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Plymouth CX - November 2014


Photo credits: Bob Jenney


Crossing the Line

In 'cross, emphasis is often placed more on how you start (the sprint for the hole shot) than it is on how you finish (when gaps tell a foregone conclusion). There are times, however, when how you finish says a lot.

At the Midnight Ride of Cyclocross back at the end of September, the classy Helen Wyman demonstrated that class. The whole story is here--read on for the Cliffs Notes version.

Helen approached the finish with a huge gap. There was a slower almost-lapped rider ahead, but the finishing straight was wide and Helen could easily have made the pass. Instead, she sat up to let the other rider cross first. And as posted on the blog of that slower rider, here's what happened next.
“Stay with me and I’ll show you some lines.” Helen, in her 6th/cool-down lap and I, in my 4th lap, had a private ride of the course. What I lack in cyclocross skills, I make up for in my ability to recognize a rare opportunity and just how incredibly lucky I am. I rode behind her the entire lap thinking, “Are you kidding me?! I’m riding with Helen Wyman. I am SO freakin’ lucky!”

In that one lap, she encouraged me and she pushed me. What was impossible and terrifying for me during the 3 previous laps somehow became possible. When I finished my race, I was overwhelmed by my appreciation for everyone who had cheered for me, my family, my friends, new friends, racers, and strangers – each word had mattered, immensely. I was in awe of Helen’s generosity. I loved that I had the privilege of racing on the same course with amazingly talented women including the current 2X European CX Champion.
Flash forward to Plymouth. I was nearing the end of what I hoped would my second to last lap. The course was great, with enough technical elements--long steep run-up, barriers, deep sand with a turn, short steep run-up, all in just a few hundred yards--to suit me better than the "grass crits" of Canton and Crosstoberfest.
My lap 1 video - CX




Riding the Sand (Lap 2)



Still, I wasn't on my best day. Alan G (lap 2) and Dan S (lap 3) had passed me despite starting farther back. They weren't far ahead (30 seconds?), but that was far enough. Dan's pass was pedestrian enough, but Alan and I had a fun back and forth.
Dan's pass



On lap 2 of the steep climb, I heard Alan behind me: "I'm right behind you, Jeff."

"That's not good for you," I gasped between deep breaths. I led him over the barriers, across the sand, up the short climb, and through the woods. He tried an ill-advised inside pass on a line that didn't work for him (foreshadowing alert), so he braked and I fended him off. But the "win" was only temporary. As soon as the course straightened out on the open fields, he pushed passed me and built a decent lead.
Alan's pass



As I entered the finish stretch, Alan was nowhere in sight. When I reached the sharp left at the end of the straight, I saw the telltale white of his Mac kit entering the woods. By the time I got to the long steep run-up, I could have reached out and pulled down his shorts. (But that would have been weird.)

I passed him over the barriers, then gave up my short-lived lead when I stalled in the sand. I stayed on his wheel through the woods before he gapped me for good on the flats.
Alan and Jeff



So, back to my nearing the end of my second to last lap. A few turns prior, I noticed the race leader not all that far back. I doubted that I'd be able to hold him off, but I stepped up my effort to give it a try. A rider just ahead gave me a nice carrot to chase. Another few turns, the leader was still there, but the pass wasn't imminent as I crossed the road and took a turn or two.

All that remained was a right, another right, a left, a short straight, and the u-turn onto the finishing stretch. I took the wide line into the apex of the first right in order to set up the one that followed.

Bam!

The leader had tried a tight inside line he couldn't handle and hit me from the right. "Tell me you're there!," I yelled. "I did," he mumbled. But if he had, it certainly wasn't audible, and it certainly was picked up on my video.
Crossing the Line



I'd later learn from a teammate that the leader had tried a similarly dodgy pass without warning.

Had the leader said anything, I would have given him room to pass. And if he'd waited another few seconds, he would have had a straightaway to get it done. There wasn't much chance I would have held him off to earn myself a final lap, but I might have caught the rider ahead.

I'd learn later that the leader's win was by a huge 50 seconds, so it's not like he needed to jam his wheel into a space he couldn't manage. Clearly, the guy had a great engine. Decision-making, not so much--he definitely crossed the line.

And the class of a Helen Wyman? Not in evidence.


