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There have been times in my racing and wrenching career I have been blown away by a new development and I just can’t stop myself from raving to everybody I know what an incredible new piece of “bike candy” that you’ve just gotta have. That sweet moment came recently at the Montana State Cyclocross Championships in Helena, Montana. On a challenging course designed by three-time US World cross Representative Geoff Proctor, fast strong wheels were the order of the day.
The week before the race I had received a pair of “bike candy” Cane Creek Carbon Crono Wheels from Cyclewise, a neutral support service run by my fellow US Disabled Cycling team mechanic Bernard Kocis. I inspected the new pair of wheels first on the truing stand and then with my dishing tool. Both checks revealed the wheels were "spot on" dead straight and dished. This check is important, all too often I’ve had riders bring me their new “hot” wheels to mount only to have them fail both checks miserably.
Cane Creek Carbon Crono wheels use 58mm tall Zipp rims with 16 Titanium bladed spokes in a radial pattern. The rear comes specd with 28 Titanium bladed spokes, 2 cross driveside and a radial non-driveside pattern. Also more titanium is found on the rear wheel in the form of a Shimano XTR ti freehub body. After marveling at how light (659grams front, 928 grams rear) and sexy looking, (bright blue and white decals) I mounted a pair of the new Tufo LPS (Low-Pressure System) Elite tubular tires I had saved for the State Championships.
Cane Creek have in my humble and biased opinion, (I’ve never liked Titanium spokes) have developed a fantastic method for using Titanium spokes. They have eliminated the often failing elbow at the end of the spoke and have designed a straight pull Titanium bladed spoke that is tensioned at the hub by a large thread contacting brass nipple. This design achieves a couple of advantages. Firstly the nipple is located at the hub and not at the outside of the wheel thereby reducing rotating weight. Secondly, by using a brass nylon impregnated nipple, Cane Creek achieve a higher tensioned wheel instead of using often failing alloy nipples. As a mechanic the ability to true a wheel without having to remove the tire is a huge advantage over competitors wheels that require tire removal for a simple wheel true. The higher tension reduces spoke fatigue and allows the wheel to maintain its true for longer and it allows with the high flange of the rear hub a direct transmission of power. The wheels use a carbon-braking surface, which necessitate a brake pad change; I used Avid’s ceramic pad. I had to make a couple of minor brake adjustments to eliminate a loud howling brake noise - these were made without any sacrifice to braking efficiency.
The wonderful advantage of these wheels for Cyclocross racing, other than the deep rim profile for the shedding of mud or snow and the aerodynamics, is the unbelievable acceleration. Cyclocross racing requires constant accelerating back up to speed - and this is where these wheels truly shine. They return a tired rider back up to speed very quickly and efficiently. In fact its almost spooky how well these wheels accelerate. A quick and cheap test of checking a wheel’s ability to accelerate to speed is hold the wheel by the hub flange out at arms length with your hand and try to rotate the wheel forward quickly. You will notice some wheels require a lot of effort to get the wheel to rotate half a rotation. It may not be a strictly scientific or quantitative method but it gives you a good idea of the wheel’s moment of inertia. Some low spoke wheels out there don’t like to make hard sharp turns but the Cane Creek wheels pass with flying colors, they hold their line very well on tight twisty courses.
A post-race inspection of the wheels revealed the wheels were just a little out of true (I’m very fussy about this, if you asked anyone else they probably wouldn’t have noticed the very minor rim movement) but this more likely attributed to the spokes settling in. Subsequent hard rides have failed to move the rims out of true. As for the Tufo LPS tires they passed with flying colors.
Sometimes I have to rave over a new product because Cane Creek have delivered on what they claim to be, and that’s strong, light and real fast wheels. However I sometimes feel the urge not to tell anyone so I can use my secret weapons on the unsuspecting competition. For those who are numerically inclined check out Cane Creek’s website. http://www.canecreek.com/ . There you can find comparative data against the other wheel makers such as mass and moment of inertia. It’s amazing the difference between the Carbon Crono’s and other manufactures so-called “fast” wheels.
--Mark Legg
New Zealand representative 2002 Cyclocross Worlds, Montana State Cyclocross
Champion, US Disabled Cycling Team Mechanic.
