Jingle Cross

After the Minnesota State Cross I got a cold and got really unmotivated. I was just about ready to call it a year. Then the weather got warmer, I did the Turkey Day Ride with a fun group of people and soon I was ready to go again. It wasn't until Saturday at 6 AM that I finally decided to race. I packed up and drove the 5 hours down to Iowa city for the Jingle Cross Rock. These races feature some of the largest prize purses in the country, so with a good ride I knew it would be worth my while. The first day I was hurting. It was good course for me, with a lot of power sections, but it was a better course for Chris Horner. I had a terrible start and had to go balls out to catch Horner, Tilly, and Bjorn. We formed a group and opened up a gap on the rest of the strong field. I blew after a couple laps and squandered in fourth for a lap or so before findining my 42X12 and grinding around the course with a 60 rpm cadence. I caught Bjorn and rode up to Tilford. I started closing in on Horner who was about 20 seconds up. For about 4 laps I held it, but with about three to go I was blown and I had a big enough gap to settle for second. The next day I felt a lot better in the morning. My coughing had calmed down a bit and my legs felt fresh. The course was better for me as well, with a long run up and some techincal corners. I felt like it was my race to lose. Right away, the same group of four was off the front. Tilford and I traded pulls for about 3 laps until he flatted. At this point I started surging whenever I could. I was feeling good and I wanted those guys to have to work for it. For the last half of the race, I dangled off the front about 3 seconds ahead of Horner who was pulling Bjorn around the course. There were a lot of flat open sections where he would close in on me, so I kept the hammer down on the run-up, the barriers and the corners where I knew I had the advantage. Finally with one lap to go I went as hard as I could on the run-up and opened up a good 100 meters or so. That was all I needed and I was able to cruise in for my biggest cross win of the season. Bjorn managed to get away in the final corners to take second with Horner in third and Tilford held on for fourth after changing bikes several times.

Pile of Bikes

MN State CX

I don't really know what to say about the State Cross race this year, it's one of those races I'd rather just forget. But I guess another bitter defeat is grounds for a learning experience so I'd best recap the adventure for future reference. From the gun I took the holeshot and thought I was going fast enough (if you can ever really go "fast enough") but Bjorn tenaciously hung on. I was trying to gap him a on the hard running and riding sections, but I was having problems on the loose gravel corners and couldn't escape. We hung together for the duration of the race until I was completely spent and was hanging on, hoping to out sprint the young phenom. I finally decided to switch bikes to use my larger tires and I was able to corner much faster. I hung on as long as I could until Bjorn accelerated into the last lap and I had nothing with which to respond.

It felt like it was a January morning. The air was biting into my skin and eyes until they were watering and then freezing to the water they just expelled. The whole race was literally a blur, and though it was painful and annoying, it didn't really affect my racing. As always, the stair climb became longer and taller with each passing lap. By the end my legs were so heavy I could barely lift them up to the next. Even two days later, I am still feeling the effort, which means for my body, this was the hardest effort of the cyclocross season. And yet I still came up short and finished second in my 5th big race of the fall. Maybe I don't want it bad enough, or maybe everyone just wants to beat me bad enough, but whatever it is I'm going to bring another level to the next race I do.

And if someone tries to push me into the ditch I'm going to go ape on them.

Shut up and Ride.

Whiner is not a misspelled version of winner.

Boulder Cup USGP

After my meltdown at Saturday's race I really wanted to pull something off in Boulder. This was the larger of the two races with more prize money and C1 status. The course was also much more suited to my style of riding. It was mostly grass with a huge paved road climb and a long sand pit that I could ride a lot faster than most guys. On Saturday I took off ballistic fast and blew up before I got to the target. My strategy Sunday was to ease into the race and work my way up as I saw fit. Realistically I was shooting for top 15 which is the cutoff for UCI points in a C1. It's difficult to go hard at altitude and even though I was going pretty quick at the start I felt like I couldn't go hard. Like head to the bars tounge hanging out hard. Because of my good call up (2nd row middle) it was pretty easy for me to settle into the top 20 right away. I rode carefully to stay out of trouble and after that first lap I tried to settle into a good rythem for the rest of the race. Eventually I started moving through the field. Dan Casper and Matt Gates were out cheering me on and letting me know where I was. Because of the wind and the fast grass, drafting was a factor, so small groups were the norm. I kept feeling better as the race progressed and I went to the front and hammered. I shelled all the guys I was with except for Matt Shriver and we bridged up to Baker who got on the train. Powers and Decker were right in front of us with 3 laps to go. Shriver and I were trading pulls and gaining and Baker who had gone out really hard from the start was dangling off the back. Matt kept surging hard and I would close the gap in the corners but I was starting to feel pretty worked. On the last lap I was in survival mode. Shriver got away from me and Baker caught me. I was racing for ninth. I slowed and made Baker take the lead into the road and we started sprinting. I got him at the line to hold on to ninth. It was an awesome race. The crowds were huge, my ears hurt from all the noise on the run-up. We were going so fast the entire time. I was pretty happy to have a solid ride. I think at lower altitude I would have had a little more in the tank but who knows. I picked up 12 more UCI points and am sitting 70th in the world rankings this week.

Race Notes -

I lined up next to the Denmark National Champ. I was checking out his chain at the start, it was shiny and gold. I asked him what kind of chain that was and he said it was a KMC. 2 minutes later we started and the chain goes snap and out the back of his bike. Crazy stuff.

