Charm City Cross: Heat, Dust, the Pain Cave, and the Tunnel

You know, I don't know when, and on some level it doesn't make logical sense why, but at some point I mentally became dedicated to cyclocross, so all year long I've just been saying that everything was a build for cross.  So today has been highly anticipated for a while.  After a so so summer of training, I've had good consistent training since getting back from Vacation on August 18th.  Team practice has been good with friendly pressure from Peter and Ken.  A new Team Redline frame built up 2 weeks ago, and we're ready to go.

Jake and I hit the road for Baltimore at 7:45 to get there at 9, an hour before the first race (my race was at 11) to allow plenty of pre-ride time on the course.  We got a couple of laps in, and it was basically the same as last year, but very very dry, dusty, and bumpy.  Last year I crashed 15 seconds into the race and then 2 or 3 more times, and ultimately pulled out with a sprained wrist.

This year the MABRA has adopted the 35/45 "B" race (nka 3/4 Masters), which really excited me because it's a group I should be able to do well in (you know, kids, jobs, old).  I'm not quite there for the main event B race, which is the premier event in many ways.  Ken and I had enjoyed our time in this Masters B class at some MAC races last year.

By paying attention and reading the fine print I knew they would line us up by when we preregistered so I prereg'd a while ago, the result, a front row start (in cross the start is HUGE.  An all out sprint for good position once the course tightens).  Right next to me was Ken, but also there were a few guys who in the past have done very very well in the "B" race, including top 10s in the B MAC series (the MAC is uber competitive, with lots of UCI races) and MABRA B series last year as well as guys who were placing  in the top 5 last year in the Masters 45+ (i.e., now "elite") in the MAC.  Behind us were 90-ish racers baking in the unseasonable heat.

(the rest of this post is a lame attempt to reconstruct events from the haze of battle that even now is not entirely clear)

I got a clean start and slotted in behind Ken (my favorite draft) and behind the eventual 3 winners.  Poor Ken dropped his chain as soon as we hit the very bumpy dirt (with a yell).  I slotted onto the back of the lead 4 or so.  I became, basically, the lead of a second group behind the front 5 as the first lap progressed, just off the back of what became the winning lead group.  All I remember was that my tongue was literally stuck to my lips it was so dry.  I found a rhythm and started to ride with some people.  I really don't remember a lot.  To use a phrase from former Coppi Kevin Kuzas "the tunnel had closed in."   I was trading places with a guy from Evo that Seph knows.  Chip Sovek appeared from behind but then fell back.  I was trying to remain within myself and be smooth.  I was very happy with the smoothness this year.  I never lost places or time as a result of poor cornering or technical bobbles. This was important.  I gained a couple places in the last couple laps when guys I was with crashed due to fatigue.

Finally we got a lap notice with 2 to go.  I had some people not too far behind me and a guy from Evo and Van Dessel with me.  Time to dig into the pain cave.  On the back side I passed the evo guy on the double barrier run up.  After the end-of-lap barriers, I pulled up to the guy from Van Dessel, he said "work together" and I grunted "yeah".  I wanted to put space into the guys behind us.  I pulled through the bell on the pavement.  He went in front going into the sand pit.  I was sitting on him but the pain cave is deep.  He gaped me a little and I had to let him go.  I didn't know how far behind people were, but that was my concern.  I had lapped a few people and didn't know clearly how close people were behind me.  I dug in hard coming up the hill after crossing the road trying to pull back a little time on Van Dessel, was clean over the little wall.  I was thinking be clean, but pushing as hard as I could.  I dug hard up the hill to the final barriers, clean and quick over them, then just concentrated on staying clean through the final turns.  After getting back on the pavement I stood up and dug hard then looked back, there were guys back but I was well clear.

I didn't know where I was placing-wise.  I felt like I should definitely be top 20, and was thinking maybe top 15.  They took a long time to post our results, but in the end, I was 14th.  While this doesn't sound super, I'm fairly happy.  14th out of 90, with a serious dose of talent in the field, is fine with me.  I rode a clean race and rode smart (i.e., I didn't blow myself up in the first lap by redlining for too long trying to stay in the top 5).  I finished strong and with more training will look to be stronger in the races in October and November when the fields are thinner and the weather more appropriately cross-like.

Props to the following:

• Brewer for stepping up to the Elite race.   
• All the C guys.  Jordan did well, as I would expect.  All the Rookies: David "bling" Battan, new guy Jon(?). 
• Jean the iron bean, with super performance in the women's 4 race
• Big Jim for the tent, and what looked like a nice effort/race for him.
• Good always to see Seph on a bike, and looking strong in the B.
• Bill Cuz for giving it a shot and putting that road power to good use. 

I didn't get to see how the "B" (nka 3/4, aka "killer Bs") race went.  I heard subsequently that Peter rolled a tubular, which sucks because he's jammin' right now.

I'll report on Jake's race separately.  Pictures are starting to be posted.

Comments

[Chris]

Scott - Great job! Our lead group settled in after the initial effort. When Marc rolled off the front we were able to 'recover' and bit and sit in on the chasers, all the while growing the gap back to the chase group. I think if you could have hung on for that initial burst you could have settled in too.

It sounds like you dug deep and were really tough mentally to hold off the chasers. It's really hard to not ease up, thinking that they are going to catch you anyway. But, when the shoe is on the other foot and you are chasing a 3 second gap seems enormous. Way to keep battling and going deeper into the cave!

Excellent start to the season.

Chris

[Scott]

Thanks, Chris. Hindsight is always 20/20 (except after a cross race when it's all a blur). I was very concerned about blowing up, which I had done in the past by going too deep into the red during the opening lap, like in Sanders Masters last year, only to fall apart later. Could I have dug a little deeper to get on the back of you guys, probably, particularly if I'd followed Bernie when he bridged. Maybe I was being too cautious, but at the time the calculus in my head was saying "know your limits".

[faticus]

hella nice job yesterday.
very well done. great race, and a great write up.
good start to what will be a very good season.

see you sunday!

respect
m

[gwadzilla]

14th is awesome

nothing short of admirable

especially with the stacked top five

last year as I duked it out in the un-split Masters group I wondered why the top B guys were in B

now they took a somewhat linear move

I question

what causes people to move up?

if it is winning
I should slide back to C