James Coats - 1st, Master 35-39 Nationals; 4th, Masters Supercup
Doug Ott - 3rd, Master 35-39 Nationals
Chris D'Aluisio - 8th, Master 35-39 Nationals; 2nd, Masters Supercup
Rich Maile - 10th, Master 35-39 Nationals; 12th, Masters SuperCup
John Elgart - 1st, Master 55+ Nationals
Jackson Stewart - 2nd, U23 Nationals, 9th SuperCup (1st U23)
Andy Jacques-Maynes - 2nd, Collegiate Nationals, 17th, Senior Nationals
Henry Kramer - 2nd, 45-49 Nationals; 7th, Master SuperCup
Carmen D'Aluisio - 2nd, Senior Women Nationals; 2nd, SuperCup
Rachel Lloyd - 3rd, Senior Women Nationals; 8th, SuperCup
Gina Hall - 4th, Senior Women Nationals; 7th, SuperCup
Christine Vardaros - 7th, Senior Women Nationals; 10th, SuperCup
Linda Elgart - 3rd, Women 45-49 Nationals
Nicole Amaral - 4th, Women 30-35 Nationals; 17th Senior Wom SuperCup
Norm Kreiss - 4th, Master 45-49 Nationals; 31st, 35+ SuperCup
Todd Hoefer ('00 M30 champ) - 4th, Master 30-34 Nationals
John Funke - 10th, Master 30-34 Nationals
Justin Robinson - 9th, Senior Nationals
Ben Jacques-Maynes - 13th, Senior Nationals; 10th, SuperCup
Justin Morgan - 16th, Senior Nationals; 25th, SuperCup
Sabine Dukes - 9th, Master Women 35-39 Nationals
Stella Carey - 14th, Senior Women Nationals; 14th, SuperCup
Jeff Caton - 17th, Master 35-39 Nationals
Gannon Myall - 21st, Master 35-39 Nationals; 21st, SuperCup
Drew Landers - 32nd, Master 35-39 Nationals; 30th, SuperCup
Keith Bontrager - 32nd, Master 45-49 Nationals
Dylan Snodgrass - 27th, B Nationals
Erik Sperling - 40th, B Nationals
Lance Doherty - 45th, B Nationals
For full results and reports check out the following:
Nationals, Day 1 (Master, Junior, Collegiate) - Results (BikeReg.com)
and reports (Velonews,
CyclingNews.com)
Nationals, Day 2 (Senior) - Results (BikeReg.com)
and reports (Velonews,
CyclingNews.com,
Bike.com)
Supercup (all) - Results (BikeReg.com)
and reports (Velonews,
CyclingNews.com,
SuperCup
official site)
More info and pics also may appear later at Cyclocrossworld.com,
McElvery
Photo, KironGroup,
BikeRide.com,
and The Ride.
Photos (from Velonews.com):
l-r, James Coats, Gina Hall, Carmen D'Aluisio.
Warning: I wrote most of this on the plane with 5 hours to kill - it's more like a journal...
Last Tuesday afternoon I aborted this mission while I was on the way home from a long night in the hospital. On Monday I awoke to abdominal pains that worsened as ths day went on. Pain turned to torture in the evening as I began losing hope of riding this thing out. By midnight it was unbearable, I was vomiting and doubled over in pain - I woke up Frances and she rushed me to the ER. I spent the next 12 hours in a morephine-induced trance, getting poked, prodded, CT-scanned, and tested for all kinds of stuff from kidney stones to colon cancer - nothing was found. The pain faded late Tuesday morning, so I left my perplexed doctor and went home tired, weak, and dehydrated. Once at home I decided there was no way my body could recover from this before Friday, so I decided to bag Nationals altogether.
2 quarts of Gatorade, a large meal, and a phone call to my coach (Adam Myerson) later, I was back in business. I was feeling better, the trip was already paid for, and I didn't want all that training go to waste - I decided I was at least going to give it my best shot.
