Race report: Southampton Super Cross 2009

By Daniel McMahon

I’D BEEN LOOKING FORWARD to the Southampton Super Cross double-header weekend for quite a while. I had friends who lived in the area and had arranged to stay with them, and I’d heard the 1.7-mile course was pretty awesome and more dynamic than anything I’d ridden all season (it came a week after the big snore that was the Mercer Cup course).

Saturday
I lined up for the Cat. 4 race with 30 or so riders at 10 a.m. It was sunny and about 50. I’d prereged very early and got called up first; I chose my preferred spot on the start line near the middle lane. Once we were off I got a good jump and was top three into the hole shot.

In the back of my mind I was wary of imploding by going too hard at the start of the race—as I’d done at some races recently—so I backed off about halfway through the first lap and slipped to fifth at the start of lap two. Southampton was a real cross rider’s course, save for the lack of any real mud: technical turns, twisty sections, fast, off-camber descents, hairpin turns, barriers, climbing, pavement, and even a bit of sand to deal with. What was also cool was that a good third of the course took riders through some woods up on the main hill, so spectators got to see racers bolting out of the trees once they reappeared in the open areas. The out-of-sight bits added a dramatic element to all the races, not least the pro ones later.

On laps two and three I managed to keep the leaders in my sight most of the time, but I had trouble closing the gaps to them. I surprised myself in the more technical sections of the course, pulling back a few seconds here and there, like on the twisty downhill bits, on burms, and even over the barriers. But I was not super hot on the steepest climbing sections, which forced me to give up a position or two to guys I was gapping earlier.

I rode within myself and managed to stay ahead of the single file that was constantly breaking up behind me. With a lap to go I bridged to a rider on the pavement and sprinted past him, yet I still had no hope of bridging to the next guy as I was too far back. I gave it full gas on the last lap and rode into the finish in seventh place.

It was my best result so far in a cross race, so I was happy enough with my result, though it was nothing spectacular. I succeeded in not imploding early on and stayed top 10, which were my two goals. At the same time I was left wondering whether I could’ve placed top five or three had I stayed on the gas early on. Such is racing.

Sunday
After a full day of racing, watching the other races, and enjoying a long dinner with Belgian brews among friends and other riders at the Public House in Southampton, I somewhat tiredly lined up for another 40 minutes of racing.

The course was mostly the same as Saturday, save for a few new sections including some stairs and that we were going to be racing in the opposite direction. That meant we’d be climbing a good bit more too. I was again called up first and was second or third through the hole shot. I immediately sensed I was not as fresh as the day before. It’s a weird, sinking feeling, but I wasn’t concerned that much really. I was having fun and the weather was awesome again. Once we were on the small but steep climbs, I was already about ninth or so. I decided I was going to have to choose the best lines I could and ride within myself to keep up in a decent position.

As the masters 35+ riders started a half minute or minute behind us, the 4s, I made a mental note to get one of the stronger masters rider’s wheels if (more like when) one of them passed me. That was a little easier said than done as I couldn’t tell who was who. There was a BVF rider who got by me but was riding a good deal harder than I was really up to. By lap three I was top 12 or so and rode solo for the most part. Both the gaps in front of me and behind me seemed fixed, so I just got into my groove and tried to hold it. On lap four, the last lap, I found I had very little juice to go up the climbs as fast as I had been earlier, so I had to labor. I was reminded that I hate running, in any shape or form. I cruised across the line in 14th out of 25 or 30 riders.

B races
The B races both days were pretty fun to watch and seemed very competitive. Dan Chabanov was riding for the first time in his new Adler kit. (He said he was going to be riding with Adler in 2010, so I figured that meant next cross season and thus was surprised not to see him in Kissena colors.) He and Alejandro Guzman (Foundation) battled pretty hard on Saturday for the win, but after trading places several times on the course in first and second, Chabanov came into the finishing paved section just a bike length or two ahead of Guzman.

I expected it to be a closer sprint than it was because Guzman is a faster finisher on the road, but it seemed Chabanov was plain stronger. On Sunday, the Adler rider won again, making it a perfect weekend ahead of Chabanov’s hometown race, StatenCX, this Sunday, where he’ll be trying his legs in the A race.

Pro men
Last weekend at the Mercer Cup in New Jersey, Ryan Trebon (Kona) and Tim Johnson (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com) won Saturday and Sunday, respectively, and seemed set for a big rematch this weekend, but it was not to be. Trebon was the only Kona rider and had to compete against the trio in black-and-green kits of Johnson, Powers, and Driscoll.

On both days they would prove too much for Trebon, who struggled in both races to assert himself and to step on the podium. Johnson looked untouchable and seemed to have no problems going full speed and powering for the full hour each day. Like Chabanov in the B races, Johnson enjoyed a perfect weekend with powerful performances.

Full results: Saturday and Sunday.

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