Sunday, November 04, 2007

Grumpy's Cyclocross Recap - Another Mudfest

Jordan won the younger juniors (in the C race), beating rival Matt Wenzel for the first time.

Then he did the B race as well (how tired does he look?), and beat DGC to avoid being DFL.
Photo compliments of SkinnySki.com

A new kind of suffering in the Velodrome
Photo compliments of SkinnySki.com

The a$$ water ditch of hell
Photo compliments of SkinnySki.com

Muddy, but 2 for 2 against Muyers this weekend.


I have to admit, I was a little skeptical about what they could do for a cyclocross course at the velodrome, but LGR put together a great race. It had a little of everything, 2 run-ups, 3 sets of barriers, lots of off-camber turns, and the a$$ water ditch ride of hell. The officiating was spot on, and the spectators were awesome. The crowd that gathered just outside the velodrome stands were incredible. Every time I went by, I was inspired. Thanks everyone.

Jordan has been bugging me for weeks to get him an upgrade to cyclocross Cat4 so he can do the B race too. On the way to the race today, I noticed that his license already listed him as a cyclocross cat 4 (I don't think there are cat 5's in cyclocross?). I told him he was welcome to do both if he wanted to, and he was thrilled.

Jordan had an awesome start in the C race, and rode stronger than ever. I was running all over the course snapping photos of him and others. He was leading a rival younger junior named Matt Wenzel, who beat Jordan at Lake Rebecca, and Boom Island. Jordan was determined to beat him in Blaine. Then, his chain came off at the top of the run-up out of the velodrome, and it took him a good 20 seconds to get it back on. Wenzel closed to within 10 seconds, and I could see the panicked look on Jordan's face. I just told him to relax, and keep riding hard.

From that point on, Jordan rode like a he was possessed. Two laps after the mishap, he had moved up several spots, and was a full minute ahead of Wenzel. I couldn't believe it. He ended up finishing 40th out of 73, and 1st in the younger juniors. A well earned victory Jordo. I couldn't be more proud of how you rode today.

After a brief 15 minute rest, Jordan started the B race. He looked exhausted. He was riding at the very back of the race, and looked close to being DFL (not that he would really care). He passed a couple people, but they would quit, and he remained last. Late in the race, he passed Dan Currell (who was doing his first cross race this season), and held him off to the end, making DGC DFL.

I had a great time in my race. The commentary from Homme and the boyz in the booth was fantastic. They were giving me a hard time about swinging wide in one of the corners and going outside the flags. Life is full of irony isn't it? I was having a great race until about 3 laps to go, when I started to bonk a bit, and the ditch ride of hell kept getting worse. I think I slipped and was forced to clip out my last 3 times through the ditch. As a result, I lost ground, and Mike Phillips was able to pass and drop me. Kent Thorlson almost got me too, but I was just able to hold him off with a last second sprint. I ended up 19th overall, and 7th in the masters 35+. An amazing 8 guys who started the A race, didn't finish.

Click the photo album below to view pics from the race.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great job Jim! I didn’t get my goal of beating you this weekend. But it was great fun for my first cross races of the year. The LUNATIC kept on yelling obscene gibberish and giving me bogus time splits every time I went by. What was in his diet coke anyways…? I am skipping next weekend and will be on your wheel for the last cross race!
-muyres
Silver Cycling

Kristy Kreme said...

Jimmer, you and Jordan did a fabulous job this weekend! Thank you so much for cheering as well. It really means the world to me. : )
I hope to see you both next weekend!