I arrived early to the event to ensure plenty of course recon and pre-ride time. It was a hot day (upper 80s) but since we raced at 8pm, the temperature would luckily drop a little by then. The course was very similar to previous editions of the race, featuring a mixture of tight hairpins and longer straights the cut through and around the Marymoor velodrome in Redmond. Also, as usual for this race, the ground was hard, rutted, and dusty.
The starting chute had been relocated to the backside of the course and dumped you into the dirt access road along the back of the velodrome. From here the course shot over a rough section of grass before a corner along the fence and out toward the front along another rough section. At the end of the straight the course popped over a small raise before a 90-degree turn to the left and another sprint over bumpy grass. This sprint ended with a small gravel/asphalt section that cut through the fence and a 180 to sprint back out toward the highway. A 90-degree left threw you in a straight heading right for one of the night spot-lights before a 180 and back toward the fence. Here an off-camber 90-degree right led into a long bouncy stretch along the team tents before a 180 and into the velodrome park again. A small climb up the embankment of the velodrome before a drop down the hill and a sharp 90-degree left up the hill over a series of log barriers. At the top of the logs it was immediately back on the bike and down the hill into a washed-out 90-degree left along with the entrance to the pits. Powering along the side of the velodrome, we would then race to the back entrance to the track and dump into the infield. A series of winding corners would trace along the infield before the finish-line sprint (very bouncy). After the line, the course hooked left and then right and shot the racers onto the velodrome track to race toward the front of the course. A tight right turn to reenter the infield before a sharp right and a straight into the beer-garden barriers. The sandy exit from the barriers led to the front track entry and we were back out of the velodrome. A few winding corners took us up and down the velodrome hill a few times before sprinting along the back grounds to the other entry of the pits. Here it was another 180 corner and then a short dusty sprint back to the access road to begin again.
After a few pre-ride laps of the course, I definitely was remembering last year and how the course starts to wear you down. My legs were feeling strong and I was ready to race, however the ladies would have the course first. I spent my time warming up more, making sure I was hydrated and fueled, and psyched up for the hour of racing ahead of me. As I expected, the temperature started to drop as the sun went behind the horizon and darkness rolled in. My field began to line up outside the course, and it was again impressive to be part of a race featuring big names like Carl Decker (Giant Factory Racing), Zach McDonald (KCCX Elite Cyclocross), Barry Wicks and Spencer Paxson (Kona), Russell Stevenson (2013 35+ World CX Champion), and even Oregon framebuilder Ira Ryan. Since I am not a Pro or Cat 1 racer, I was happy with my 4th row starting position.
At the gun, we were off. I had a good start and moved past some of the other racers in my area as we wrapped along the back of the course. We continued to haul ass along the course for the entire first lap, people battling for positions and working through the field of racers. I was definitely feeling fast and was rubbing elbows with some big racers. Even though I was running low pressure (~22psi) in my tires, and riding a titanium bike (which theoretically imparts some vibration relief), the course was bouncy and rough. The dust, which in the past has been near-blinding in some areas, was relatively light for our race, and I only really thought about it being dusty on the lead into the dirt access road that formed the back straightaway.
The race started to fall apart on the 3rd lap, as the leaders broke free to form a crazy battle upfront for the huge prize. I continued to lay it out and managed to stay in the "main" group, roughly the 3rd bunch on the course. We were hustling to keep up the pace and make sure the riders behind us were struggling to keep in-sight. I was feeling strong and we continued at this pace for a few more laps, trading blows and slowly pulling further from the racers behind us.
With a few laps to go I started to feel the fatigue. I could definitely tell that our group was slowing down and we started to make little mistakes. I dropped my chain by the pits and had to sprint back on, a racer unclipped mid-corner slowing everyone behind him, another rider slid out too far in a corner and caused some more slowing. I managed to clear some of the riders who fell out of power early, and managed to hold tough for a little longer. With about 2 laps to go, a racer strongly passed me, lighting a fire to chase him. I managed to do well holding him in for that lap, but starting the final lap my legs were feeling leaden. Heading toward the front of the course I was passed by another racer who I often benchmark off. I was disappointed that he got around me and that I was too gassed to chase him back. I just kept churning along to keep him in-sight and managed to finish slightly behind him, ending the race in 20th place of 30 finishers (9 DNFS). Given the mixture of the field, I am pretty happy with the result and hope to continue the season moving forward. Thanks to all the folks out there supporting me, and look forward to bringing in the big results for the rest of the races.
See you next week for Cross Revolutions #1 at Silver Lake.
