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Team Bikeman -
Race Reports
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Written by Dave Leikam
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Wednesday, 10 October 2007 |
Utah Cyclocross #2
Saturday October 6, 2007
Wasatch County Fairgrounds
Heber City, Utah
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The weather report was calling for wind and 2-4 inches of snow by the morning of the 6th. This kind of weather combined with the distance from SLC seemed like it could keep many racers at home. The drive wasn’t bad as we climbed toward the 7700 foot Parley Summit on I-80 between SLC and Park City, but as we neared the top the conditions quickly turned to a blizzard.
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I was bracing for the worst as we approached the Heber Valley but to my surprise, there was no snow on the ground. In fact the sun was shining a little bit and to their credit the racers showed up as though the weather was perfect. It had obviously rained a lot overnight because there were huge puddles on the course. This being the fairgrounds, there was the typical corral area that is surrounded by a horse track and a nice grassy infield area. This was the site of the Worlds Collide CX race at the end of August and the course was only altered a little bit, but in good ways. The rain had firmed up the nasty gravel sections and was not an issue in the grass, but on the horse track there was a puddle of standing water about 25 feet long and 8 feet wide and for several feet in all directions of the puddle there was thick, deep, mean, hateful mud that claimed several derailleurs. The key to this area was pedaling circles at a higher cadence right at the edge of the puddle. If you bailed out, you may never see your shoes again.
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My race started well, and in keeping with my strategy from last year, I try to stay near the front without being at the front. This hasn’t been a problem so far as I seem to organically settle into about 4th position. The front guys didn’t dump me like last week and while I couldn’t stay right with them, they didn’t get out of sight until late in the race. There was one rider who took off on about lap three and gapped the rest of us by a lot in a short time. He got out of sight until he rolled a tubular and had to walk it around to the pits. At this point I was in 3rd place with about a 30 second gap to the front two and around 5 seconds to three chasers behind. I would look back every so often to see if they were gaining and eventually they were all gone. Mechanicals claimed two of them and the third dropped off the pace. To his credit, this was his first CX race ever and he handled it like a champ. I dumped it once in the S turns in the sand pit when my front wheel washed out. No problem as I lost very little time and no position. Other than that, I rode a solid race. What the Hell? It seems strange to have finished two races without a major issue with the bike or piling it up, but that’s how it’s been. I hope to continue this streak through the entire season.
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So the word of the day was mud. There was some rain, or maybe it was ice, but not enough to make a difference in the race. The sun came and went along with the wind, but the weather could have been much worse. I hadn’t raced in this kind of mud before, and I’m not sure it measures up to the mudfests in the Northeast or on the West Coast, but it was probably close and it really tested your bike handling skills. I finished 3rd out 18 or so in the Masters B category so again I am really happy with my result. I am also third in the overall points and while this is great, I want to avoid putting too much pressure on myself and just race the best I can. There are a lot of races still ahead. Next week looks like dry and 60ish for race time and some of the leaders will be at the 24Hours of Moab along with Bikeman UC team members Troy, Vince and Cory. That leaves the door open a little for a good result.
Have I mentioned how much I love the Chili Con Crosso? Probably, but it bears repeating. This bike is light, fast and agile. I noted earlier that I am racing well and that it seemed odd, but now it’s clear that the bike is the real difference. I probably got a little smarter over the last year, but not that much. It’s gotta be the bike……… Yup, it is. Photos included this week.
Check out the results at Utahcyclocross.com.
Thanks for reading.
Dave
Photos by: Christian Leikam |
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