Forums >Look What I Can Do!>I won a cyclocross race!
rectumdamnnearkilledem
Looks like all things that could be on a mountain bike course - But in a controlled environment and the bikes look like a lot smaller less nobby tires than mountain biking. I am sure I am offending someone - But it looks like a sprint mountain bike race they put in a loop controlled environment ( more spectator friendly) with purposefully longer segments put in to carry your bike. Having smaller courses also would allow them to be set up in much more population dense urban area parks. When I get time I will Wiki it.
Looks like all things that could be on a mountain bike course - But in a controlled environment and the bikes look like a lot smaller less nobby tires than mountain biking.
I am sure I am offending someone - But it looks like a sprint mountain bike race they put in a loop controlled environment ( more spectator friendly) with purposefully longer segments put in to carry your bike. Having smaller courses also would allow them to be set up in much more population dense urban area parks.
When I get time I will Wiki it.
Yup, that's kind of the gist of it. Next week there is a non-series race that is actually on some relatively un-technical mountain bike trails. We're not sure we will go, since it's still an hour away and we have too much crap around the house in need of doing that we've been putting off for too long.
There are a lot of folks who do the races on mountain bikes and in some places they are at an advantage (rough downhill terrain, steep uphills), but then when they come to barriers and have to carry their bikes over it's a good deal more work. My CX bike is about 21#s. A comparable quality mountain bike would weigh at least 10#s more, especially if it has a suspension fork, so it's not as easy or fast to carry one over obstacles. Mountain bikes are also slower on long, grassy stretches. They're more work to get up to speed and keep there, because of the weight.
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
You got it.
Cyclocross came way before mountain biking but Americans invented mountain biking so it's understandable that cyclocross would seem to be a derivative activity.
Mountain biking does have a short track discipline that is similarly spectator friendly. Speeds at cross races tend to be a bit faster. Mountain bike courses also tend to be more rugged.
This makes some sense as other countries (Europeans) are much more population dense and much more into spectating athletic events like this - That also makes sense why the tired are so tiny.
To be honest this is the 1st I have ever heard of it - Is it a growing sport?
You got it. Cyclocross came way before mountain biking but Americans invented mountain biking so it's understandable that cyclocross would seem to be a derivative activity. Mountain biking does have a short track discipline that is similarly spectator friendly. Speeds at cross races tend to be a bit faster. Mountain bike courses also tend to be more rugged.
Long dead ... But my stench lingers !
It really seems to be (not sure of the growth overseas, but in the US it's definitely getting some legs). I'd not heard of it until maybe 5 years ago. DH did one race at the end of the season 2 years ago. Even a couple of years ago we might see 4-5 women, total, in the C and B races. There is ONE woman in the area who sometimes does the A race--she is also a national champion endurance mountain biker, so she kicks a lot of the guy's butts, too. Now we generally see 5-10 women in the C race and at least 2-3 women in the B field (masters and general field, combined). The B race has gotten HUGE at some races. Overall I think we generally have at least 150 riders at a given race between all 3 events. And a lot of kids are starting to do it, too. There are a few super serious kids who hand me my ass each week. There is one boy who is 14 (I think) and frequently beats my husband in the B race. This kid also does criteriums all Summer long and both of his parents are super strong riders, as well. It's fun watching him progress.
Kisscross is the series we do. It's a lot more casual and lower-stakes than series elsewhere. Mostly these end up being a way to make the most of racing outdoors when the weather turns to crap.
Trailer for a CX documentary. I looked for this full film a while back and didn't have much luck finding it, but there are lots of links to related videos along the side that are fun to watch. CX is definitely a bigger deal on the West coast...Oregon has a pretty big CX industry.
When I was racing mountain bikes in the mid-to-late 1990's some of the guys I used to ride with would do cyclocross races in the winter. It seemed like there was a fairly robust cx scene in New England even then.
Runners run
Like most things, I think we're late embracing this here in the Heartland. NE strikes me as having about the perfect climate for CX, kind of like the PA NW area. After this Summer's drought our races have still been a bit dry. The muddy races are always fun and make for better spectating, so I hope we'll end up with at least a couple. Our final race of the season is early Dec., so only 5 more opportunities in this series.
I may have only tried cross this year but I've been spectating since the 90s. I say it's definitely niche with a core cult following. You can't just show up and participate in a race like its some sort of marathon parade. In cross they will pull your ass off the course and send you packing if you are slow and getting lapped.
My goal this year is to always to finish the same # of laps as the race winner and not get lapped. So far, so good. Actually, last year they didn't pull people who had been lapped (and I got lapped a few times...mostly by guys who should have been doing the B race, in the first place), but this year they are using chip timing and estimating lap count after the lead riders finish a lap or two AND moving sandbagging riders up a level based upon their actual times. On Sunday I guesstimated that I'd only be doing 3 laps based upon my past performance. I was actually not real thrilled when I finished my 3rd lap and still had a lap to go (this is what happens when I get TWO good nights of sleep in a row and have an especially good race). I think my last lap was my slowest...I was pretty toast. The B racers only ended up doing 2 more laps than the C race participants. Only 3 of the 5 women in my race finished all the laps. A year ago I'm not sure I would have been one of them.
Congrats! That is super awesome!
not bad for mile 25
Congrats, and thanks for sharing the great photos!
Thanks!
Woohoo!! Awesome job! Congrats!
Back atcha, fellow winner!
Huh, how timely. A cyclocross-related story was on NPR today.