 |
| Overlooking the venue from the hill, the soccer field in front and pits on the left. |
A little late getting this post finished and posted up. After my race ended on Sat K-Rocket and I left the 2011 season behind us and drove to Burlington, IA to see grandma and I slept. Up the next morning for church and a big brunch then on the road again to KC for unloading, dinner prepared by my wonderful gfriend then more sleep. Monday was back to work to dig out of my email hole and blah blah blah I was busy like we all get and did not force the time to update the blog.
The trip was great and the weather was amazingly warm for Madison in Jan. For my race the conditions were awesome, that was not the case for the first race of the day for Shad and Hedjuk. They had darn near stupid conditions to race in with frozen ruts covered with slick slime. Guys were crashing all over and I am not talking about in the turns or technical areas, on the straights. After that race wrapped up they altered parts of the course to make it safer for the racers, should have happened first thing in the morning before anyone raced. Shad ended up 12th and David 19th in the masters 40-44 race.
 |
| 17/18 Junior hopping the barriers |
Watched the Juniors Men 17/18 race and holy cow we have some fast fast fast young men racing CX. Many of these young men will be putting in good results in the U23 & Elite men's races soon and several are already near the top in the world. Yes USA CX racing is looking strong indeed. Next up was the Collegiate women which K-Rocket will be racing with in 2 more years, that makes me feel old. Karen noticed some of the girls she raced in Louisville and beat were at the front of the race and that gave her a pretty big smile knowing she is already faster then some of the front runners in D1.
 |
| KCCX Fuji / Challenge are was busy all weekend |
Go time for Travis and I was rapidly approaching and I was really feeling strong and confident, not a normal feeling for me at a big race, I was feeling aggressive and ready for the kill instead of nervous. We warmed up together at the KCCX Fuji area and had support crews standing by with Hedjuk, Shad, Bill A. and Dean manning the pits for Travis and I, thanks guys! Temps were up to 38 degrees with the sun shinning bright. The course was really fast and only a couple areas were still slick/frozen/slimy and those spots were short but they were on climbs and turns so you had to stay sharp.
20 minutes till race time, time to go do work. Rolled back to my car and geared down for the race. Skinsuit, a thin base layer and gloves was all I wanted with the sun overhead even with temps at 38, I like racing cold. Did a few openers on the road heading from my car to the race start and the legs were all go. With the recent string of solid races and my DFL start to 2nd place finish on Wed I felt more ready for this race than any race I can recall. Callup order had me seeded 20th and Travis 21st and the game plan was simple. Slot in the right side of the 3rd row (the starting grid is 8 riders wide) side by side and take the inside of the first turn and hit the field off the road full tilt and be as far in the front as we could get then let things sort out from there, above all make it to the grass without getting tangled up in any wrecks. It was great lining to next to a teammate at such a big event and I feel its only the start of many big events we will be lining up together to put the Ethos smack down on competitors. 2 rows in front of us and 5 rows behind, everyone looking pretty focused and ready to rock.
2 minutes till race start is called and everyone strips down to race gear tossing jackets, leg warmers and water bottles over the fence as anticipation builds, the chatter dies down and the focus sharpens. 1 minute till race start. At the big races they call 1 minute then at anytime around 30 seconds or less the whistle will blow. I point my bike to the space between the two riders in front of me so I can shoot the gap if it opens. 30 seconds, head down, heart pounding, the guy in front of me is twitching is leg nervously, slow breathing, calm, then the whistle blows.
 |
| 1st lap and flying |
I have grown to love the bat out of hell fast starts in CX this year when they happen and it was on from the whistle today. Travis and the guys in front of him jumped out of the gates a little faster than the guys in front of me and then opportunity presented itself in a way I have never seen, I jumped. I was about to get boxed in when the guy on my front right put his hand on the backside of the guy in front of him and literally pushed him out of the way because he was going to slow. Nice move, but that little move slowed him just a tad and created a seam which I exploded through moving up a few spots. Hit the grass on the gas full tilt and did not let up on the little roller up onto the soccer field which moved me past another set of 3-4 riders including Travis. Kept the hammer down all the way around the soccer field knowing full well that there could be a backup in the little tight turn at the end and came into this turn sitting somewhere around 7-10th.