Ran into Drew Landers, and Carmen and Chris D'Alusio Wed afternoon at the airport, and we had a nice quick flight. Thursday I met Adam and a bunch of his other clients at the course for inspection. It was a thing of beauty - smooth, fast grass, some tricky bumps to get over, fun quick downhills, a couple of moderate run-ups, and the double set of double 40cm barriers - which some truly amazing riders could ride. The course was turny like the Presidio - lots of accelerations, but it was so long, they were able to put in a little of everything. The surface was firm and tacky - no mud. Based on how I was feeling and sizing up the competition in the 30+ field, I figured the top 10 might be out of reach. Surprise! Frances (my wife) showed up at dinner Thursday - she had secretly plotted and planned to come watch me race. It was a great relief for me and took my mind off all the bullshit, I love that girl...
Friday, race day - 1/2 inch of rain (and more during the race) and 3 races so far had completely changed the face of the course. Tricky spots became treacherous, and the many off-camber sections made riders slide sideways and off the course. I snaked my way to about mid-pack at the start, which was stressing me out - I'd have a lot of ground to make up. Worse still - the guy in front of me missed his pedal after the start I and I was stuck and really freaking out now. On the first descent some dude had crashed and I somehow squeaked b/w him and his bike. Put in a big effort, scrapping spots wherever I could, and by the end of the lap I was within the top 20, I even made contact w/ Todd Hoefer. At this point I had to recover a bit even though it meant letting go of the leaders and all hope of the podium. I could sense my limits and had to heed them. Battled away somewhere in the top 15, fighting to stay upright and smooth and not to slip off the course - which I did anyhow a few times. On the last lap I picked off 2 guys through the transitions. One last guy was 30 meters up so I poured it on and made contact in the final corner w/ 200m to go. He jumped hard when we hit the pavement - no time to big-ring it, I sucked wheel, worked my way down to the 38x12, jumped at 40m and got him by about 1/2 wheel - my wife got it on video and it looked like the finish of a Belgian classic - someone called me a 'roadie'. The sprint raised my spirits a bit, and I found out I nabbed 10th place, which raised them a little more. I think that was about all I had in me, so I was content with the result, even though on the whole I'm a bit bummed about bad luck and not being 100% on *the* Peak week of my whole program (and, of course, humbled, after talking a big game all season...). Todd Hoefer, in his usual style, moved up well from when I saw him on Lap 1 and ended up with a respectable 4th place - considering the conditions and Todd's technical abilities, his 4th place was a testament to how strong the field was. The top guys were solid performers in any race.
Afterwards, I was pretty spent - and I lamented the thought of racing a bunch of well-rested ringers, so I decided to bag the Elite race on Sat. Well, one quart of Gatorade, another large meal, and another discussion with Adam later and I was back on the roster, but I only decided Saturday morning when I saw the course. It was REVIVED to an even more magnificent state than Thursday, so I did a light warm-up, lined up near mid-pack (no snaking this time) and just tried to have some good hard fun. What a difference 24 hours made as mud turned to grippy dirt and grass. Got a solid start, but had a minor mechanical on the first lap - I thought I broke a spoke (later I realized I'd partially rolled my tire), went to the pit on the first lap and my pit guy (my buddy Sol from DC) wasn't ready for me - lost about 10 spots extricating my bike out of the busy pit. I definitely felt the Friday ride on Saturday - all those accelerations in the mud wore on me, and towards the end of the day I was really dogging it, except up the stone steps which were a perfect distance apart for my legs to cover 2 at a time. I was running somewhere in the mid-40's and happy not to be lapped. Later on I flatted, but only had to ride about 200 meters and surprisingly found my bike was waiting for me at pit #1 - Sol was running my bike back and forth between pits 1 and 2 the whole race, which was such a stroke of genius - I definitely would have gotten lapped otherwise. On the last lap, my sprinting luck caught up with me as 2 guys caught me right when I hit the pavement. I had nothing left and let them go - I pedaled in for 45th. It *was* good, hard fun. Although a bit harder and less fun than I anticipated, but hey, CX races are usually only really fun in retrospect, right? I didn't hang out for the Super Cup - I didn't have 3 races in me. Actually, I didn't have 2 either...
NorCal Race Notes:
-James "Allen" Coats was downright dominant in the 35+ race. He OWNED
the race - he was all mud, sweat, and snarls. It was awesome. Doug
Ott was an impressive 3rd. He also beat me handily in the Elite Race
(38th), the bastard...
