CROSS SEASON IS HERE!!!!!

Okay folks!  Cyclocross season has begun and Chris and I are jumping all in for the next few months with traveling and racing!  Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with my blog posts this season...obviously that didn't happen with my road season.

Before I get going on my race report, I want to congratulate my teammate Julie Hunter, who started her cross season a weekend before I did at Nittany Lion Cross in Pennsylvania.  Its a UCI race and she fought hard and finished in a well deserved 6th place on Saturday!  Read her race report here.  Also, after kicking butt there, she kicked my butt last Saturday for a win at the Jamestown race and Sunday went to Maryland to win at South Germantown CX!  Congrats Julie!


Ok....back to it.

Jamestown CX.  Race #1 in the VACX series and my cx season.  Finish: 2nd to my teammate Julie Hunter.

FYI: For those who are reading my team's blog (which everyone should be!), 95% of this will be the same.  Yes, I'm lazy.

The week leading up to the first race of the season is always the most nerve racking, and regardless of how many years I've been racing, I can never shake those first race jitters.  I pretty much stop racing in July/August in preparation for cross, so I never know what to expect with my fitness compared to everyone else.  But anyway, I'm very thankful that I don't have to worry about them until road season starts up!

The course was great.  Everything you expect in a cross course: grass, gravel, road, a few technical spots, and a few power spots.  Only thing we were missing was mud and snow.  But the weather was perfect in the upper seventies with a few clouds in the sky.

There were five women at the start for the Women's 1/2/3 field and we were off sprinting for position as soon as the whistle blew.  I got the hole shot into the first 180 with my teammate Julie Hunter on my wheel.  One of the technical features was a telephone pole - or something that size - laying across the course, which some gals rode and some ran (for those who have heard, this was the same feature that I miss-timed my attempt to bunny hop at speed during warm-up and had a pretty epic crash).  Julie and I came out side by side on the road section on the backside of the course, down the gravel fire road that led into the hill run-up.  The hill itself could have been ride-able for most, except it had a fairly large log at the base that was only ride-able for a couple.  Coming out of the hill and onto the front side of the course, Julie pulled ahead where she would stay the remainder of the race.  I had a little gap securing my 2nd place finish, and Sally (TriPower) and Jen (Rogue Velo) had a hard fought battle to the end with Sally pulling through to round out the podium.  Yes its a one lap report because I was pretty much by myself after the first lap!

The first race of the cross season couldn't have turned out any better.  My team took the top two podium spots, the weather was perfect, and there was pumpkin pie!!!

Congrats to Julie Hunter (Tradewinds, 1st) and Sally McMahon (TriPower, 3rd) for a great race!

Congratulations to Chris also, as he fought back after a first lap crash to finish 5th in the Men's 3/4 race! (Picture will follow when I upload them!)

Thanks to Celerity and JRVS, and a big thanks to Anthony Bream (Celerity) for the hard effort that was put in to make the first VACX race a success!  And for those who are curious, my new Trek Crockett is pretty awesome!

My season continues this coming weekend with a pair of UCI races at Charm City Cross in Baltimore, MD.

RIR and Langley Speedway Crit

     Since I've waited so long to post (again...), everything is a little fuzzy in my memory so both reports are kinda short...

Richmond International Raceway Crit
Sunday, April 14th, 2013
Promoted by: Richmond Velo Sport

     So I missed the race report for the Richmond Raceway Crit.  It comes down to this... There was a break of 5: Laura and Ali from Velocita, Catherine Freck, my teammate Julie Hunter and myself.  My teammates Emily and Leslie were behind us controlling the field.  I didn't have a kick for the sprint so I decided to lead Julie out.  For the entire last lap.  I didn't have the legs for that either apparently and died just when I was supposed to push harder into the final turn.  My plan didn't pan out like I had anticipated, but I was thinking, made a plan last minute, and tried like hell to make it work...