The Numbers: click here for Strava
  • 68 of 75 in the Cat 4/5 field (75% back)
  • Distance: 6.0mi
  • Speed: avg 10.6mph, max 21.5mph
  • Elevation gain: 318'
  • Heart rate: avg 160bpm, max 171bpm
  • Cadence: avg 70rpm


DIEFFENBACH CROSS RESULTS


2014 RESULTS

Race Field Distance
(Mi)
Avg
Speed
(mph)
Max
Speed
(mph)
Elevation
(ft)
Elevation/
Mile (ft/mi)
Avg
Heart
Rate (bpm)
Max
Heart
Rate (bpm)
Cadence
(rpm)
Place Field
Size
Percent
Back
Race
Points
(lower better)
Overall
Rating
(lower better)
AVERAGE/MAX -- 7.8 11.1 24.2 343 - 44.1 162 176 71 -- -- 76% 640 --
Shedd Park 11/16 Cat 4/5 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Plymouth 11/8 Cat 4/5 6.0 10.6 21.5 318 53.0 160 171 70 68 75 91% -- 621
Crosstoberfest 10/29 Cat 4/5 35+ 8.7 11.9 17.7 128 14.7 162 170 76 46 53 87% 669 621
Orchard Cross 10/26 Cat 4/5 50+ 7.3 10.9 19.2 361 49.5 157 168 69 27 36 75% 608 621
Canton Cup Cross 10/25 Cat 4/5 35+ 9.0 13.2 22.1 384 42.7 161 174 71 72 103 70% 642 628
Cooper River 10/12 Cat 5 7.5 11.6 24.2 100 13.3 162 176 77 41 63 65% 578 615
Whirlybird 10/11 Cat 4/5 40+ 7.4 9.5 16.3 220 29.7 165 172 75 82 96 85% 652 629
Providence 10/04 Cat 4/5 40+ 9.1 11.4 20.6 653 71.8 164 172 70 89 110 81% 672 629
Night Weasels 10/01 Cat 5 40+ 6.2 8.8 17.9 482 77.7 165 175 52 15 22 68% 633 629
Gloucester 09/27 Cat 4/5 35+ 6.5 11.6 21.3 387 59.5 165 173 76 80 108 74% 642 631
Midnight Cross 09/24 Cat 4/5 8.9 11.8 23.9 299 33.6 159 171 n/a 80 102 78% 646 633
Quad Cross 09/07 Cat 4/5 9.0 10.6 16.6 446 49.6 158 170 75 57 67 85% 660 636


2013 RESULTS

Race Field Distance
(Mi)
Avg
Speed
(mph)
Max
Speed
(mph)
Elevation
(ft)
Elevation/
Mile (ft/mi)
Avg
Heart
Rate (bpm)
Max
Heart
Rate (bpm)
Cadence
(rpm)
Place Field
Size
Percent
Back
Points
(lower better)
Overall
Rating
(lower better)
AVERAGE/MAX -- 7.9 11.2 29.5 462 - 58.3 162 180 77 -- -- 80% 655 --
Shedd Park Cross 11/17 Cat 4/5 7.5 11.7 24.4 417 55.6 163 174 83 72 91 79% 679 636
Plymouth Cross 11/09 Cat 5 7.9 12.0 23.3 374 47.3 163 175 82 23 28 82% 643 636
Orchard Cross 10/27 Cat 4/5 40+ 9.1 10.9 21.3 479 52.6 161 176 75 40 47 85% 667 641
Marty Cross 10/19 Cat 5 5.7 10.3 20.8 515 90.4 163 172 75 27 40 68% 580 642
Casco Bay 10/13 Cat 4/5 9.4 11.9 29.5 554 58.9 161 170 77 54 62 87% 660 665
Providence 10/06 Cat 4/5 35+ 7.3 11.3 19.9 436 59.7 n/a n/a 75 94 107 88% 646 646
Night Weasels 10/02 Cat 4 7.0 8.8 17.0 548 78.3 n/a n/a 72 76 92 83% 698 688
Gloucester 09/28 Cat 4/5 35+ 8.8 12.4 21.5 581 66.0 164 180 79 81 108 75% 651 688
Midnight Cross 09/25 Cat 4/5 8.6 11.8 22.6 253 29.4 162 171 72 73 101 72% 671 698


2012 RESULTS

Race Field Distance
(Mi)
Avg
Speed
(mph)
Max
Speed
(mph)
Elevation
(ft)
Elevation/
Mile (ft/mi)
Avg
Heart
Rate (bpm)
Max
Heart
Rate (bpm)
Cadence
(rpm)
Place Field
Size
Percent
Back
Points
(lower better)
Overall
Rating
(lower better)
AVERAGE/MAX -- 8.0 9.6 -- -- - -- -- -- -- -- -- 93% 711 --
Baystate CX 11/24 Cat 4 9.3 10.0 -- -- -- -- -- -- 93 97 96% 722 704
Shedd Park 11/18 Cat 4 6.7 9.2 -- -- -- -- -- -- 85 95 89% 699 699