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JeffD, DanS, TroyK, AlanG |
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QuadCross this year (Strava)
was a near-replica of
last year's counterclockwise course.
There were enough tweaks to throw me off a bit--I'd find myself preparing for a turn that didn't exist.
Most notably, the back uphill straightaway was missing the small hairpin curve in the middle, meaning that it was a total power section.
And as my lap 1 video shows, I'm not so good with the power. Video of laps 1 and first half of 2 The organizers lined us up by order of registration, so AlanG and I found ourselves in the front row. Alan proved that he'd been paying attention at the Sara Bresnick clinic--he wasn't just thinking about what gear HE was in for the start, he noticed that I was in the wrong one. Adjustment made. The whistle blew, and I got a decent start from the outside lane (note to self: if I ever find myself in the front row again, pick the INSIDE land), getting to the hole shot in 4th or 5th. From there, it was a total passing fest. For the riders behind. I should annotate my lap 1 video BradW-style with a counter showing my position (normally I don't know with remotely enough accuracy what that position is). 5 ... 6 ... 7 ... 8/9/10 ... My "performance" didn't surprise me, as I knew in advance that I was likely heading for a finish in the second half of the field. Still, that didn't make going backwards any more fun. Toward the end of lap 1, things settled in. The course was a blast, damp enough to keep the dust down but not enough to create any mud or even slipperiness (that, or my Rocket Ron tires are as good as everyone says they are). Early in lap 2 (video above), Alan passed me and slowly motored away (because of his skin suit, no doubt). I didn't expect to see him again, but I unknowingly reeled him in on on lap 3. Video of the second half of lap 2 and laps 3-5 I caught sight of him at the barriers (video 2: 12:50) and made contact just before heading in to the woods (lap 4: 16:15). I edged past him on the outside (pass 2: 16:45), he regained his position at the turn (pass 3: 17:00), he led for a bit, then I moved by him to hold the lead (pass 4: 17:30) ... for the time being. I'd gap him a bit on the technical stuff, he'd close the gap on the power sections (is it not good that a guy weighing about 25 pounds less than I do can out power me on the relative flats?). At the top of the back straightaway, he passed me (pass 5: 20:15), but 20 seconds later, I nabbed him again (pass 6: 20:35). My goal at this point was to hold my lead into the woods and hope he didn't do too much damage on the back straightaway. When we turned onto that section, I kept waiting for the skinsuit-clad Waban Missile to come screaming by, but that didn't happen. I took a peek coming around the hairpin that exited the woods and saw him not too many bike lengths back. I was pretty sure that I could hold him off, but I put the (relative) throttle down. There are several spots from that point to the finish where it was possible to get a view of a rider behind and it looked as if I was maintaining the lead. I had the race under control as I made the final right turn onto the short finish straightaway but "sprinted" anyway (somewhere BobJ is cringing at this description) and crossed the line 5 Maclicious seconds ahead. Alan, that was a blast! (Strava Flyby, works best on slowest speed, vertical slider.) |
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2015 RESULTS
2014 RESULTS
2013 RESULTS
2012 RESULTS
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