Langley Speedway Crit
Sunday, April 21st, 2013
Promoted by: Fat Frogs Racing


     Langley Speedway Crit was a little bit of a different story.  My team had another solid showing in the Women's 1/2/3 race.  We were all chasing down attack after attack from Laura (Velocita), Jen Pope (Rogue Velo), and Sally (Tri-Power).

Amanda chasing down an attack from Laura during a prime lap.

Julie and I countered a couple of times but the field stayed together through to the end.  With a few laps left Amanda chased down a couple crucial attacks from Jen and Laura keeping us together for the sprint. I found Jen's wheel with 2 laps left.  Sally stood up and attacked ½ a lap later keeping the tempo high.

     The final lap, Emily pushed the tempo even further, got about 5 wheel lengths ahead, and made everyone chase. I was a few wheels back with ½ a lap til the finish when I saw Laura jump on the outside.  I had a gap on the inside of everyone so I stood up and jumped with her.  I yelled to Emily that I was coming up on her left and Laura and I were shoulder to shoulder after we passed her.  I had the inside line in the final turn and was able to pull ahead by a couple of wheel lengths before the line.

The finish.

Julie came in behind Laura for a 3rd place finish for our team and Sally and Jen rounded off the podium.  Good job to Laura, Jen, and Sally for an awesome race.

Women's 1/2/3 Podium.

     Congrats to Julie for her 2nd place finish in the Women's 3/4 race a couple hours later on!

     My team worked so hard to get Julie and I on the podium and I definitely couldn't have done it without them!  Thank you ladies!  Can't wait for us to do it again!

Shamrock Crit and Sleepy Hole Smackdown...Unsurprisingly Late Reports

     Its a little late to post race reports from last weekend, but I've been staying busy and haven't really touched the computer all week.  I haven't uploaded any of my workouts from my Garmin, and I've barely been on Facebook.  We've gone to our summer hours at the shop.  We're closing an hour later at 8:00 (an hour is not much, I know), but we're also busier and have to stay after hours longer to get things done that we couldn't do during store hours.  So saying all of that, my memory is waning a bit.  I will keep these guys fairly short.

Shamrock Crit 

Promoted by: Tradewinds Racing and Tidewater Bicycle Association

     On Saturday, I made the drive out to Virginia Beach (all 45 minutes of it) to Red Wing Park for the Shamrock Crit.  Its my team's race so I was getting there a few hours early so I could help with registration.

***As a note, I would love to take some of the credit, but I really didn't do much with the organization of the race.  I worked registration and pretended to know what I was doing, while all the beach girls put everything together.  A lot of hard work went into setting this up and the ladies went above and beyond to promote an awesome race!***

 I left the house to heavy rain, and cold temps.  Very reminiscent of the W&M road race.  The weather had called for afternoon showers so I only expected conditions to get worse.  I got to the course and the Cat 5 guys were warming up and getting ready to start.  It was still pouring and I was beginning to shake from the cold.  Great.  But lo, the clouds parted and the sun began to shine!  The course started to dry off and the temperature started to rise.  And changing for the Women's 1/2/3 race, I put on shorts!  I did rub on a little embrocation since it was still just a touch chilly, but I was in shorts and a short sleeve jersey at the line!

     The race, for me, was hard.  I wasn't sure how I'd feel...I've been fighting off congestion and a cough since training camp a couple weeks prior, and my legs felt a little sluggish during warm-up.  But I went in with the goal of hanging on to a few specific people.  There were 23 riders pre-regged.  I believe 20 took the line.  I knew there were going to be attacks with so many strong riders there, and I was really wanting to be able to follow and get into the break if it happened.  That was my goal.  A couple laps in, the attacks started and they were pretty consistent up until the end.  Knowing I wasn't the only one wanting to chase, I stayed a few wheels back and followed.  After I realized I wasn't feeling terrible, I joined in on the fun (not attacking, just chasing) and followed a few wheels around.  The break never really formed, the field just kept getting a bit smaller.  Coming into the final two laps, I was determined to find a wheel I could trust to get me through the sprint.  I was beyond my threshold and couldn't look around for any teammates.  I saw Julie Kuliezca (Pepper Palace, and also my coach) and looked at nothing but her wheel for the last 3/4 lap.  I ended up 5th through the line behind Kelly Fisher-Goodwin (Vie13), Alexis Zink (NCVC), Erin Silliman (RVS), and Julie K.  There was some great competition and Tradewinds Racing definitely put on an awesome event!!!

