How sad. I haven’t written a race report since the middle of the CX season. I guess I didn’t want to give life to my bad vibes or fully realize my mediocre results. As usual, I had built up a lot of pressure on myself to maintain my overall position but that just doesn’t work for me.
Aaron Smith enjoying the warmth
In race #6 I had a bad day in that I just couldn’t get things going and ended up a disappointing 12th. This dropped me down to 4th in the points and relieved a little bit of the pressure.
Dave thinking about snow
Next came the Utah State Championship race and I was feeling pretty good. I got my call-up and as I rolled forward I noticed my rear tire going flat. Typical. No time to change so I rode it around as far as I could and ran the rest. Note to self: practice running farther than 30 feet.
My first look at the course 12/1
I was totally blown by the time I got around to the pit and after fiddling with the wheel for way too long, I took Aaron Smith’s bike (my Fuji from last year) and rode half a lap. The next bike change was definitely the highlight of the race. My friends Aaron Smith and Aaron Luptak had changed my wheel and had the bike at the ready when I came around.
Big T alone out front
Just like in the bigs, I let the Fuji go on the run to A.S. and took my Con Crosso from A.L. That was cool! I should also thank my friend Shawn Lupcho for hanging back with me while I was dealing with the wheel issues and pulling me back. The good stuff came to an abrupt end when I flatted again on lap two. Done.
In the mix
That makes two years in a row that I have flatted out of the State Champs race and it’s not that I would have been racing for the win, but you never know what can happen. It would have been nice to finish in the top ten at least.
Dave thinking about the opposite of snow
The pressure was really off now as I dropped to 7th in the overall series total and in a way it was good for me. I got back to the fun which is the real reason we race. Right? Sometimes it’s hard to keep that in mind. I followed that DNF with a pair of ninth place finishes in UCX #8 and #9 and moved back up in the points to 5th place. These races were each fun in their own way with the weather on November 24th being too warm and too dry. I had mud boogers for days following that dustbowl of a race.
Muddy dismount 12/8
The next race on December first was a real change. I always say ‘careful what you ask for because you just might get it’ and I guess we asked for snow ‘cause that’s what we got. Holy crap! I woke up to about 6 inches of snow and there was no sign of a let up. The course was covered with about 2 inches of packed slush/ice with an additional 4+ inches of the typical light and fluffy Utah snow on top. Each lap was like a new course as the trouble spots seemed to migrate as the wheels pummeled the snow. I think I went down ten times at least and as you may expect, those who crashed the least placed the highest. Speed was not a factor.
Turn toward the finish
The season finale was at Fort Buenaventura State Park in Ogden and the weather conditions were much the same. The race was actually postponed for over an hour because of the road conditions between SLC and Ogden, not to mention Park City where many racers come from.
Trouble spot
There was a lot of rain before it got cold enough to snow in Ogden so the ground was really wet. By the end of the second race, the ruts were deep and the mud was flying. The standing water was unfun though. I managed to stay upright through the entire race and put in a good effort to finish in 8th place thereby solidifying my hold on 5th place overall in the series.
Remount: the best cross photo ever taken. By Troy Nye
There may be another stand alone race just after New Years on the day of the awards party. Sure hope so. Thanks to Big Al and Bikeman.com for everything this season. I’m looking forward to next season already. Thanks to all of the team sponsors and to the race organizers-especially the Utah Cyclocross crew. This series is great and getting better.
Check out the results and the final points standings at UtahCross.com.
; "Nice weather in November")
; "Aaron Smith enjoying the warmth")
; "Dave thinking about snow")
; "My first look at the course 12/1")
; "Big T alone out front")
; "In the mix")
; "Dave thinking about the opposite of snow")
; "Muddy dismount 12/8")
; "Turn toward the finish")
; "Trouble spot")
; "Remount: the best cross photo ever taken. By Troy Nye")
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