-Todd Hoefer was awesome as usual, see my 30+ race report above. He was a strong 23rd in the Elite race. Todd probably didn't know it, but I was chasing him all Fall to figure out if I was fit enough to contest 30+ Natz, and he always chewed me up and spit me out...
-Friday in the Espoirs race, Jackson Stewart was super strong but was not as happy as winner Adam Craig in the mud. He was a strong second, moving up the whole race. If the U23 race were on Sat or Sun, he would've dominated. Notice that he had the best showing for NorCal in the SuperCup (9th).
-Clif Bar was a well-oiled machine with Alison and Carmen 1-2 in the women's race.
-Rachel looked super in the Women's race. She didn't animate but stayed tough throughout for 3rd. Stella looked great in 14th. She was battling with my buddy Steve's wife Kathryn Roszko from Mass for the whole race.
-Also representing Clif Bar was Justin Morgan with an immensely impressive 16th in the Elite race, and Andy just behind. It sounded like Justin and Andy were having fun working over riders in their respective group.
-Justin and Ben did their usual (strong, awesome, whatever...) duty although Ben really lit up the first lap. Justin in 9th, Ben in 13th). My wife got some good footage of Ben crashing through the tape and losing 4 places in the process. I'm not sure if I want to offer it to Ben or not...
-This was my first real East Coast CX race, and I have to say I was less than impressed by the sportsmanship of some of the riders. This is one thing I don't miss from my road racing days, and it's been absent in the NorCal races. Then again this was Nationals – but it’s not like I was fighting for top 10 or anything. I got some flying elbows and a lot of deliberate cut-offs. One guy plowed me into a post and then a lap later when I caught him, he turned his bike sideways on the stairs to block my progress past him. I grew up in Boston and never really noticed the East Coast rudeness thing, but after a couple of years in NorCal I have a fresh perspective...
-The bunny hopping on the 40cm double-doubles was really impressive (this from my videotape, not that I saw it first-hand). Todd Wells made it look like he was cruising over speed bumps. There were a bunch of Juniors from Seattle that were doing it too - word is that they have intensive clinics on it. I think we need more of this in NorCal, even if Dave Carr doesn't like it. Hell, it's all the rage with CX right now so we better get on the ball.
Hope to be at the CCCX finals on the 30th. Or maybe not, since it's Snow season. It's time to hang up the cross bike and re-start my seasonal calendar: Snow, Rock, Wind, Dirt...
Happy Holidays!
– John Funke, Team Sycip/NOVO (john_funke@hotmail.com)
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of CycloCross
Keyboard meandering 11-26-01
By Michael Hernandez
This being my first of (injuries allowing) many PsychoCross seasons, I’d like to share a few thoughts…now, you might want to stop reading right here, cause it’s gonna get silly faster than a Surf City start. Well, ya’ been warned.
When riding my cross bike, I think a big fat scarlet ‘Roadie’ tattoo must welt out from my forehead…just below the crooked helmet and right above the sweat-smeared shades. Hell, I can’t even call it ‘my bike,’ cause it’s a borrowed steed from Dave Easty, of Reno’s Bicycle Warehouse fame. Another cat in town has a Dave hand-me-down (both Landsharks), and we refer to ourselves as the Bitches of Eastwood. Well, that’s another story. In any case, before this fall I thought Crossing was something you did with your girlfriends clothes…but, alas, I’ve become hooked on the crazy-ass sport.
