CTM Team Members takes on mother nature at Cyclocross National Championships

Myself and David Forkner were at the Cyclocross National Championships in Kansas City this past weekend. Overall, there were some epic conditions, not to mention the races.

Day 1. Arrive to KC, check into hotel and preride the course. Oh, right, the area had been experiencing an ice storm for the previous 3-4 days. 1/2 inch of ice on everything, even on top of an inch of snow. This made the pre-ride a bit comical. Slick but smooth. Strange riding in 20degree weather after a mild fall in NC.



Day 2. My wife Deb was the first race. She experienced a firm course with decent traction. It was starting to thaw a bit as temps rose throughout the day. Here is Deb in 2nd place, on her way to 4th in this race.











Day 3. Deb's Master's race was a different story. Rising temps thawed the course into pure mud. lots of wet slop. Deb finished 10th on the day.











Day 4. My first race, Masters 30-34. Temps plummeted overnight and we got about 3 inches new snow. The ruts from the previous day's mud were frozen in time. I started 110th on the starting grid and made my way up to 43rd for the finish. I had a terrible race. After the race I wasn't sure what happened, I think I was in a bike race, but I wasn't sure.





Day 5. The mens Elite race. I had a much better race on this day. The course thawed a bit, making most of it ridable. I started 144th on the starting grid and made my way up to about 46th on the last lap before I got tangled in the course tape and spent a ton of time getting it untangled from my bike. A bunch of people passed me and I ended up 59th. I felt like I actually raced, which was better than the previous day.


Overall, I'm really happy with my cyclocross season and feel ready to take some of that fitness into the spring road season. I look forward to stomping the pedals with the team in 2008!