the Ciclismo CX write up

Ciclismo CX



Race #3 of the VA cross series was held at Bryan Park Richmond this past Sunday.
I have run into problems the first two races, so I was looking for a problem free race. (aint we all)
It had rained really hard a few days prior to the race, so the low lying singletrack sections were a mess! Good thing it was only two sections, with one being very rideable, the other too slow to ride. I did two pre-race laps with Bill G to try and dial in the lines. It was a good thing, because I found out that the second muddy section had a giant hole hidden in the middle of it. Just about hub deep, and after I rode it, I found that riding this section would be too tricky, slow, and hard as hell on the drivetrain! Found a sweet line to dismount and run on the left. All of the other singletrack was awesome, tight and twisty, just how I like it! A few short road sections, and a grassy field and there you have it. Plus two sets of barriers which made three dismounts for me (+mud sect).
All the usual suspects were in attendance. I knew Hawker wouldn’t show cuz he ran over Crazy’s trainer last week… I was shocked and awed to see the thieves who swiped Crazy’s spare wheelset showed and put the wheels in the pit! With different tires and stickers removed mind you. That’s just plain Ludacris kids! We need to talk!

The start was sweet, with a good section of pavement to get up to speed. Mr Russell got the party started right by taking the holeshot! When we made it through the grassy field section, I looked back and saw we had a sizeable gap, which meant we had a lead group of 5. I sat rather comfortably in the back of this group in order to assess the situation, plus, they were going at a rate that I wasn’t gonna break away from. We let a guy from 3sports go up the road on a solo mission, a move I didn’t approve of. We all were pretty equal on the days course except for in one area; the second mud section. This is where I had my line dialed in and was running fast. I was able to get away from my group, and bridge up to 3sports guy and we rolled well together for a lap and a half till across the start/finish area, I kinda pulled over to let him lead a lap and to look at him to see how he was doing. He seemed like he was still good to go, but shortly after the ditch taco’d his wheel in a bizarre fashion, and just like that he was out, and I’m alone in the lead. Definitely not the way you want things to go down, but what can ya do? So I motored on solo, and maintained a decent gap. I was actually pacing myself to Crazy who was about 50yards up on me, and the chase group about 50yards behind me. The grass field was the only area to see the gaps. I just kept telling myself to stay smooth and steady. Halfway thru the bell lap, I knew I had it, so I just cruised it on in, and savored the moment. Man it was nice! Got to look back and see my boy Mark Russell take the sprint for 2cnd! Nice job on that. You can see them winding it up in the finishing picture. Most of ya’ll don’t know this, but I was pretty sick that day. I’ve been paying dearly for it since. I hope to heal up so I can have a repeat performance this weekend for the VA state champs in Virginia Beach! Brought to you by our teamTriPower/Contes Bike and Fitness.
Thank you all for the props, and shout outs!

Keep your eyes peeled for a Thanksgiving post…