Blog

Nomad CX
Scotia, NY
September 11th, 2022

After 2 years away from any shape of bike racing I pinned a number again. I got the chance to race very close to home so I signed up for the 40+ and the Cat3/4, so I’d get to race morning and afternoon respectively.

The race course has all the right features, barriers, a steep run up, a twisty sandpit, off-camber boxes and lots of perfectly positioned turns. Conditions in the morning were a little slippery on some turns due morning dew but other than that the grip was good.

On the masters race was a small field 12 total, with 4 in 40+. So we started all together. Luckily 40+ started first so I got front row start.

I missed my pedal at the start so I didn’t get a great start but I manage to put myself on third wheel behind the Bret and Brad Young, who I know are pretty fast. We got passed a little bit on the run up but the 3 of us managed to be back at the front again. I thought I was all set since the Young brothers were in 50+ & 60+ and the pace felt reasonably good. All I had to do is not to make any mistakes. Which is what I did next. In a blink I slid over my left side, 360 degrees and bike went one way and I went another way. I got myself together pretty quick and started chasing the leaders. I managed to recover a few positions and finished 2nd in the 40+ and I believe 5th among the masters. So not a bad day after missing my pedal at the start and a small crash.

For the 3/4 race, somehow I also got a front row call. I got a pretty good start, didn’t miss my pedal and despite being the second race the leg speed was there. I didn’t want to go for the holeshot since I was aware of how many matches I’ve already burned in the morning. So I settled for 2nd wheel. Unfortunately I was felling tired on the power sections so I started to lose a few positions here and there. Still fun and somewhere in the middle of the pack. The course was faster than in the morning. In one off-camber section that I stubbornly decided to always ride I was able to close gaps until the time that I lost grip and I went down. I think pretty much the whole field passed me at this point. So one again, I put myself together and worked on recovering some positions and I managed to finish in 9/13. Which I was happy with mainly because I had lots of fun and it was awesome to have my wife and our baby girl cheering on the other side of the tape.

Overall it was a great racing day, I really liked how my Kona Super Jake is running. Maybe the only upgrade would be tubulars in the future.