November 2010
5 posts
October 2010
5 posts
My cross race yesterday was pretty garbage. I wasn’t diligent enough in setting up my bike, specifically my brakes, and really payed for it. I had my brakes far too loose, training in the dry they were fine, but in the rain and muck we saw on Sunday I had close to zero stopping power. I could barely scrub off speed going into corners resulting in far too many bobbles, the downhill slaloms were near impossible and I flew into the odd fence. Honestly, it was really frusterating but lesson learned and I can laugh about it now.
Last Sunday I headed to Almonte for my first cyclocross race in a really long time. Cross is not a focus of mine, but something about it captures the imagination. Its real, full on man to man racing. It takes the best, hardest most intense elements of racing and compresses them into an hour of madness. Straight up, its wicked cool.
I got my ass kicked. I started with the front group splitting away early in the first lap, I was comfortably with them most of the first circuit until I slipped out on an icy off camber section and lost contact. I went all in for a few minutes to latch back on and proceedingly blew sky high, I went backwards for a while trying to maintain some sembelance of momentum before stabilizing and pretty much just riding my own race. I was somewhere in the top fifteen. The course was not like a traditional cross course, sections were more reminiscent of mountain biking with rocky, rooty, singletrack but it was a challenge and I came across the finish line stoked on it all (well after I got some oxygen back in my system). I’m racing Perth tomorrow, good times.
Also, respect to those who combine full time work with high level racing. I’ve been getting a taste of it this fall.
Wielerland-Uitslag Keir Plaice →
wielerland.nl
Here is an overview of my results this season from Wielerland, it doesn’t include all my races in 2010 but does show most of the significant ones. Results wise it was solid, but of course I want more. Mostly when I’m in the top 15-20 I was in the front group of the race fighting for a win. The races are competitive and the peloton most often is torn to shreds by the finish; its not easy to be up in the front but next year I intend to be better in these finales. I look back and see several missed opportunites. The highlight of the year for me was the Ronde van de Provincie Antwerpen, its one of the biggest amateur stage races in Belgium and save for a broken wheel in the finale of the second stage I would have topped the classification after going to the line with the front group on the other 3 stages. The biggest dissapointment were the Nations Cups in the spring where I raced sick and specifically Flanders where a mechanical ended my day early. I was also shit at Beauce and Nationals. All in all though, I can take satisfaction from a great deal of progress and am eager to go back and play my cards next year.
As a side note, Wielerland is the shit.
