I have not raced much cyclocross this season, but the races I did do were a blast as always. I just wish there was more time and that the races were a bit closer so that I could do more.
This last weekend the CX State Championships were held down in the Mpls suburb of Crystal. The weather was scheduled to be snowy and wet which in CX terms is just about perfect. Matt had to work at Hornbacher's until 9pm on Friday so we opted to pull our butts out of bed early Saturday AM to get to the race venue in plenty of time. It required some guilt and peer pressure to get Matt Engen to join us. Ben came along for all the shenanigans too.
This is the view that we had as we rolled into town. Everyone in the vehicle is a winter guy so we were delighted.
This is what my bike looked like as we pulled into the parking lot of Basset Creek Park!
The start of Matt Engen's race - full out dump of snow! Matt Engen, Matt Wenzel and I were all waving the flag for Maplelag and stood out nicely.
Matt Engen post race. Check out the snow on his helmet. Better yet, check out the smile on his face! Matt's group was the first out on the course which made it tough for his CX4 class as they were the group forging the trail for the rest of us.
Matt looking all cold before he clicked in at the start of his race. Matt raced the Junior class and finished 4th overall, 3rd in his class. This was Matt's first and only race this season and he kicked butt.
Mark Engen and Rob Belz prior to the 45+ age group. For a bunch of old guys we have a good time and can still push the pedals. I am fortunate enough to know most of the guys I race with and consider myself lucky to toe the line with such a good group of racers.
Me post race...Matt and Ben making sure that I was still alive! I had a tough race. My fingers were frozen and I had to stop and steal Matt's mittens to keep my hands from falling off which resulted in a loss of precious time. The course conditions allowed for you to ride in the track left by your fellow racers but if you got off the main line you wasted a bunch of energy trying to pass. There were a couple of places that you could pass and I took advantage as much as possible.
All of the greasy mountain bike racing I did last summer helped with the freezing conditions as I was able to stay off the brakes and on my bike the whole race. I have raced in most everything, but this race was up there in the most challenging and fun.
Chad Weisgram and Rick Laliberte riding for Brone's were at the race enjoying the day as well. Rick had hurt his shoulder a month ago. This was his first race back and he choose a doozy and rode well.
The famous step climb in the back part of the course. Crazy stuff goes on here with the racers and spectators. The heavy snow was causing a lot of trees to snap due to the extra weight. You could hear them snapping all over the park.
There were races scheduled for Sunday at the same place but we looked at ourselves and all our wet clothes and headed home. Overall great day!
I would like to thank Matt Engen for most of the photos. I snipped them off of his Facebook page.
Check out all of the results and a pile more photos on Skinnyski.com by clicking
here.
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