CX Race 2: CX Brewery Ommegang

One week and two practices after my first attempt at cross at Buck Hill I gave it another go at the Ommegang Brewery on October 3rd. The weather was sunny and warm (in the sun) and the course was tacky and fast by the time my race ("Elite" women) came along. Elite being place inside those quotation marks because the field was for all the women's USAC categories.

The course started in a super wide grassy field then headed into a series of super tight turns that lead into a short bit of single track and a climb that in some years is a run-up. Immediately after climbing that hill we dropped back down into a zigzag and then a strait away into a tight s curve at the bottom of another hill. We descended that one as soon as we crested it and went into a section of 180's that ended with an off camber left hander with a double barrier immediately after the turn. The barriers were on a slight side hill. Just past the barrier was another turn that took us through the beer tent, around a bend and back through the start.

The women's race was supposed to be 45 minutes. I was focused on the people and terrain in front of me and never once looked up at the lap counters... I just kept riding until the officials told me I was done. Luckily Jeff Poulin was not of a mind to send me out for extra laps.

Often times races head into a tight section of course pretty soon after the start, so a fast start is pretty important. The less time you spend bottle necked and trying to get around people the more time you have to ride hard at your own speed. Knowing I am not very strong in the "technical" parts of 'cross, I am hesitant to go for a front line start, plus I don't have the sprint for it. I had a pretty timid start at Ommegang - probably one of the last 2 or 3 around the first bend. They started the single speeders 30 seconds to a minute behind us and the juniors just behind them. Despite my slow start I still went into the curves in a tight line. The single speed men and a couple of juniors started coming past us in that section, creating quite the chaotic scene to ride through. I survived the first lap and even passed a person or two, and then systematically started chasing down individuals in front of me. I managed to pass at least one person on each lap and even snuck back past a few of the juniors and single speed guys who barreled on by in the first 1/2 mile. My effort was good enough for a 12/23.

Official results are posted at BikeReg.com. There were several folks out taking pictures on race day and pictures of me in various poses of ineptitude can be found online. Wrekkers77 posted his photos on flicker. I think I am only in the one of all the women at the start. Most of these pictures look to be of the Elite men.

Mark Williams also posted some 400 pictures from the race. Pictures from the women, single speed and juniors start at #176. I am in pictures 187, 188, 221, 269.