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On the way back from U of DE Parents Weekend, I stopped in Cherry Hil NJ for Cooper River CX. Compared with the prior day's deluge in Bensalem PA, the weather couldn't have been better for a mid October morning: sunny skies and only a mild chill in the air The race officials lined up the Cat 4 and Cat 5 fields with a 1 minute gap between starts. The first whistle sounded and the Cat 4s were off. Then our warning and whistle and we were hot on their tails. I gained some spots on the pavement sprint before the sharp left onto the grass. Typical first lap bottlenecks plagued the first half of the ultraflat 1.7 mile loop winding along the Cooper River. At the far end of the course, a sharp turn/short steep pitch sat adjacent to two barrier-like steps a bit farther along the course. As we'd swing into the turn/pitch, spectator cheers from the steps spilled over to create some extra energy. Riders split roughly 50/50 with respect to riding vs. running the root-covered pitch--I rode it and gained a position or two each time. Despite spectator pleas to ride the steps, uh, no. Preceded by a downhill and u-turn and followed by a u-turn and a downhill, the element no doubt provided some spills for the assembled. I navigated the turn/steps/turn sequence smoothly each time and absolutely nailed it on the final lap, earning me a cry of "Smooth!" and letting me gap three riders close behind. I'd end up holding them off while setting my sights on two riders not far ahead. Out of the tree (and root!--I ran 50psi in my clinchers) covered far end of the course, we rode back along the tree- and bush-shielded riverbank before getting to my favorite element. It was a chicane, but on flat ground with spacing more like a slalom race in skiing than the common deeper turns of 'cross. I'd use my shoulders to bend the tape stakes out of the way like a ski racer using a combination of arm and shin pads to shoot as straight a path as possible. Most of the turns were marked by trees, and trees meant roots, so even when the turns were more sweeping than tight (as they were on much of the second half of the lap), they were a challenge to negotiate. A set of barriers were set not all that far from the finish. They were preceded by a sharp right turn around a small tree. On each of the 4 laps, I managed to knock my helmet against a low branch jutting from the trunk. A couple of more laps and I might have learned. Might have. The two riders ahead had opened a bit of a gap, but I had closed it by my remount and was hot on the trail as we swung off the grass for the finising sprint on pavement. I was gassed by then but so were they. I dug deep and edged one of the two at the line (another 50 feet and I might have caught the other) to take 41st of 63 riders. A lesson from this and other races: even with relatively high tire pressure, I'm able to take advantage of my disc brakes to slow later into the turns and use a tape-to-tape inside line to pass a rider entering the turn just ahead of me. I've also been putting into practice a tip I read recently--rather than rest getting up to speed more slowly, crank hard to get to speed and then ease up a bit. As a result, I end up "cementing" the gain over any rider I've passed. My lap 1 video: The Numbers: click here for Strava
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2014 RESULTS
2013 RESULTS
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