Saturday, August 25, 2012

Monson Cyclocross Race

Today was the Monson Cross Race, the first of the year and I was very excited to kick off the fall season!  I have been riding the cross bike lately to get ready for racing, but I have not been able to get on any courses yet, so today was the day to begin racing, and also to begin to get a feel for the bike again.  It was a warm day with a decent amount of sun, so I brought along a bottle full of Powerbar Lemon Lime Drink Mix.

The race started off quickly, with a turn into a dusty off camber section.  I didn't have a great start so I got dust kicked up into my face, but I kept charging forward.  



The course was fun with a good mix of fast and twisty-turny sections.  At this point in the year I am still working on my engine and my handling, but I felt that my handling was coming around pretty well.  As the race went on I found that I was able to catch people on the twisty turny sections.
I kept my pace pretty constant throughout, and as I got towards the end I was in the middle of two groups, and as you can see below I had the whole run up to myself!



This was also the first time this year I had seen barriers, but I was able to get off and on the bike pretty well and hop over them without too many issues.
As I crossed the finish line I was happy to have finished my first cross race this year, and I came in 8th out of about 20 riders.  After the race I headed back to the team tent to chat and get out of the sun. 



Tomorrow is the Blunt Park Cyclocross race, and I will be racing back to back races there.  Three races in one weekend, wish me luck!

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