Now, I don’t want to say that I feel totally intimidated by these Crossers, it’s just that they all seem so damn big. Don’t misunderstand, nobody is going to be kicking sand in my face at the beach, but I am a road-rider after all, and a climber to boot. I’m not much more than a tire-width under 6 feet and weigh in at a solid buck-fitty (with a couple of bottles stuffed in the jersey). But these Crossers – Crikey, the apes look like they chew on protein bars 24-7. Ha! Reminds me of a story…
Earlier this year, I took part in a crit of no specific importance. It was a local event, small but competitive; well designed course and great weather. New to the area, I had no idea whom I should be marking (please note the proper usage of ‘whom,’ my professors would be so proud), so I just decided to attack myself into one of those zen-like trances of anaerobic-hell and see what happened. After a couple of laps of some serious off-the-front-itis, I was caught by another rider. Allow a brief description of this rider, eh? Ever hear of that legendary figure ‘Vlad the Impaler?’ You know, the big Translyvanian wolf who mowed through warrior and peasant alike, cutting a bloody swathe with one hand, and ruling the land Iron-Fist style with the other. Well, if there were going to be a reincarnation of the Impaler, I imagine it would be something like the dude who joined me at the front of the race that day. While I would like to refer to him as ‘Vlad,’ perhaps ‘Boris the Eastern-Bloc Nightmare’ might be more appropriate. He was big and bad and smelled of spoiled meat. He was so powerful that his bike actually groaned when he mounted it. He was so fast that motor-pacing was the order of the day for little ‘ole me. Desperately latched onto his wheel, I was nothing but caboose to his SuperLiner. I was mini-me to his Dr. Evil. I was Umpa-loompa to his Veruka Salt. It was laughable. And that’s how I feel at the start of one of these Cross races. A sprite dancing around a bunch of ogres, egads what fun.
To continue, when racing Cross I’d like to think I cut a bit of a dashing figure…smooth roadie pedal-action, sleek form dancing on the pedals, Ligget-like commentary echoing through the course. Well, that’s what I’d like…the reality is that I resemble a blind, retarded daddy-long-legs, mangling my bike and riding like an absolute menace. In my short career as a Crosser, I’ve somehow managed to crash in almost every imaginable circumstance. I’ve washed out (both front and rear tires), endo-ed, turtled, taco-ed, tripped, hamburgered, hooked, splashed, stumbled, splatted, and even defied a law of gravity, or two. If there could be a defining moment of my crossing, trust me, it would be covered in both blood and embarrassment. Then why continue with this madness? Perhaps I am only mad when the wind blows north-north-west, eh? The benefits of this insane sport almost out-weigh the costs of skin, bone, and pride. The Cross racing and training have definitely added depths to my strength-reserves, and perhaps one day I might even develop some bike-handling skills! The adrenaline rush of the race is just the off-season fix desired, and 60 minutes of mud, snow, and barrier work wonders for the complexion (what?). But, hands-down, the most enjoyable aspect of Cross (one that you rarely get the feel of in Road-action) has to be the atmosphere at the races. The courses, especially those Surf City and Central Coast Series races, are incredibly well designed and PACKED with fans. That’s right, FANS! Oh, it is so damn cool hearing somebody yell “Cookie!” after you’ve powered up a steep pitch, or when you hear the quick intake of breathe after you’ve narrowly escaped a big digger, acrobat-style. And did I mention the announcers? The voices of K-Dog going Coastal and the Surf-side Gogol ring loud and clear all over their respective courses…nothing finer than hearing your name echo across the valley of pain. Gotta be the hippest seen around.
So, here’s some applause and thanks going out to all those who make it happen. From Dale B and Jim C in Reno, to the Elgarts in Sacto, to the Bay area beach-bums…it has been an absolute delight. Hope to see you again - I’ll be the one asking where the med-kit is stashed.
later,
m
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Amherst International Cyclocross Race Report: East coast racing is entirely different from the Surf City, jungle-esque turn fests that we see every weekend. The courses tend to be quite fast, with long, wide open stretches of pavement, grass and some dirt, a 180-degree turn and then back the way you came. The one section where you headed into the woods on a dirt track was referred to as “the gnarly mountain bike section,” and would be a standard fixture in the local race scene.
The grass made for some interesting racing due to the nice weather and lack of moisture; the grass stayed firm and those with very knobby tires were rewarded with Criterium-like cornering. The firmness of the ground also made sure that the bumpy nature of grass remained, and by the end my back was very sore from holding myself in an attack position. Adding to the pedaling nature of the course were the four barriers, which the leaders were hopping, and a lack of natural obstacles. Justin Robinson and I were looking forward to sprint finishes and planned our tactics accordingly.
