2016 Cyclocross

Here is my little recap of 2016 so far and whats to come. It is hard to believe we are 6 weeks into cyclocross season already! It has been fun but also been a challenge. I sacrificed my early season at some of the biggest races that the US has seen to gain some experience working in the pits for none other than Katie Compton. It was very rewarding, very challenging, and also very tiring. Who knew that taking 12000 steps on race day makes things not go well! The results are starting to improve and in the end what really matters, winning a state title, is yet to come. This weekend is the Sun Prairie Cup and Celtic Cross races which are two of my favorites. See you out there!

-Josh McKinney

                              

Catching Katies bike at Jingle Cross

The logs run up at Trek CXC Cup

Giving Katies bike a wash at Jingle Cross

Playing in the mud Friday night at Jingle Cross

Green Mt Stage Race Recap

Now a month removed from the Green Mt Stage Race, our minds and bodies have recovered enough (not from the racing so much, but all the great Vermont beer drinking!) to post a brief race recap!

Mike and Eric were making their 4th appearance in a row at the stage race, and Heavy G (Greg) was "convinced" to join us.  And by convinced, it means we were all together at a party, Mike and Eric got Greg a bit drunk, and next thing you know we have a laptop out (not what you expected to hear - and who doesn't have a laptop at a party!) and he is registering on-line for the race. He claimed the next day he had no idea what happened!  We also were lucky to have our 1-person cheering squad, Diane, along for the fun. 

The race consists of an uphill 10k time trial, a circuit race, a road race (with a ski mountain finish with gradients up to 20%!), and a downtown Burlington, 6-corner crit. We were putting all our money on Mike given he had been tearing up the WCA road scene! 

With 51 guys starting, Mike was well placed after the time trial, sitting in 7th, with the top couple places going to a former Canadian masters time trial champ and a former pro hockey player turned bike racer). Next up, the circuit race, which was a relatively rolling course with one KoM each lap. On the first lap we went for the KoM with Eric leading Mike out, and he just missed out on taking the max points as someone came around him at the line. Shortly after the KoM, the attacks started coming fast and furious, and unfortunately we missed the move that stuck, with a group of 7 getting away, and then a field sprint finish for the rest of us. Heading into the road race, Greg was worried about a time cut given his VT-beer diet did not help get him down to his climbing weight (but he made it "no problem")!  The course has two major climbs, one about half way in and the other at the finish. For some reason, both Mike and Eric struggled on the first climb and were dropped by the leading group. They did manage to work with a few others to chase and get back to the group not far from the start of the final climb. And then the fun starts as the climb is about 10k of mostly climbing, again with a finish at 20%! Mike had a good finish and took 8th on the day, while Eric and Greg were glad when it was over! (And Diane, just for fun, ran up the back side of the climb to watch the finish!)  On the final day, the crit ended with a field sprint, and Mike held on to a top ten overall finish, taking 8th place on GC after 4 tough stages.

So how does one spend recovery time during a stage race you might ask, take some advice from some experienced racers: (1) by laying together in bed watching the Vuelta (it was tough to keep Greg from wearing his PJs!); and (2) by making award-winning documentaries (see https://youtu.be/8LEuYlQzD5A). Oh, and did we mention drinking VT beer (I think we spent more time picking up local beer than racing!).

A final word of advice, do not let Mike and Eric invite you to a party the weekend before the stage race (unless you want to find out you are now registered!).