Watching Tilford (and others) kill it early on in his race and battle for position changed my approach to this race. Racing CX fast is fairly new to me this year and racing fast at a big event is something I am green at. Steve and two other riders were banging and jostling through that turn and Steve won that battle then dictated pace from that point out. He is very experienced and I took notes, go hard, race aggressive but in control and anticipate mistakes of other riders and be ready to exploit those mistakes. Every spot counts throughout the race, take the spot and protect your position while riding clean and smooth so you are not the one making the mistake and being exploited. After starting DFL and slowly about 5 rows back of the eventual race winner on Wed, then catching him with two to go only to get dropped at the end of the last lap had not left my mind. What if I had started faster and was with him from the gun, might I have been able to open a gap during the race and take the W? Shoulda Woulda Coulda and this is the big race so leave nothing.
 |
| 1st lap top of the run-up sitting top ten |
Going into that first potential trouble turn I was ready for a fast dismount and run if someone went down. The racer 3 spots in front of me lost his front wheel slowing/stopping the two others in front of me and this was it, I was off the bike in a flash and running hard into that turn. One of the other riders jumped up and into my path which I shoved to the side and kept running through the turn, three more riders passed and I was sitting top 4-6 at this point. Quick remount on the uphill muddy sloggy section and here I made a mistake. Going into that turn I was pushing big gears and never downshifted before dismounting, my gearing was too big for me to turn the cranks in the mud so had to jump off and run to a spot I could remount and pedal losing 3-4 spots and saw Travis go by me riding. Back on and up the long gradual climb leading into the first steeper hill which was another potential spot for trouble. I dug deep and passed a few on the climb including Travis and stomped it up the hill. Held position going into the long run-up then two dudes ran by me on the railroad tie stairs, mental note, work in some high speed stair running next season! Quick remount and down a super fun double turn descent onto a quick pavement climb leading into the a screaming fast downhill. Another 2-3 dudes blasted by me on the climb, man some of these dudes are wicked fast, not stupid fast like we like to say, but wicked fast which is another level up. Flew down that hill and into the barriers and through the slow slick turns and sandpit onto the backside of the course. Fans were everywhere yelling and one was counting positions and called me at 11th. Top ten was in reach and I hammered the back section climbs and popped out on the starting road of the first lap still in 11th position.
Rode the wheel of the 10 place guy on the road then jumped around him going onto the soccer field for lap 2. I was a little warm, but under my limit and feeling super strong. Kept on the gas the rest of that lap and did not move up or loose a position until my race took a turn for the worse after the sandpit and long grass section before the back section climbs on lap 2.
 |
| Backup bike.... |
My chain had somehow came off and was under my chain watcher on the top of my crank and also jammed between the chainstay and chainring on the bottom. WTH! I have never had this happen on this bike once, and for it to happen here, now, when I am racing strong at Nats! Frantically fumbling to get things undone and I could not get the chain out from under the chain keeper. Travis went by me not to long after this happened and had no choice but to shoulder the bike and began the long run to the pits, angry, demoralized, furious, dejected, empty. Once I hit the road section at the start line I side mounted the bike and pushed it like riding a skateboard. Rolling through the finish line the race announcer calls me out "and here comes Brocket rolling through with some bad luck Fred Flintstones style" that at least calmed me down a bit and I think I actually cracked a smile, its only a race after all.
 |
| Ready to quit... |
Finished my ~ 3/4 mile run to the pits feeling like I lost at least 40 places and figured I was DFL with all the riders blowing by me while I was running. I was pretty darn spent after that run and slowly mounted up on the pit bike and went out for a ride while on the race course. I was done, checked out mentally from the race and still burning from the mechanical. Still I did not give up any spots and passed a few riders on lap 3. The pit crew with help of the Shimano neutral support guys had the Van Dessel ready to go for lap 4 but I was 90% done at this point and ready to pull the plug. When I dismounted off the Crux and walked into the pits Shad could tell I was about to quit and yelled at me to get arse on that bike and finish the race. I needed kicked in the tail and this simple act got me back out and racing again. I ramped it up on lap 4 then on lap 5 finished hard and passed racers like they were standing still. Not sure how many I passed but it was a lot. Hearing the spectators yelling at me because I was going so much faster then the guys around me, and heckling the ones I passed provided more motivation to really gun it. Finished the final lap going 90% race pace from earlier and had fun but was still ticked and feeling dejected.
 |
| Finishing strong, just passed these two on the hill |
Rolled through the finish and straight to the support area dropping my bike and then the anger flooded in. I wanted to rage but kept it in check with K-Rocket there and others around, its only a bike race...
After getting cleaned up and cheering on Andrew who raced right after T-Donn and I finished I walked over the to results tent. T-Donn finished 14th and Andrew took 10th, nice work men. I was shocked to see that I finished 29th, after everything that happened to still beat over 1/2 the field? Top ten would have been hard to maintain but I was there, it was within reach, next year it will be mine.
Nats was bitter sweet. I close the CX season on a low note in my final race result but also feeling great about the future, I found my fast this year, now it's time to get really fast and race consistent, I want more.
The fire is fueled for 2012!
Video from my race, only place I am in this is the green helmet on the right towards the front of the start, I sit taller than most the riders ;)
Watch more video of USA Cyclocross National Championships 2012 on cyclingdirt.org
http://www.cxmagazine.com/cyclocross-national-championships-2012-masters-men-35-39-madison
No comments:
Post a Comment