The start of the event seemed slow to me, but that may have been due to my starting in the back row because I was snubbed for a call up. The back is not a place I was used to being, and I was a little pissed off; accordingly, I had a little extra adrenaline flowing in my blood to help the cause of passing 50 guys. I moved up well, and continued to pass people the entire first lap. There was a crash that I narrowly avoided, and as I glanced off a downed rider I recognized Justin’s bike on the top of the pile, and passed him about fifteen feet later – he had been ejected from his bike. He seemed okay, and was back on his bike quickly. I pressed on, and was in a group with about three other riders in the third group when I slid out in the same corner Justin crashed in. The race was still close at that point, and I worked hard to make it up to the group.
I rode with Eric Tonkin, a rider from the Portland area, and Frank Mapel, a well-known pro mountain biker. Frank was driving us hard, accelerating out of every corner like it was the last one. Frank has been a consistent finisher who comes on strong at the end, so I knew if I could hang with him, I’d be in pretty good position by the end. As Eric dropped off the pace, we were actually gaining ground on the second group, a foursome consisting of the two Kona/Voicestream riders Dale Knapp and Peter Wedge, Alex Candelario from Boulder and Todd Wells, the newbie ‘crosser schooling us all by hopping the barriers fearlessly. I knew they were strong, and if we could make it up there the chances for a good finish would be excellent. I worked with Frank for two laps, alternating between pulling hard and crashing, and then having to make back up time. A few times Frank dropped back on the runs, and I would have to rest a bit to not be strung out in the wind.
With three laps left I was waiting at just such a juncture when I heard the announcer screaming about the group just up the road having crashed on a tricky off-camber. I thought “Sorry Frank,” and just drilled it in hopes of capitalizing on the situation. As I flew through the tricky section, I saw Alex and Peter Wedge untangling their bikes; it appeared as though Alex had broken several spokes, his bike was making some awful sounds. As I rode up to them, I did not hesitate, shifted down and jumped by them in search of Dale and Todd ahead. Those two were only a few seconds up the road at the time, and I gave my all to try and reach them. The way that Dale was driving, with his head down and smooth cadence, I was soon proven to have inferior horsepower and was left hanging. I was now just between the two smaller remnants of the second group, and with two laps remaining I knew I had to work hard in order to remain in that position.
I tried to collect all my wits, rally reserves and stay smooth as I pushed the biggest gear possible. I was worrying about the trouble spots where I had crashed before, but with the lines open for my choosing, I stayed upright. One last burst on the last lap sealed my lead over the two behind me, and actually closed in on the two ahead; I was hoping they would play a little cat and mouse and allow me to come a little closer. No such luck as Todd attacked Dale hard, and Dale stayed with him and immediately countered. The gap re-opened, and I knew that they had just sealed me off from improving any further. I rode out to the finish solo, with the wind picking up a bit and making me suffer just that little bit more. I was very happy to roll across the line with a solid sixth place ride, having pedaled through the adversity I faced with confidence.
Justin faced a bit more adversity then I, and had to switch bikes after his crash. This pushed him into the back of the race, and he became stuck in a group, a feeling I know very well. He crossed the line in 21st place.
Mass. State Championships Race Report: The day after the Amherst UCI race, Justin and I traveled to western Massachusetts for a local event that turned out to be the state championships. We had spent the night at Jos Husbey’s Mother’s house outside of Putney, VT. Marya was very nice and welcomed us warmly into her beautiful home. After a peaceful morning reading in the sun and eating delicious pancakes, it was back into race mode as we journeyed through the rustic countryside. The colors of fall were on display, and for us westerners the sights were simply amazing.
The race site was a cross-country ski area with expansive lawns and several dirt roads heading up into the hills behind the lodge. We got to use only one of them, and I heard the continuing mantra of “gnarly mountain biking” that was used the day before in Amherst. There was a good-sized sandy hill with barriers at the bottom and top, making for an extreme use of energy if you wanted to remain on the bike. Add in a few twists and turns, more turf then you can shake a stick at and three good running sections, and you’ve got east coast ‘cross.
A few big guns remained from the previous day’s UCI races, and at the start we immediately separated ourselves from the locals. A pileup in a tight corner opened the gap, making the front group Mark Gullickson and Todd Wells from Mongoose, Alex Candelario, and Justin and myself racing for Palo Alto. The five of us took a few turns at the front with mainly Alex and Gully being the aggressors, and Todd and myself sitting on the back. I was having a hard time following on the runs as Gully and Justin were on fire, but could make it back within a reasonable amount of time. At one point Todd let a gap form in front of him and I thought we were out of it, but followed up with a searing effort that brought it all together.
