MFG #3 Marymoor Starcrossed

Here we are, nearly halfway into the 2012 cross season and back to a NW favorite - StarCrossed! This race is typically a Pro/1/2 night race under the lights but they run all the other categories later in the day as well to give it a fun and different atmosphere from the standard races. No big international headliners this year since the race doesn't give UCI points this time around, but great aggressive riding from the locals and a few visitors none the less.

My race started at 5:30, so definitely a late one, but it was nice to have some extra rest time after the morning riding the meet-the-team ride which was a little longer than I anticipated, but I think it did a decent job of opening up the legs for the night's event. This year's Marymoor course was a change from what has been run in previous years, with a large stretch of pavement in the parking paddock used on course. I really liked the layout and the speed of the course and hope that the SCCA/Starbucks GP held here later this season uses a similar layout.

The racing was definitely fast and furious from the start and like last week, we started behind the single-speed men, which meant we hit lap track early on and it helped force the break. After a poor start (my foot unclipped as we sprinted to the first corner) I managed to stay in the front group and heading into the back stretch I was in the lead. I led for the rest of the first lap and then settled behind two extremely fast riders (Hammer nutrition, whom I imagine will upgrade shortly, and a quick young rider from BC who made the trip down) and the 3 of us pulled a good gap on the rest of the racers for a few laps. I ended up getting separated from these two riders as we dived into one of the tight hairpin corners, where I got stuck in some single-speed riders and was unable to reconnect with the leaders.

At this point I was content to race for the 3rd place position and kept a consistent pace along the course. Apparently I had let up a bit too much however as on the last lap I was passed by a rider from HSP. I ended up getting around him only to have him leapfrog me again heading to the front asphalt stretch. I powered around him once more and held that lead until the final corner on the infield! I tried to take a defensive line, however I gave up too much space on the outer line and he squeezed by to hit the inner finish-line first. I still chugged along to take 4th only to have to drag-race to the line. The judges determined that this final upstart snagged the line from me due to his RFID tag crossing the line before mine. Once again a podium at MFG lost in the last seconds of the race, however a solid 5th place should move me into a great spot in the overall. There are now 3 races left in this series, so I just need to stay consistent for the remaining 2 months and I should take home the big prize before my upgrade.

Congrats to all our other team riders for showing up to this big race:

Jenny Dallas - 4th - Women's Single-speed

Melissa Desimone - 11th - Women's Single-speed

Way to go on the awesome results!

See you next week for the sand-terror at Silver Lake!