Shamrock Crit Women's 1/2/3 Podium:
Kelly Fisher-Goodwin (Vie 13)
Alexis Zink (NCVC)
Erin Silliman (RVS)
Julie Kuliezca (Pepper Palace)
Tradewinds Racing (Me)

 Sleepy Hole Smackdown

Promoted by: Virginia Beach Wheelmen

     Sunday's race at Sleepy Hole Park in Suffolk had significantly colder temps.  I wore my long sleeve skin suit, and warmed up with a hoodie and my thermal, wind proof jacket.  I couldn't believe I wore shorts the day before...  There were only 8 of us on the line for Sunday's race.  The wind was seemingly a little stronger, and there was a lot less protection from it with the field cut in half.  Attack after attack were coming from Kelly (Vie13), Alexis (NCVC), and Laura (Velocita).  My teammates Leslie and Julie chased a few down and Sally (Tri-Power) and I chased a few as well.  After slowing to sub-15mph with 2 (or 1?) laps left (nobody wanted to pull through) Sally took off and I, for some reason, decided that I needed to chase.  Not necessarily the smartest when I know the others wouldn't let her get away right before the finish!  After catching Sally, Laura countered with just under half a lap to go.  She almost held everyone off but was caught 50 feet from the line.  I ended up 4th for the day behind Kelly, Alexis, and Laura.

Most of the girls after the race on Saturday.

     Overall, we had a great weekend as a team.  Morgan got her first win of the season, a solo break during the Women's 3/4 race on Saturday.  Julie H came from 5th wheel for a 2nd place finish in the same race.  Leslie also won her first race of the season, taking the field sprint in the Master's race on Sunday.  And Mason got a 2nd place finish for the Women's Cat 4 race on Sunday.  I'm proud of my team and definitely couldn't have finished where I did without them!

A Small Glimpse into my Psyche

     If you know me, you probably have your own opinion about me.  And I could be biased, but I don't think of myself as a vain person. I do, however, believe that I am a very fit individual.  I ride my bike 6 days a week, and I go to the gym when my schedule allows.  I keep track of my dietary intake, and although I don't eat as well as Chris does, I do try to eat healthy the majority of the time.  Chocolate is my vice...

     I admit that I am, like most women, full of self-criticism.  As I've gotten older, I have become even more critical.  I have personality and behavioral flaws...I know.  But that is not why I'm writing this post.  I am 5'3".  Not particularly tall, but I am okay with that.  Right now, I fluctuate about 2-3 pounds over my racing weight and when I jump on the scale in the morning I will more than likely weigh in around 119 pounds.  I realize that I am not a heavy person.  Pro cyclists Katie Compton and Marianne Vos are both 5'6" and over 10 pounds heavier.  For my height I'm at a pretty decent racing weight.  Every morning I wake up, and before I eat breakfast, I weigh myself.  I look in the mirror and honestly, am not always happy with what I see.  But again, I am like most women in that regard.  I do know that my issue with myself is almost non-existent compared to some women.

     A few days ago, I read one of my fellow cyclist's posts on her blog.  I don't know this gal personally, but I do keep up with her on occasion.  I've never raced against her, that I can recall, but we did hit the road together at the W&M Tidewater Classic RR.  Yes, she beat me in the sprint.  She actually mentions in her post that she had the same issue that I did during the sprint (clear line on the right, until someone else decided to move over).  In which we all got blocked out.  She was able to get to the left, and get another kick in.  I was not.  That does not bother me.  I mentioned on my last post, that I like crits and LOVE cross.  That's what I train for.

