good post race party & afterwards onto the Series Title sponsor BlackRocks Brewery. That itself could have been the high lite of the day/night alone. The U.P. has such a great atmosphere & culture for cycling and endurance sports, regardless of how a race goes it’s great to partake in the festivities afterwards and the evening at Blackrocks was no exception. Thanks out to Tom C. & Marie for acting as hosts for me & not letting a good time escape me… probably a few too many brews to pull off a good double header of racing the next day in the Minnesota series but…. ah, if one has to make sacrifices make it for a race and not good times with friends!!! Thanks guys!!!
Headed out of Marquette about 9 and was back home just past midnight. Hoping I could get just enough good sleep to make a solid effort at the Mill City Cyclocross races in Bayport/Stillwater, MN the next morning.
Woke up with less than 6hrs of sleep but no hangover so what’s there to complain about? By 10am I was on the road another 3hr venture West this time. Had never been to this race previously and quickly upon arrival knew it was one of those higher speed ‘cross race venues. Skinny tires & a cross bike was in order. Except still not having riding time on the Trek Cronus I opted to skinny up the tires on the Superfly & give that a go instead.
But to make a long ‘cross story short… it wouldn’t have mattered either way. Warm up went well, but the cumulative 12 hours of driving in the previous 36hrs put my back in bad shape and I was displaying a 2010 version of Todd McFadden riding. Despite a decent start & getting into 4th position, my back locked up on me a few laps in and had to put it in cruise control. Wasn’t too fun when you can’t be in there competing and doing your best. I wound up in 8th on the day well out of contention. Even so it was good to see what that MN course had to offer in terms of competition and the style of racing that went on.
I thought it would come in handy for the following weekend MN State Championship races. Did I make that planned race? Well, that’s another story for another day… in case I don’t post for awhile… Happy Thanksgiving!!
No comments:
Post a Comment