By this point Gully was constantly attacking and it was only a matter of time until the group shattered. Todd and I were gapped off again and Alex bobbled on the sandy run up following the move, resulting in an immediate gap. Justin and Gully were away. Todd and I got with Alex and sat on to protect our leaders, and in two laps the gap was 30 seconds. Alex was full of fight and was not standing for team tactics, but he was clearly at the tactical disadvantage.
Todd was getting visibly tired on the runs, and was lacking the punch the Alex was throwing down. Coming through the pit at the end of the second to last lap, Alex opened a gap and Todd did not respond. I jumped as soon as we hit the pavement, with Alex a shaky 5 seconds ahead, going all out. I drove hard over the barriers, seemed to make a little time, but bobbled the sandy run up and was forced to dismount. Through the windy turf sections I was cornering harder then ever before, and just hanging off Alex’s wheel. Coming through the pit I knew I had given my all and conceded the battle to Alex. The front group of five ended rolling across the line evenly spaced out by about 15-20 seconds between each rider after riding an all out final two laps. Justin finished a strong second place with Alex in third, and I was fourth.
Just behind Todd was Jos Husbey charging hard, so hard that he crashed
on the last barriers trying a last second effort to close the gap.
Very good action. Jos was rewarded for his hard work with the Massachusetts
State ‘cross Championship. --Ben J-M
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Meanwhile, East Coast promoters have banded together to create a self-appointed
"US Cross Rankings", weighted
in favor of races with UCI sanctioning, and against races that run
in a series format. Between SuperCup,
Nationals and the smaller races, all the UCI events on calendar are east
of the Mississippi, which means our guys have to hop a plane anytime they
want to earn points. It's too soon to proclaim an East-West schism in cyclocross,
but you can be sure that media like VeloNews will be paying a lot more
attention to the East, and less to our corner of the CX world. What
can you do about it? Fuggeddaboudit--just go race!
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I am more involved with the changes made to the point system. We like
to list as many people as possible in the overall point systems. Two years
ago we increased the places earning points to 30 places in the open groups
and 20 in the "other" groups. Still, there were problems. In the open A
and B classes a number of riders who race every week finish outside of
the points, and never show up in the overall standings.
In the fields with few competitors we had the opposite problem - with
few competitors the difference between first and last place is nowhere
near the difference between last place and not showing up. As an example,
when we had only two competitors at the first race for women 35+, the finishers
got 30 and 27 points respecively. This situation occurs to some degree
to all the groups that have fewer finishers than places, notably both groups
of master women, juniors and 45+ men.
We propose to handle the points differently this year. There are two
main changes.
a) Points will be awarded as follows: one point for finishing, one
point for everybody that you beat, and one bonus point for a race win.
For example, if there were five finishers, 5th through first place would
get 1,2,3,4 and 6 points respectively. This means that anybody who finishes
any Surf City race will show up in the overall standings. Note that this
has the effect of giving more points for winning a race with larger turnout.
b) We also want to reduce the penalty for missing one race. We will
do this by using four of the five races in the series to calculate overall
points standings: the series final and the three highest points won among
the remaining four races. This is the way that the Norba National Championship
Series has run for many years. For elite riders will help with conflicts
between SuperCup events and Surf City. For all riders it will also help
to deal with work demands, illness, family commitments etc., and of course
the possibility of a mechanical disaster on one race day.
We would like to hear from you about these proposed changes. Do you agree with the idea of dropping a race? Note that I was the proponent of this system, so don't blame the promoters if you disagree.
One more feedback item - historically we have listed bike type in the
results. Do you think that this is important?
Send feedback to me directly via email *or* to the email list. Note
that you probably don't have to quote my entire post to offer comments/feedback.
Cheers.--- Tom Simonson, Oakland CA (tom@tsimonson.com)
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"USA Cycling Operations Manager, Jiri Mainus, has said that this year's World Team Selection Criteria will be based on National Championships and UCI points. This will make it imperative that riders attend as many of the US UCI races they can to garner the valuable points. Since the UCI doesn't have a ranking system for the women, USA Cycling will maintain an unofficial ranking for them based on the same UCI points system. Mainus said the complete selection criteria would be announced before the Mountain Bike Worlds in Vail, CO."