     Why am I mentioning any of this???  I bring up her post because I am described as "stocky."  And that bothers me a bit.  It may not have been meant in a bad connotation, I understand that, but when you describe somebody in that manner, the first thought in most people's minds will be negative.  I realize that letting something that trivial bother me is ridiculous.  Yes, I do know the saying about sticks and stones.  Like I said, I don't really know her, and I've barely raced against her.  I know that she's been writing a blog for quite a while now, and I'm sure she gets quite a few people who consistently read it.  I am one of those people.  Great.  Keep writing and getting people interested in women's cycling.

     BUT.  There were only four of us in that field at the race, which makes it very obvious who she is referring to.  Especially since it was a local race, and there were only two of us from our team there.

     So if this doesn't bother me all that much in the scheme of things, why bring it up?  If a small, insignificant description such as "stocky" has bothered someone like myself, I can only imagine what it could do to somebody that has an even bigger issue.  Please do not misinterpret my intentions.  I am not mad about this and I am not deserving of pity.  I am not trying to start a "blog war," and I will survive.  Sticks and stones for me folks.  I only want to draw attention to the fact that we are all just sharing our experiences and we aren't really intentionally trying to offend anyone.  Women's cycling is constantly struggling and to publicly post something that may be misinterpreted so easily, could turn people off to the sport.  A small word could be a huge embarrassment for somebody, and cause them to shy away from the excitement and drama of racing.

     I just want everybody to think carefully about what they put on these public sites before posting.  Facebook, blogs, and Twitter, are all a direct representation of yourself.  If taken out of context, things can easily be blown out of proportion.

     Thanks for reading...

And this is how we learn...

     This past Saturday I headed out to York River State Park to get my first road race of the year out of the way.  William & Mary Cycling Club was playing host to another year of the Tidewater Winter Classic, and this was the 2nd year they opened the road race up to non-collegiate racers.  I arrived in the cold, wet weather at 7am in my USA Cycling Official's shirt, along with 3-4 more layers of clothing.  The first couple races of the day I spent under the tent at the finish line before I donned my racing gear.  There was a neutral roll-out from the parking lot, up the 2ish-mile entrance road, and out onto Riverview Road for the start.

Morgan before the Women's 1/2/3 neutral roll-out.

     There were 4 of us in the Women's 1/2/3 race, but we were racing with the Collegiate Women's A making the total about 12 or so.  The course was a 4 corner, clockwise loop, that was just under 10 miles.  We were slated to do 5 laps.  The collegiate girls took control of the race from the beginning - which is what I expected since they made up 2/3 of the field.  The first hill we got to was a fast descent leading into the KOA Campground climb.  Very short and steep, followed by a longer, more gradual climb.  Dreadful to do once, let alone multiple times in 2 hours!  We then had a slight false flat to another right turn and into the wind.  The pace was, for the most part, fairly easy for rolling hills and a headwind.  Even after a girl from American rolled away - she didn't really stand up and attack - the pace stayed easy.  The collegiate girls were obviously not too bothered about getting her back at that moment.  A couple more right hand turns and we were in the flat half of the course with a tailwind.

     Just after passing the start finish - where the officials graciously subtracted a lap from our overall race - we pulled the solo break back into the field.  Shortly thereafter, the accelerations began.  Not sure if they should be called attacks...very few of them did anybody actually stand and sprint away...  Caroline Moakley (NCSU) had a kick going into the headwind and I followed after I saw Alexis Zink (NCVC) had caught the acceleration.  I rotated through on the front until it was just Caroline and I, honestly not realizing we were on a break.  The effort hadn't been hard enough for me to have even thought we would get a gap.  There was a sizable group when I followed initially and there was not a big acceleration after that.  Really...there wasn't!  We probably could've stayed away longer had I PAID ATTENTION!!!  It wasn't until we all of a sudden had one more person to rotate through, then two more people, did I realize...!!!!!...opportunity WASTED!  I must pay attention more!  How frustrating that is to allow myself to make a silly mistake like that after racing road for so many years...hopefully I have learned.  Of course, we were caught.  Because I didn't pay attention.  There were small accelerations here and there, but really nothing exciting for the remainder of the lap.

