Cross Crusade #1
And so it begins. The real cyclocross season is upon us; Cross Crusade race # 1 at Alpenrose Dairy was a world record setting day for number of racers. The fields were huge, the crowd was fantastic, and the weather was cooperative.
The team was in full effect, with riders represented all day long. The morning kicked off with four Subs in the Men’s C race. Everyone came out unscathed and smiling for more. Dave Sterry sterilized the field, coming from the back to finish 47th out of 120+ riders. Dave G. rolled in (no creekebeds or backflips!) at a solid 55th place, followed by a great race from Shawn at 60th, and Nathan with the solid 78th.
In the Men’s Master C race, Chris and Jimmy rode very well. Chris shot out with the lead pack and ended up 27th, while Jimmy clawed his way through the field, hitting the ground a few times in between, and finished in 49th out of 200+ men in the field. Huge!
Next up, John had a fantastic Single Speed race, finishing in a very respectable 27th place, and equally as impressive was the fact that he racked up no mechanicals. So far, he is the points leader the mechanical-issue category.
The Men’s B race featured Christian and Ken. Christian earned a call-up because of his mandatory upgrade, so he had pole-position to start. He took full advantage of this for his first big B race, and fished strong in 21st place (only 3 away from points!). Ken chewed up the competition lap after lap and climbed all the way up to 28th place. A few more laps and he might’ve won the race.
The afternoon kicked into high gear with the Women’s race. Who could forget about these ladies?!? Exactly, no one. They are too fast and too much faster to not acknowledge in a blog post. Sandy sat this one out nursing her broken finger, but she played an integral role with her words of encouragement for everyone on each lap. In the Women’s B race, Hannah also got a call-up based on her pre-season standing, and she shot off the line and lead most of the first lap, despite (or possibly as a result of) having limited gears available due to a yet-to-be-determined mechanical issue. She then settled into the race, and had as spectacular 10th place finish. Jill also chewed through the B field and finished 25th. Also on the course were Krissy and Diana in the beginners race. Krissy made her way up into the B-train and finished with a very impressive 15th place. Diana continued to ride faster and faster and finished 77th. Nice job ladies.
Lastly, Nat had to jump into the octagon with the big boys for his first experience in the A race or “Elite Men” as some refer to it. ;-) He was also awarded a call-up because of the mandatory upgrade. Nat took full advantage of his starting place and nailed the hole-shot, securing his 15 seconds of fame. Once the front of the race whizzed by, he just held on for the next 72 minutes, ultimately finishing 47th. The silver lining was that he finished on the lead lap. Those guys are silly fast.
Super day, super team, soup for dinner.
Go GSR!
