Yes, It Is Still Cross Season: Indy Cross Cycloplex Race Report

A cross bike is not the end all be all of the cyclocross world. Unless you are in a UCI race. In which case, it is the end all be all.  However, this past weekend at Indy Cross #4 the mountain bike turned out to be the best weapon for the job at hand….

The race was held at the Indy Cycloplex just north of downtown Indianapolis and a short ride from my house.  I ride here quite often, both on the cyclocross course set up in a large field area, and Marian University’s short track mountain bike course located on a ridgeline which dominates the north end of the park.  Based on my prior knowledge, I was thinking my mountain bike would be a better weapon here. The upper trails are pretty technical with a few difficult climbs and descents. Descents on my cross bike are not really my strong suit.  I swung by the course Friday night and saw that the amount of course positioned out in the field was actually quite limited.  Mountain bike it would be!

Due to a funeral procession along a street I had to cross, I arrived at the Cycloplex with just about 30 minutes before my 2:45 start time. Thanks to my very early pre-registration , and my results, I was expecting a good call up.  But apparently the cyclocross gods thought I needed a bit of drama before the race. When I went to check in, I was told registration had closed.  Well, no matter says I, I had pre-registered anyway.  But no, all check ins for races cut off 30 minutes before a race, a rule which I was told was on the website, but which I could not find. Perhaps it is a Cycloplex specific rule….

Anyway, I was rolled into the reg table at 2:17.  After some angst on the part of the race staff, and myself, I was checked in, although whether my call up was preserved remained to be seen. As it turned out, my call up was still good, and I got a first row position. 

The course included a short start loop which went along a paved road section and then into the aforementioned field, then cut back through the parking lot before hitting the ridgeline and the meandering across and up and down the ridge, followed by a steep descent on the backside of the velodrome which led into a new bmx style berm section before hitting a set of barriers and reentering the field for a short time before doing it all again.

So, back to the race.  I managed an immediate clip in at the start and made a good sprint down the pavement and entered the dirt in 7^th place.  After the field section we hit a paved stretch which led to the hill. I lost another spot but as soon as we hit the hill I passed two riders and made contact with the lead batch. The twisting and off camber trails on ridge were perfect for my mountain bike. As mentioned, in conditions like those the drop bars are not ideal, but with the mountain bike, I was able to rail through the turns and drop easily behind the saddle if needed.

For once, I managed to remember to hook up the Go Pro, so have a look at the first lap. Apologies for the cables at the top of the frame. Thought those had been pulled clear. Also the audio sucks...


Indy Cross Cycloplex from Edward Fujawa on Vimeo.

 One unexpected change to the course the steep hill on the west end of the park. IN the past the course has gone down this, but now we had to climb. Not a big deal but someone had put a log across the course at the steepest point of the climb. A few were able to ride over it, but I ran it each time.

Soon after the climb I hooked onto Aaron’s wheel and stayed there for much of the first lap, including the sketchy and steep descent on the eastside of the park.  Aaron was with two other riders and they got a small two second gap on me and there was a further gap between them and the leaders. This remained for the remainder of the first lap where I was in about 8^th place.  Aaron moved up a few spots but had a wash out on a steep off camber turn and I got past. From there I continued to move up, passing two riders on consecutive laps in the BMX section.

At the start of the last two laps I made contact with Cary Schein, a strong rider for Heros Racing who I’ve raced against in the DINO series.  He is extremely strong (and was also riding a mountain bike) so I sat in waiting for a chance to make a move.  Cary kept up a steady pace, but when the course would double back, I spotted a rider in blue and a Marian rider in hot pursuit. They seemed to be getting closer which was a bit of a concern, so near the end of the second to last lap I pulled past Cary to see if I could up the pace (and to see how Cary would react).  The gap to the chasers grew, but Cary stayed with me, and pulled past me at the start of the final lap as we climbed the ridgeline.

We continued a back and forth until the sharp descent on the east side of the course where Cary used his fat tires to blaze through the descent.  He got a gap on me and despite a furious chase, I couldn’t catch him. I crossed in 4^th place out of 48 racers. I was disappointed in missing a podium spot (only top 3 got awards) but I was very happy with my overall performance. Easily my best finish in a cross race considering the competition.  The use of the mountain bike turned out to be a great move, especially with the technical aspects of the course.

The final race of the Indy Cross series is this Saturday at Trader’s Point.  After that is the Gravel Grovel and two more local OVCX races. I had gone back and forth on whether to do these races, but have no decided to skip the first at the Cycloplex, and then ride the finale race at Fort Ben (St. Mary’s Cross).