The field coming together after a slight acceleration.

     The 3rd lap came around and everybody calmed down a bit.  A small kick came at the bottom of KOA, and a wonderful opportunity opened for me to counter.  The group had just come back together at the top of the climb after the camp store.  There was still a bit of a false flat and everybody was still trying to recover.  A line opened up on the left side...and I let it close.  Another learning opportunity.  We stayed together into the headwind and about a mile before we turned again another opportunity arose.  The field slowed down just a touch.  There was a false flat and we were still into the headwind.  We would soon be turning, and everybody had been touching their brakes in the turn since it was still drizzling a bit.  If I could stay away through the next two turns and open up a gap through the tail wind, I may be able to get a good 10 mile TT effort in.  A line opened up again on the left side.  Okay, so maybe I didn't learn that last time.  Again...I let it close.  How ridiculous!  Twice I let an awesome opportunity close!  That was going to be it...there wasn't much chance now.  I couldn't attack once we got to the tailwind, but I wanted to do something.  I didn't want to just sit in the whole time.  So I went.  We were in a straight with a crosswind.  Maybe I'd catch them off-guard, and with another tight turn coming up, maybe I'd be able to open a slight gap.  I stood, and I put my head down.  A 90 degree right turn allowed me to open a slight gap.  I chanced a glance back (I did learn something!).  Alexis Zink had followed and caught my wheel.  I pushed another 1/4 mile.  I moved aside and she didn't pull through so I pushed again.  I moved aside again, and slowed.  I don't need a break enough to pull someone around another lap.  The field passed us, and we finished the lap together.

     With the bell lap, everybody slowed down.  Nobody wanted to pull, and we started chatting.  Morgan and I sat in the back.  We were the only ones that had a teammate.  We rolled down towards KOA, taking the left line and coasting/soft pedaling past everybody else who was having to touch their brakes.  Everybody still chatted while climbing.  We got to the headwind and I found myself up front.  Nobody wanted to come around.  I sat up, pushed 100 watts, just relaxed a bit.  I ended up slowing on a slight incline and made my way backwards towards Morgan.  We talked about how we felt.  She kicked a bit...everybody was still able to follow pretty well.  The Collegiate field was a little quicker to respond.  I, on the other hand, was starting to feel my legs get heavy.

     I had something left...but not a sprint.  There were only 2 other people we had to worry about.  And both were in the back half of the field with us.  Morgan and I chatted about what we were going to do.  I would follow a bit and then start moving after the finishing climb started.  The climb was longer than most people thought.  Morgan would be able to go around me just before the finish.  I played it out perfectly...in my mind.  But things change.  By the time we got to the 1K marker, the field moved to the middle of the road.  A hole opened on the right.  A beautiful hole.  It was about 7 feet wide from the shoulder of the road to the closest rider.  The sea had parted for us to make our way.  Unlike the previously missed opportunities, I charged.  I wasn't standing, just pushing past everyone.  I could hold this effort for a while before I started to stand.  And then someone noticed.  And someone yelled to cover the right.  And about 2 wheels from the front, I was cut off.  I had to grab my brakes.  No more momentum.  Someone else came over on me and pushed me closer to the shoulder and into some potholes.  My finger slipped and I downshifted into the final climb.  I had nothing.  There was no way I could accelerate back up to the speed of the field.  My legs were done.  I saw Morgan going around, and all I could do was yell at her to go faster.  I slow-rolled to a fourth - and last - place finish.

