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Team Bikeman -
Race Reports
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Written by Dave Leikam
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Monday, 29 October 2007 |
Utah Cyclocross #4
Saturday October 20, 2007
Fort Buenaventura State Park
Ogden, Utah
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Man it was muddy and slick! The rain started during the C race and didn’t let up for an hour. Normally the rain is no big deal at this venue, but for some reason it just sat on the surface. More tires through the water equaled deeper mud and so by the 35+ B race it was nasty. Nasty = fun. Right?
Oh yea, it was cold too. The snow line was about 300-400 feet up the mountain but never dropped to where we were.
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I started strong and settled into about 5th place. The front guys took off as usual and left me struggling not to get too far behind. The name of the game this day was to keep from sliding out in the turns. The Panaracer Cinder X tires were holding well in the turns but I still clipped a foot out for added stability and confidence. Worked well to keep the speed up for most of the race.
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I came off the short run-up with my shoes full of sand and just as I clipped in again I started into an off camber right turn. I guess I didn’t want to clip out since I had just fought to get in and even though I could feel the bike slipping, I tried to ride it out. Splat!  | | click to enlarge |
I hit the mud and I swear I picked up speed while sliding. No biggie, I got on quickly and retained position in the pack. I fought hard to catch the rider in front of me and finally he made a mistake that allowed me to move ahead. I got close to catching the #4 rider but ran out of time. Again I was 5th and happy about it.
Check out the results at Utahcyclocross.com.
Thanks for reading.
Dave
Photos by: Christian Leikam |
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