So far, that official announcement hasn't appeared, but several people have confirmed the general plan. As to UCI ranking, this year's domestic UCI races include the three SuperCup events plus several one-day races in October including Gloucester, Mass. (10/14); Wilmington, Del. (10/21), Amherst, Mass. (10/27); and others -- see the calendar for listings. Reportedly, a number of local elites will be traveling "down East" for a couple weeks in October to take advantage of the string of qualifier races.
If you're going, remember--USAC international licenses are required for elite events (M, W, Jr) in all these races. Also, host housing may be available--email for info.
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Howdy all! Fall is quickly approaching--which means that 'cross is just around the corner. I have made an attempt to compile a Surf City e-mail data base. This list does not encompass all of the people I wish to reach. Could you all forward this on to those who you think would be somewhat interested in information regarding Surf City Cyclocross? If those NOT on the original list could e-mail me at jenny@cyclo-x.com I will add you to our newly forming database for any future mailings.
The inaugural event for Surf City Cyclo-X will be held at San Lorenzo Valley High on October 7. A PDF version of our flier can be found on our website http://www.cyclo-x.com/ Please notice that there are new category start times because we have added an all ALL WOMEN category to the schedule; all women will now race for 45 minutes. Also, new for this year--NCNCA licenses are mandatory because we are insured under the NCNCA umbrella and therefore our participants must be members of NCNCA. You can either get a $10 rest-of-the-year license or, pay $2 for a one-day license. Things are looking great for the 2001 Surf City. Our merchandise PRIZELIST will be in excess of $25,000. We will be giving more money away (than last year) to the senior men and women A categories($3500 series purse). Also, if things go correctly, we will have Surf City jerseys (new this year), t-shirts, and etched pint glasses (also new this year), by the first race. If you purchase a season pass at the first race you will savemoney and receive a complimentary SCCX pint glass.
This year we will host the first annual SURF CITY SWAP MEET at our inaugural event at San Lorenzo Valley High School on October 7. It is a great opportunity to get rid of some of that cycling para phernalia that you have accumulated over the years (hint: the swap meet is not 'cross specific). Maybe it is time to let someone else enjoy your unused stuff! From complete bikes to various parts and accessories, we are hoping to get a good number of people who want to both buy and sell. The swap meet will open by 10 am in the SLV football field. You are responsible for monitoring your stuff and handling the financial transactions. There may or may not be a $10 sellers' fee depending on whether we can get some free tables. The fee would also include the publicity for the event. The SWAP MEET is FREE to buyers. HELP MAKE IT A TRADITION!
We also have two clinics planned for the year; which will take place on the Saturdays before the first two races. Check out our website for more info. Expect another killer raffle at the end of the series which will include two Steelman frames and much, much more!
Send me a line with any questions, comments, or suggestions you may have! Don't forget what you gotta do to protect your shins this season!
We thank our sponsors (the list is still growing):
Specialized, Steelman Cycles, Ritchey, Chris King,
Giro, Bell, Clif Bar, Time, Vetta, K &
W Sales, Annabelles, VergeSport, Titec, Earthgrains,
Voler, Kelly Bike Company, Smith Sport Optics, Bicycle
Trip, Family Cycling Center, Another Bike Shop, Scotts Valley,
CycleSport, Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Company, O’neill Surf
Shop, Sea Bright Brewery, White Industries, Trader Joes,
fi’zi:k, Boure, Bontrager, Avid.
See you soon!
Jenny Robinson, Surf City Cyclocross
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First, it sounds like the planned event in Oakland may be in trouble due to an environmental permit issue. No news on a replacement venue... Baltimore is apparently on track for the National Championships and Supercup finals in December... Galeforce Sports (promoter of '99 natz in SF) were considering a bid for this year's championship but will shoot for next year instead... Kiron Group has been reviewing offers for Supercup title sponsorship and promises an announcement "within the week"... Keep your fingers crossed for Lyle and Co. at Kiron Group.
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