     I'm okay with that.  I don't train for 45 minute cross races and crits and expect to come out overly prepared for a 2 hour road race.  That, for someone at my level, is not realistic.  Although, I'd be lying if I didn't wish I'd been able to lead Morgan to the line for her to win.  And maybe squeak in a podium for myself.  But I realize that things don't always go as planned.  Actually they hardly ever go as planned.  And that's how we learn in the world of bicycle racing.

Cyclocross Worlds.

     So I haven't posted anything in a bit.  Reason being is there hasn't been anything exciting going on.  Work and riding...  But this past weekend is definitely worth a new post!  For full race coverage, visit CX Magazine!


     If you saw any of my postings on Facebook, you'll know that Chris and I made it out to Louisville, KY to be witness to the Cyclocross World Championships.  It was EPIC!

Cross Worlds or bust!

 The first time the event has been out of Europe, and although there weren't 60,000 people showing up like in Belgium, we still had over 9,000 people show up to Eva Bandman Park in the middle of Louisville.  Definitely the largest cyclocross race I have ever experienced.  By a long shot.


     We decided to rent a car and drive, and the 10 hours behind the wheel and in the passenger seat was not too terrible.

Our rental car on Saturday morning before heading to the course...

Neither of us have driven through WV (driven to Snowshoe) nor have either of us driven in KY.  The landscape was breathtaking.  The mountains seem taller than in VA, and instead of skirting the sides of them, there was obviously quite a bit of blasting in the mountains to lay the route for I64.

WVA

We arrived at the hotel around 10:00pm (still EST), checked in, and like good little cyclists, went straight to the fitness room so we could get an hour in on the trainer/rollers.


     We woke up Saturday to perfect CX conditions.  About an inch of snow had fallen overnight, and it was still falling pretty steadily.

Good morning Louisville!

We couldn't wait to get to the course (plus we didn't want to deal with parking but so much), so we opted out of eating breakfast at the hotel.  I would wish later that we had taken a few more minutes to grab a good meal.  But we left with my Camelbak full of water, half a Gatorade, and about 5 or 6 protein bars.  And layers upon layers of clothing!


   Parking was just as annoying as we had expected.  We ended up parking at least a mile, if not more, away from the course.  Slipping and sliding on the sidewalk, we finally make it to the entrance of the park.  They corral us past the Team Parking, where everybody gets to see some of the Juniors, U23, and Women warming up.  Some of the teams were out of sight, hiding inside they're heated, modular units.

US Juniors warming up before they're start.

Heated modular units...think they'll bring those to MABRA/VACX next year???

Snapping a few shots of the Team Parking area, we keep sliding around on the snow towards the ticket tent.

Tickets please!

     All the weeks getting this trip together, we finally made it.  It was very surreal.  I've never experienced anything like it and it was AWESOME!  Seeing the best crossers in the world warming up on that course was unbelievable.  I couldn't take it in fast enough.  We walked around, to see everything.  The Start/Finish, the pit, the flyover, and on our way over to the vendor tents, the national anthem came over the loud speaker.  You can't help but feeling a sense of pride when such a huge event comes over from Europe for the first time in history.


     With the Juniors race opening the day, the crowds weren't too large just yet.  We could walk from one place to the next and get good views at any vantage point.  We got to see Logan Owen put a hurtin' on some of the Europeans, pulling out a fourth place despite having a mechanical late in the race.


     The Women's race was great.  Honestly, my favorite race of the day.  Getting to see Katie Compton come back from a not-so-great start, and get second to Marianne Vos was unbelievable. 

Katie "F" Compton charging after Marianne Vos

Of course we all wanted Katie to win on her home turf, but this outcome was just as awesome.  Chris and I ran around the course trying to find the best vantage point, and got to see a lot of the technical spots, as well as the flyover, run-up, and the finish.

Helen Wyman had great support from the American spectators (she told me herself!!!).

I was still in disbelief that I was watching the most talented women in the sport competing to be the best.


