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Team Bikeman -
Race Reports
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Written by Dave Leikam
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Thursday, 04 October 2007 |
Utah Cyclocross #1
Sunday September 30, 2007
Fort Buenaventura State Park
Ogden, UT
Ahhhh. Cross season has started for real and I couldn’t be happier. We have seen some wintry days mixed in with the typical fall days in the 70’s, but the day before the race it was snowing hard in the valleys. It didn’t stick around though. That’s fine with me as there will be many days of snow later on in the season.
The course was a tight, short lap (5 minutes) around one end of the State Park that included the usual run-up and back stretch with some 180* turns in the trees, two logs to bunny-hop and a triple barrier section. I am racing in the Masters B 35+ group this year so I had no idea what to expect. I was hoping for a top half finish and even dreaming of a top 5 finish, but I didn’t know most of the riders in this new group.
I took a front line start position and at the word go, I struggled to get into my pedal as the front guys took off. I started out in fourth position and settled into a rhythm that I could sustain. On about lap three I got my pedal hung up on a root at the top of the run-up and that cost me two places. I kept the pressure on and re-took one spot but couldn’t close the gap to my friend Rich. I think I passed one of the original three that went out ahead of me which put me in fourth position again. On about lap 6, I was passed in the backstretch and sat on his wheel for a few to catch my breath. That plan was short-lived as seconds later, he piled it up on a slick off camber turn. At this point, I was sitting fourth again with about an 8 second gap to Rich in front of me and about 6 seconds to two guys behind me. I held position for the next two laps with no problem.
On the final lap there were the expected attacks coming from behind and I spotted the guy who piled it up trying to sneak up behind me. I poured on what power I had left in the fast backstretch and held about 4 seconds on him going into the trees. For a change, I rode smart and solid to emerge from the tight turns through the trees with the same gap. As I hit the slight incline toward the finish line I picked up a few gears and sprinted to open a healthy gap.
The results have not been posted yet, but I am fairly certain that I finished fourth but no worse than 5th. Bikeman Troy Nye and his family were there to cheer me on for the first part of the race. It was great to have them there. I forgot to charge the cameras so no photos this week, but picture me on my Salsa Chili Con Crosso with the Panaracer Cinder Cross tires, Jagwire brake pads and cables, my team issue Lazer helmet and SRAM chain lubed with Slick Willy. Nice image huh? The Saturday forecast is for snow in the low valleys and this race is in Heber Valley which is around 5600 feet. Could be messy!
Have a look at the results.
Thanks for reading.
Dave
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