Whirly Bird Mix

WEEKEND CROSS WRAP #2: Whirly Bird & Ed Sanders

Another great weekend of 'cross racing is in the books, and another week of improvement has been accomplished. My finishing results were mixed, but my sensations out on the course both days was better than last week. Now I'm in for a week of resting before my team's race on Sunday, the Hillbilly Hustle V.4. The winner of the Men's 1/2 receives a custom trophy by Warren Holzman of Iron Studios. It's super sweet! I'm going to do what I can to make that trophy mine, no doubt! But that a week away, now for the race reports!

Saturday @ Whirly Bird Cross: After the mental and physical beating the previous weekend, I was more than ready to do some lower key local races and have more fun in the process. I clearly wasn't ready for 'cross yet, and most certainly not ready for 2 UCI races. But that being said, I felt better on course and was lucky enough to have the officials scrap call-ups and so I got a front-row start. At the gun, my front-row start turned into a front-group selection, which panned out just fine for the first 2 laps. On lap 3, after a minor mix-up in the front, I was working to close down a small gap that had formed when the crazy wind blew the course tape inward as I rode the good line on the inside of a bend, catching my bars and taking me down. Immediately, 4 riders crashed into me and we all set about checking ourselves, our bikes, and getting back to the pursuit of the 3 riders who got away clean. I was the last of the group to get back going unfortunately, so I tried to close the gaps down as quickly as possible. After catching the 2 riders that had passed me while stopped, I saw I was reeling in the tail-end of the riders I was previously with. As I caught one, we started working together to catch the rest. This proved rather difficult though, and while in hot pursuit I started feeling the effects of my crash and with 1.5 laps to go I lost contact as we caught 2 riders. My ankle was throbbing after the race, so I grabbed some arnica and made sure to ice it well once I was home. End result on the day: 8th out of 19 starters.

Sunday @ Ed Sanders Memorial Cross: This race marked my first MABRA race back, which is a series I loved to race when I was on the East Coast previously. Being the first MABRA cross race of the season, I was also hoping for a free-for-all at the line, but no such luck. The call-up process had me towards the back, and my clumsy self decided to slip a pedal at the start, leaving me pretty close to DFL into the first corners. Oh well, guess that makes the race more fun for me! The course on the day was a tiny bit sloppy, with some moderately difficult sections that required good firm-mud handling skills. Luckily, I came prepared on the day, having switched my normal Schwalbe Racing Ralph tread for the more aggressive, thinner, and classic CX Pro tread. These babies are great in mud, and they did their job as I rode by guys running their bikes through the half-dry peanut butter. I kept this up until 2 laps to go where I had 3 more riders well within my grasp. I stayed right on them, with the furthest only about 12 seconds up on me and recovered slightly so i could take one last long dig into the final lap to pass and drop all 3. BUT, just as I recovered I heard the insane laughter of the flat-tire gnomes from behind me and sure enough, PFFFFFFFFF. No more air in my rear tire as I rolled through the finish with exactly 1 lap to go. Now most elite level riders finishing in the money most weekends would have a spare bike, or at least a spare wheelset at the pit. Well, I'm not most Elite riders! I gingerly rode to the pit half of a lap in and silently prayed for someone to still be there. Luckily, when I arrived, there was a gentleman no too far away whom ran over and let me borrow their wheel to finish on. THANKS DUDE!!!! I rolled in as the last full-race finisher on the day, and set about cleaning up and thinking about what to eat on the way home. Stoked I was feeling decent both days, and can't wait to be back on all-cylinders in the coming weeks and fighting for VICTORY. End result on the day: 14th of 25 starters

So 2 weeks in, 8 to go? Ah, doesn't matter, I'm having a blast racing 'cross again and SO SHOULD U! So get a bike set up, any bike, and head on out to the races!

It looks like you need a massage!

One of the recovery techniques I've been using as of late is deep tissue massage. On Monday's after most race weekend's, I head down to Stephanie's place in the City of Nutterly Love (Philly, duh). After the hello's, playing with the dog and the cat, it's 2 hours of bliss as all the little kinks and stress built up from the past week's training and racing are worked out. If you're in the Philadelphia region, don't hesitate to visit her site and call for an appointment, www.stephaniestago.com. Tell her Jordan sent you!

WEEKEND CROSS WRAP: Nittany & Charm City

Well well well! Well........

Back from the opening weekend of 'cross racing in the Mid-Atlantic region. I'll admit to mixed feelings on the events that unfolded, but am optimistic for what the future holds. Please read on....

Nittany Cross (UCI Men): "I'm on a road bike. Wait, it's not a road bike, these tires are bumpy. And what kind of brakes are these? Canti-whats? Oh, I get it. I'm at a cross race!" This sort of sums up my day. A little confusion followed by the realization that I'm back racing cyclocross. The start was decent. Made up maybe 2 spots in what was a hectic but controlled start before we hit the first turns. I lacked the necessary pop and power to make my way up to the front quickly, but my handling was spot-on for the day as I made my passes on the inside about 90% of the time. Towards the end, started to feel the effects of last weeks crash at Bear Creek, but held my meager 21st position. The course was great, big thanks to the Mike Yozell who designed the course and to the whole crew on the day. Great way to start the Fall cycling season!

Charm City Cross (UCI Men): This was my first cyclocross race at the Elite level back in '05. Since then, the event has grown immensely to become one of the premier MAC UCI races. This course is fast and twisty, with challenging run-ups, sand-traps, and barrier sections that keep even the most experienced cyclocrossers on their toes. The last time I toed the line at Charm City, I was 5th on the day. Despite the lackluster performance the day prior, I took that knowledge to the start line and was determined to have a stellar day. From the gun, the start was much more hectic than the Nittany start. I had nowhere to go, and as we hit the grass I dropped my chain. Recovering quickly, I managed to stay on to the tail end of the pack as we made the first few turns and up to the sand-pits. I used these and the next few turns and punchy hills to my advantage to move back up to around 18th. I held this for the next lap as I reeled in a large group. As I caught on to them, we hit the long stair run-up and this is where things started south. My left leg, which is my lead-off leg for my dismounts AND the leg I like to jump with, started getting noticeably weaker as I went up the stairs. This opened the gap and I tried like heck to close it but couldn't do it. Stuck in no-man's land, I rode until a rider caught up to me and tried to work with them, but got dropped at the sand-pits, which I had to run most of by this point. This was the story the rest of the race as my leg got worse and worse. At the end, I was 25th, and glad to be done the first 2 UCI cross races of the season (glad in a positive way). Hopefully the next week will allow for my leg to fully recover and be back to 100% power.

Final Thoughts: With UCI points on the line, I really wanted to get at least 1 point on the weekend. I knew this would be tough, but I was hoping I could pull it off. With my limitations on the weekend, I can't be fully disappointed, but I know I'm capable of much better. Learning from the weekend and making improvements are the name of the game this week. Look for me practicing barriers before the Tuesday night clinic, and left-side dismounts. Also, I'll be starting at the back of the group during the Wednesday night workouts, as I'll definitely be starting towards the back at the big races!

Hope your cyclocross adventures have you yearning for more! Next weekend brings some new and some old again. Saturday is the new Whirly-Bird Cross at Bryn Athyn College, and is put on by the Guy's Bicycles Racing Club for the Pennsylvania Cyclocross series. Sunday is the fan-favorite Ed Sander's Cross in Buckeystown, MD, and is the first stop on the MABRA cyclocross calendar. Hope to see you out there!

- J