St. Charles

Brian Conant told me before the race it was an epic cross course. I usually do not like this course since it's so open and full of head wind but I have to admit he was right, these were the type of conditions you love to watch as a spectator. Every section either was mud or standing water and the barriers were placed strategically in the worst sections were you were either climbing through standing water or riding so fast into a corner, it was impossible to time your braking before the barrier.



We left Wisconsin and got to the course in time for 40+ and it was a real shit show. I left the Fango tire said up at home since Washington Park was dry and every course this year was optimal for file treads. I thought it might dry for my race but wondered how Holly would do in the mud with the Grifos. It didn't matter...she went right off the front and I was impressed with how smooth everything looked with her riding.



I did one lap on the B bike to get a sense of the course. While riding on the Grifo's I realized I had plenty of traction. BTW, thanks to Lou for offering me up his Ryno wheels. Mike from Kenda was kind enough to offer me pit support in light of some of my circumstances earlier this year. It was really cool of him to offer; he says he loves to spectate but he's a real pro managing the Planet Bike guys.



Start went great since I was right behind Brian and had no problem getting to the front. My legs felt a bit tired from the day before but I was not losing ground as a result of that. It was really a combination of candy ass riding, especially through the first set of barriers that was holding me back. I kept losing my front wheel and veering into the tape the first 3 laps. Another downhill section, I went slow and washed out in front of the Cuttin' Crew. Ideal scenario for Scott to ride off. I was able to ride with Mike Hemme for a while which was really cool for a couple of reasons. First, he's doing well right now and starting to show some progress with training. Secondly, there was a alot of wind on that course and it's always nice to pace and work together.



Brian got ahead of us but Mike and I traded pulls. My halfway race surge came on and felt like I could chase him down. I told Mike I was going to hit it hard on the straightaway and to stay on my while but I lost him. I was hoping he would stay with me. I bridged and caught Brian and worked with him for a little while. After trading some pulls with Brian, I pulled through I saw he fell off for 5 seconds so I surged with 2 laps to go and rode all out. By now, I had the lines and the barriers figured out and felt like I was gaining some speed. I was not able to catch Scott but I could see him ahead but wanted to keep riding hard since I know how strong Brian is. So, I took 2nd this race. Mike Hemme took 4th so the 3 of us put in a great day.

I felt like I could have done better riding some sections cleaner but that is part of cyclocross racing, the unexpected circumstances that create game changers that make this style of racing interesting. This was really the first mud race this year. Other than that, I was real happy with the weekend overall, especially with power on the bike. Starting to reach that part of the season; a timed peak where things are starting to come along and feel easier than before and everything feels good and works. This year was a really crappy start with the mechanicals and the UCI performance, but it's starting to come together now.