     For the U23 race, Zach McDonald put a strong showing in for the US men.  It was great seeing the course change throughout the day.  The U23 race was when we really started seeing the more technical spots get very technical.  The snow was pretty much gone, and even just running around the park as a spectator, our boots were getting sucked into the mud.  There were people slipping and falling just walking around.  It was way worse on two wheels trying to ride the hills that spectators couldn't even walk!


     Between races we got to peruse the vendor tents.  Pushing our way into the food tent, I couldn't see anything but a sea of people.  No lines, and according to Chris (since I couldn't see anything), they were only serving food at one side of the tent.  Maybe it was a good thing there were only 9,000 people that showed up as spectators.   There probably would've been a bit more in revenue had they planned that aspect a little better.  Since I couldn't see myself waiting in line, and neither could Chris (especially since they probably didn't have anything that he would eat anyway), we decided against trying to push our way to the front of the "line" and settled for our protein bars as breakfast and lunch.  Poor Chris never got his coffee!  Maybe a beer?  But along with the food tent, there were two other tents that served only beer.  Seeing as this is a cyclocross race (and at cyclocross races you drink beer), the line for beer was slightly unbearable also...

Too long of a line for a Sierra Nevada brew...

There were more exciting aspects of the vendor tents, however.  Chris got an awesome new cowbell from Re-Geared.  He'll be the talk of VACX with the massive sound this bell makes.  We made our way to the Challenge Tires tent just to look at some of the product when Helen Wyman walks up behind us!  Chris grabs her attention before she got pulled away and we ask for a photo op which she gladly grants.

Helen Wyman takes a moment for a photo op with me!

Walking along we made our way past a few more vendors.  Mark Monnett and the guys at SRAM hooked us up with VIP tickets for their shindig later that evening.

We're sombody!

Passing by the Trek tent, Katie Compton was on her way out to find a good vantage point to view the Men's Elite race.  Once again, Chris piped up before she walked away and offered Katie "F" Compton the opportunity to take a picture with one of the only black cyclocrossers at the race...

Chris with Katie "F" Compton!

And his girlfriend...

Myself with Katie "F" Compton!

After walking around the vendors, we found a spot near the run-up to watch the Men's race.  From that point, we could see the starting sprint, the end of the run-up, the flyover, and a good portion of the technical parts of the race.


     The crowd for the Elite Men's race was unbelievable.  After seeing the crowd at the beginning of the day, we couldn't have pictured how large it would get.  American Cross definitely turned up for the main event!

A portion of the crowd during the Elite Men's race.

The snow started falling again, progressively becoming heavier throughout the race.  The start was chaotic.  The entire field came through the run-up and around the corner we were camped at.  The US team was barely discernible with everybody still vying for position.

Page and J-Pow shortly after the start.

The Belgiums, however, stuck out at the front and occupied four of the first five positions.  The lead was held by Frenchman Francis Mourey.  But that lead would slowly be pulled back by the ever charging Sven Nys and Klas Vantornout.  We watched as Jonathan Page held a top 15 position before dropping a chain and flatting.  And while Ryan Trebon crashed and his efforts led him to a DNF.  Tim Johnson ended up as the highest placed American crossing the line in 19th.

Tim Johnson

But just because they're on US soil, doesn't mean the European's won't come over and ride as well as they always do!


This weekend was definitely worth 20 total hours of driving.  This is an experience that I will never forget and hopefully one I will get to re-live again in the future.  The World Road Race Championship is coming to Richmond...I know.  But its not CROSS!

Marianne Vos, Katie Compton, Lucie Chainel-Lefevre: 2013 World Cyclocross Elite Women's Podium

 

Sven Nys, Klaas Vantornout, Lars Van der Haar: 2013 World Cyclocross Elite Men's Podium

And I leave you with this...

 

Congratulations Sven Nys.  2013 Cyclocross Men's Elite World Champion.

Your fans follow you across the world.