Starcrossed 2013. Boom, done.
Starcrossed is the biggest cyclocross race out here in Washington, if for nothing else than the UCI Pro race at the end of the day. In addition to this, the course is usually very well laid out, the racing runs in the afternoon/evening, and the fields tend to be full of some of the best racers in the region.
As they were running the UCI Pros in the race, the organizers split the field into a 2/3 field and the Pro/1s, making for very tough races for both groups.
Coming off the BRUTAL race last week at Finn Hill, I was ready to do well. I had amped up my training program, and also made sure my body was ready for running at redline for an hour, that way I didn't run out of power like last race.
After getting warmed up and ready to race, I found out that I would be getting a front-line start! That should make a good difference, since there were 62 racers in my field, coupled with the single-speed racers that started in front of us (81 racers in that field!). There were going to be a TON of people on the course, so getting through the crowd early would help a lot.
The start was called and I managed a decent start, but entered the corner about 9th, so I still have work to do on my starts and make sure I get closer to the hole-shot. We were on the tails of the single-speed race almost immediately and I started cutting around the riders right away and worked along the outside of the course and into the infield of the velodrome.
After working through the infield and along the bank of the velodrome, we raced across the barriers in front of the beer garden and then out along the outside of the velodrome again before racing out into the pavement and then swinging back toward the start line.
Since we were racing with the Cat 3 field, the race was only 45 minutes instead of the hour we would usually be racing, and the time was slowly cranking by as we made the laps of the course. I continued to make headway through the singlespeeds but was slowly losing ground to other Cat 2s. The racing was still very close as we got into the final laps, and I found myself in a battle with Tyson, a racer I fought with last year before he upgraded. I hung onto his heels for the rest of the race, finally finishing in 18th place.
Not the finish I was hoping for with a front-row start, but not terrible considering the riders I was competing against. And the finishing was super close - I did finish 2 minutes back from the leader, but most of the riders were less than 45 seconds ahead. Big improvement compared to last week, and I am very happy to say that I finished in front of most of the racers I competed with every week last year. Now it is time to get ready for the rest of the season and make some forward progress.
After my race, I cleaned up and then watched the Pro ladies race while I ate dinner. The ladies race had a great group of racers, but once Gabbie Durrin got on front, she ended up pulling away from the rest of the field for the remainder of the race. She held this lead for the rest of the race and easily took the win in the end.
The Pro men offered a little more suspense, although again the field was stacked with talent. From the gun, the big names were up front - Trebon, Powers, Page, Berden, along with many other potent racers.
For the next few laps, racers were switching off the lead, pulling the others along and keeping the race super fast. As the race progressed, the lead group was formed of Powers, Trebon, Page, and Berden. They had grabbed a small advantage and run with it, and slowly stretched the lead as well. Finally, Page and Berden fell off the pace and Powers and Trebon continued to trade attacks and distance themselves from the field. Powers managed to lead the last lap and actually started to pull a small gap on Trebon as they headed into the infield. Trebon laid down the power and caught Powers' heels, but then lost it again and was unable to hang as Powers launched his final sprint and beat Trebon by multiple bike lengths. Not a bad way to start out the year, and I am sure the Rapha team is pleased to take both races here.
You can watch the BehindTheBarriers episode
here. Special thanks to
Woodinville Bicycles again for the great pictures from the event, and to MadFiber for the wheels, which continue to work admirably in the cross racing conditions this year.
Next Stop -
Seattle CX #1
