Trader's Point ICX Race Report

 

So the snow came as predicated, as did bitterly cold temperatures. But come hell or high water, or snow, cross races go on.  Thus, Saturday afternoon I was lining up for the finale of the Indiana Cyclocross Series at Traders Point in Zionsville.

Apparently the early races had a layer of snow to ride on. By the time the Cat 4 race rolled around the course was muddy, while places in the shade were icy, and the major run up was one long mud run. But, we still had sub 20 degree temperatures. Still, conditions weren't as bad as other cross race reports I have read recently.

Despite the temperatures, and my well documented lack of skill in mud (Remember this? And this?), I had my best cross finish of the year.

The course was a nice mixture of hills, straights, the referenced run up and twisty sections. The start (and also the final straight away) was up a gravel road uphill which had a slick layer of ice which made the start interesting. I slipped and slid through the chaotic first lap well enough (see the new masthead above for a pic of said chaos). The run up was nasty….partially frozen, slick mud leading to a left turn into a off camber muddy straight section, followed by a tight right turn up a hill with a hairpin turn heading back down the hill:

The final right turn and hairpin at the end of the run up. What is not pictured is
another steep muddy hill to the right. Oh, and I'm the one in the red arm warmers.

I made good use of the run up and got a few passes and also pushed hard on the hills. Surpisingly, I did not join the slew of riders sliding out in the mud and managed to stay upright. Hey, I was not crashing and burning....so things were looking good...maybe? For those keeping score here is the lap chart with convenient and self centered highlighting:

 

I started a minor duel (at least in my mind) with an I-Hop rider (#80) during the second and third laps. I caught him on a few hills only to have him get past me on tight twisty sections.

Keeping in contact with #80...in green with yellow helmet.

We kind of yo-yo'ed back and forth, but I kept him within a manageable distance. Or mostly manageable.

Chasing (me with red arm warmers) #80 up the hill to the start/finish line...still a manageable distance.

On the run up section I got a gap  during lap 2, only to have him come charging back and pass me before the finish.  In the third lap I finally got ahead of him and was able to gap him for good on the run up.

 

However, the final two laps would be a struggle. Up to this time, the bike had been running great. While others were stopping to chip away at frozen mud in their drvietrains, mine was humming right along with no shifting problems.  But not long into Lap 4, I lost the ability to clip into my pedals. The combined mud/ice/snow from the run up had frozen solid into my SPDs on  both pedals. Essentially they were reduced to ice covered flat pedals. Only when your pedals are transformed into muddy ice cubes do you realize how second nature clipping in has become and how you rely upon the security and control which comes from being locked onto your bike.

On an short uphill section I thought I had managed to grind in my cleats enough ton get some  and stood to get out of the saddle only to fall forward and make contact with the tube. A few minutes of riding cross eyed later I figured I would do my best to stay in the saddle.

A quick aside, the course had an interesting spectator section where it split two ways and went around a small "island" before rejoining into one route. Great place for watching the race and thanks to my mom and sister who spectated and yelled their heads off for me. Also, the Shamrock Cycles tent contributed to a fluid course in this section since each lap they had moved the route markers around making a "fast" and "slow" line. Kept you on your toes for sure.

Anyway, back to the dramatic race action...

I managed to climb as high as 6^th place overall at the conclusion of the 4^th lap, but was riding on borrowed time with my pedal issue. After passing a few riders and allowing some others to catch up I had a train of about 5 riders hot on my wheel as lap 4 ended. I pushed hard up the gravel climb to the finish and the final lap and stretched out the train as much as I could before the bell lap. 

Stretching out the train on the uphill to start the last lap.

This effort helped gap some of the riders, although, one rider, #71, had been making steady progress in reeling me in, and finally made his move on the last lap. I tried to respond, but just couldn’t regain contact.

I hate to blame the pedals, but that is what I am going to do. The whole time #71 was catching me and passing me, I was struggling to keep my feet square on the pedals. My control and speed suffered as a result, and #71 got past me. Of course, #71 was the only rider, according to the lap chart above, whose fastest lap was lap 5, the same lap where he happened to have me in his sights.  Still, the result was still pretty decent. 4^th in the age group and 7^th overall while I finished in 7th for the Cat 4 series.

Also, thanks to my sister Jennifer who took some great shots (all those above) throughout the race. She appeared at various places along the course and did a nice job documenting my day. And, as I mentioned thanks to both my sister and my mom for cheering and for noting at the conclusion of the race that I had done so much better than last year!

Thanks for the cheers, Mom!

Going back to the mud for a minute, the conditions were nasty, but I had no crashes, and was able to recover from my slides outs. , either I’m improving skill wise, or the use of dedicated mud tires helped:

 

I’d like to think it was both, although I could tell the Mud Wrestlers were cutting through the muck and gripping extremely well. The rear tire did slide out a few times but never enough to put me to the ground and was easily recoverable. Chalk this up on the good purchase column.

So, there you have it. Racing season 2013 is over.  I'll do a short sum up post for cross season later. For now, it is time for some recreational riding with no plan other than to have fun and get some exercise. There might be some potential team news down the line, and I'm figuring out my schedule for 2014 as well, although I'll save all that for another post.  Till then, stay warm.