With that, the 2013 MFG Cyclocross season was wrapped up. As has been the case for the past few years, the season wraps up with the iconic Woodland Park race. This race tends to have ridiculous turn-out due to the great location and fun track. This year was no different, and MFG says that over 1300 racers turned out to compete across the day!
The weather was chilly, but the rain was no-where to be seen. There had been some moisture over the week, so the course did develop a few muddier sections, but it was generally tacky and fast. Zac and the MFG crew developed a new course for the race this year, and it was a big improvement on an already great race. A few little changes throughout, including some winding descents and a longer run-up really made the race a new challenge and had the racers pushing the limits.
As tends to be the case with these races, the early races had delayed the starts, and the 1/2 Elite race started about 15 minutes late. The new starting chute was on the paved loop around the park, so the starting speed was fast. As we transitioned into the grass and the first corner, the pandemonium started as racers struggled to keep upright and heading forward. I managed to keep a good line, and made it through unscathed.
The first lap was an experience, not only moving forward through the field, but also racing the new course with other riders for the first time. Seeing how the lines changed with the other racers was enlightening, and I picked up some little tricks from the faster racers that I would use for the rest of the race to make myself faster. Cutting through a gap between the tape and tree, rather than riding around the tree. Cutting across some loam instead of winding through a muddier section. These little changes were made to pass other riders and keep my pace up.
For the majority of the race I was part of the big chase for the leaders. The fast group that was racing for the win was up the course by a decent amount, but our group of 6 riders were battling it out as the fast 2s. There were a few sections that I was hanging on the back, but I was happy that when we hit the tighter turns I was right back at the front. I finally made my move heading into the starting line, and managed to make a small break with two others on the asphalt. We turned up the gas and managed to gap the rest of the group as we headed toward the run-up. The other two riders both opted to ride up the hill and I transitioned to run. Unfortunately, as we neared 3/4 of the way up, the lead rider bobbled and we were all slowed down to get up the remaining way. Lead gone. As we got to the top, the others were back on our wheels again and all that work was lost.
For the last 3 laps, we continued to push along, until another bobble separated me from the group. I spent the last two laps duking it out with the other rider who fell off the back. We traded punches and actually started reducing the gap to the other riders. Unfortunately, the race would end before we reconnected, but it was good to know we were making positive progress. As we neared the finish, I knew the place to move was the final hill. The other rider was in front as we worked around some other riders. My plan was to watch his attack and stick to his wheel, and then counter-attack at the top of the hill and make it to the line in front. He attacked earlier than I anticipated, but it worked well as I was still moving around the other riders. I did grab his wheel, but we were already into the decent when I was ready to move around him. I did make the inside line in the corner, but he managed to hold the lead into the final corners. I stayed on the wheel, seeing if I could get another attack in, but today was not the day for me. I ended up rolling across the line in 25th of the 37 finishers (and 47 starters). Not my best result, but a good race and a nice end to the MFG races.
Now it is time to regroup for the remaining 3 races of the SCX series and finish up my first Cat2 season well. See you out there!
