Race report: Hudson Valley Cyclocross, day 1—glorious cross!
Cat. 3/4 men battle the run-up at Hudson CX. Photo: Daniel McMahon
Event: Hudson Valley Cyclocross
Location: Downing Park in Newburgh, N.Y.
Date: 9:15, Sat. and Sun., Oct. 10–11, 2009
Day 1, Saturday
Overview: The inaugural Hudson Valley Cyclocross Race, held in Downing Park, in (mostly) scenic Newburgh, N.Y.—along the Hudson, across from Beacon, N.Y.—saw a respectable turnout for the two days of racing, though fields were not exactly big as many of the region’s cross riders were doing the Providence Cyclocross Festival in Rhode Island or other races.
It was not only the first edition of the race but it was also—after much anticipating, reading, listening, asking questions, practicing, training, and pondering—my first cyclocross race.
Weather: Saturday: about 60 F, overcast for most races; Sunday: cooler, about 50 F, sunny and crisp the whole day. Perfect autumn scene.
Course: It covered about half of Downing Park and took riders up and down and around what is essentially a small roundish hill with a few steep sections and tons of off-camber (seemed like half the course). It included two short run-ups and a couple of quick descents. Two barrier sections. One set of stairs. Fairly technical and tough.
On Saturday riders raced counterclockwise and Sunday clockwise. Saturday was a bit muddy, especially in the early morning, when I raced, as it had rained off and on Friday. Sunday it was very dewy in the morning and the grassy areas were slick.
Prerace: Took a Metro North train from Grand Central at 6:20 a.m. to Beacon and rode about 5 miles over Hudson to park. Was there early enough, about 8:30, to get my bib and ride the course twice.
How it unfolded: Thirty-six riders lined up about 9:15 for the Cat. 4 race; I was fast off the front line and fourth or fifth through the hole shot, and held this position for the first lap. I was thinking, Hey, this cross racing ain’t so tough after all. Life was great.
Then, as we started the second lap, I went down in a fast turn on some wet grass. I was doing at least 20. It wasn’t a bad crash, but I twisted my ankle going down and couldn’t stand on it. I tried to ride some more but I was unable to put any pressure on my right pedal. I had to pull off the course.
After resting my ankle three or four minutes it felt fine, if a bit tender. I decided I should go on—I needed the training for the next day and wanted my $25 worth of racing—so I got back on the bike and rode, albeit a bit more tentatively. I finished the race, though a lap short because of the crash. I never saw the front of the field after my wipe-out, but some teammates did great, and that made things better.
Thoughts: Wow! Cross is cool. Cross is tough. I got my ass totally kicked. I liked it. I was totally shocked at how hard it was to just finish the race. Even on a bad day I don’t think I had a problem finishing a race this year, with the exception of Governors Island, which was the hardest race I did this season.
Cross felt like a huge killer time trial the whole time. I couldn’t rest anywhere, not really, and there were so many obstacles that my feeble synapses were firing every second of the 30-minute-plus ride. I felt like my heart rate was jacked the whole time—it was. But, again, it was also a rush and nothing like road racing. It felt like mountain biking more like. But faster.
On the bummer side, my lower back was absolutely screaming the second half of the race. It hurt, bad. I asked around and some others said it was a back-breaking course. I dunno. The last two laps I couldn’t really think about anything except the pain in my lower back.
The other bummer was that it was a dry event—no beer! I was kinda looking forward to having some of the brews that I’d heard cross crowds quaff at races. Well, maybe at Granogue there will be some of that craziness. Sure would’ve helped ease that back pain. At least there were waffles, though. Delicious.
I definitely learned some lessons this day: My bike-handling skills kinda suck when it comes to cross; I’m not in good enough shape to contest a top 10 in a cross race yet; and I need to figure out how to maintain a pace that’s bearable so that I can finish strong. I was surprised at how good my start was. And I handled the barriers fine this race.
Where I really sucked was going down on wet grass and going down in muddy turns. Off-camber I was okay going up but not so great going down. I just lost time and got passed a bit in downhill turns and off-camber too much. I couldn’t keep a good line without sliding out or getting stuck in the mud. Overall I was not too bad fitnesswise, but I certainly could amp up the intensity of my training for the remainder of my cross season. I have about eight races to go, at least.
Results: 25th of 36. Definitely wanted to improve on this the next day. But, all things considered, I was happy to finish. My first cross race was history, for better and for worse.
Seems like a lot of guys never think about their results unless they do great, like get top 10 or better. As for me, I think it’s important to consider all your results, even if they suck. It’s how you improve, it’s part of the plan, the big picture. I look forward to the challenge of moving up the results page.
Me, my rig: 6’2″, 180 pounds (lightest I’ve been this year and since my return to racing); LeMond Poprad, Mavic CX wheels, mix of Shimano components; 19 pounds. Definitely a starter cross bike.
I got some more pics from the race over on the CyclingReporter.com Flickr page.
You can read my report for day 2 here.
Been racing? Submit your race report at cyclingreporter / at / gmail.com. Get published.