Trebon had some bike issues and had to pit twice. The second time out of the pit he pulled out right in front of me. I got on his wheel and tried to keep up. It was insane how fast he was going. After about a half lap I cried "mercy" and let him go. He eventually chased back to finish 4th.

Dan, Harry and Jesse had to start near the back of the 110 rider field. The course gets narrow about 1kilometer in as it files into the run-up. While I barely had to slow down to go up, they had to literally stop and wait. It's hard to move up at these races and they really make it so if you aren't up front you have a big task ahead of you.

USGP races are a step above. It's a party out there and it was very fun to be a part of it.

Xilinx Cup USGP

Saturday's race was not what I was hoping for. I've been pretty consistent this season and have felt good most races. But on Saturday I felt bad. I don't know if it's the altitude or what but I quickly went from about 90% power at the start to 60% by the third lap. It was frustrating to be in this big race and not be able to go hard. I actually had a great start, was into the top 10 and went backwards from there. I'm disappointed that I didn't ride a the level I know I'm capable of. Regardless of the result, the experience was worth it. This is a big time cross race, like a NORBA national for 'cross. Trebon is on fire this year and crushed everyone again. He is undefeated this season so far and I don't see how anyone will beat him if he is on form. Bjorn was having great ride early on, he faded in the later laps but still put in a good show. Dan, Harry and Jesse had to start at the back of the back. The course was so narrow that you had to make an impossible effort to move up one place. They put in good rides and moved up all day. Anyway, I don't know what to expect today. I hope I feel little better, I need to get my head on straight. Regardless, I'll do the best I can.

Back in Colorado.

Dan and Harry looking for Pro's. The best is when we were standing by this ramp and Chris Horner rides by. Dan say's really loudly "Hey, looks like Horner's getting the hang of it!" Funny stuff. The course is fun but it has some pretty sketchy places. We'll see how it goes. It sure is fun being back at big races and seeing all these people I haven't seen in a few years. Our hotel is right by the road I used to ride weekly on my Golden to Boulder rides when I lived here. Almost brings a tear to my eye...

USGP Boulder.

It's on yo. Stay tuned.

Cyclocross Bike Setup

Cyclocross is a specialty sport. It's a niche inside of a niche. This means there aren't a lot of 'cross specific parts and bikes available because the demand just isn't there. Over the years I've found the components that work best for me based on budget, performance and weight. I started racing cyclocross in Bozeman, Montana in 1998. I attended a skills clinic lead by none other than Geoff Proctor. A former Worlds team member and now the head coach of the USA Cycling CX program. Needless to say, I learned the right way right away. My first cross race was in Geoff's backyard in Helena where I finished third behind a couple of pro roadies. Early on, I had bike problems in nearly every race I did. I was running 28c Vittoria clinchers, funky gearing and had ghetto 8 speed 105 parts. I would flat, drop my chain or both. My brakes didn't work and my shifting left a lot to be desired. I switched to Tubulars in 2000 with the easy option of running Tufo's clincher/tubular. It worked much better than the clinchers I was running before, but now I had the problem of rolling the tires off the rim. My biggest mechanical was at the Boulder Supercup race where my tire rolled, I took the wheel off and pulled it out, and continued around the course on my rim. Back to today's bike...

The core of this bike is a 58cm Trek XO frame. While not the most glamorous frame you can get, it is a workhorse with plenty of mud clearance, top tube cable routing and light enough to keep the bike around 18 pounds. In cross your bearings get quite a workout on nasty days. I used to go through a headset a season. Then I switched to King and now I'm on my 4th season on this same headset. Up front is the new Alpha Q CX20. It's lighter than the previous model and is supposed to reduce brake chatter. It's nice either way. I run a 120mm Bontrager aluminum stem. I used to run them flat, but this year I flipped them upright to put myself in a better position for the turns. I have 44 CM X-Lite Carbon bars and sticky bar tape. I run a single ring up front so my only shifter is an old 9 speed Dura-Ace STI lever. I thought about making the jump to 10 but my budget said no and the 9 speed works great and has a little wider spacing for mud clearance. The wheels are Carbon X-Lites. They are light and fast and have a great ride quality to them. They seem to dampen the bumps a bit. For tires I'm running Challenge Grifo 32s. The cranks are DA 7800's. There's a single 42 FSA ring and an old 48 ring that I shaved the teeth off is my outside guard. It is actually better than a lot of guards out there because the lip over the inner ring is greater making it harder for the chain to jump. I use a chain stopper on the inside rather than another guard. I don't like the 2 guard setup. It's heavier and you have to run your ring in the outer position resulting in a poor chainline in the lower gears. I switch between a Sram 12-26 cassette, a Shimano 12-27, or a modified 11-27, depending on the course or what wheel I use. Even though I have 9 speed I use a new DA rear derrailer and it works great. I run a short 112 link chain to keep the tension high. To slow down I use the Empella Frogleggs. These brakes are simply the best you can get. They are lighter, have more mud clearance and are more reliable than anything out there. I just got new SwissStop RAT pads for carbon rims. I haven't ridden them yet but they are suppsed to be the best. Oh and I have Shimano SPD pedals as well. That's it for the bike. Yes it is cobbled together with a mish-mash of new and old parts, but it's solid and fast so what else can you ask for?