Seneca CX & Rocktown CX -- Races 7&8 -- More Ups & Downs

Saturday Team Thompson & Sons (me, Jake & Liam) went to a new race held at Seneca Creek State Park in Gaithersburg, just 30 minutes north of here.  So an easy drive.  Part of the Sportif Cup series we would do the Liam/Me/Jake schedule again.  On some level this schedule is tough.  I need to be warming up while Liam is racing and Jake needs to be while I'm racing.  In warm up I found the course difficult to figure out.  It really turned a lot (and remember I like turns).  It was almost hard to keep track because it turned back on itself.  Jake came by me at speed in warm up and I couldn't even keep up.

Liam and Dustin Goodwin got lined up and started well.

I got a few more videos and then had to hop on my trainer.

Here's a photo that Jay Westcot got of Liam:

Notice me taking video by the side

But then while I was on my trainer Liam came over while the race was still going.  he had crashed and hit his head.  He said that his head hurt going over the bumps.  he was crying, more out of being upset about not finishing I think.  he was clearly ok so I wasn't worried about a concussion or anything.  But my legs weren't opening up.  They were sore.  They had been sore at practice on Wednesday and then on Thursday I had to fly to/from New York.

I lined up in the 3/4 Masters.  With points from last week I was in the 2nd row next to Pete Lindeman.  I got a decent start, and was in the top 10 but I was laboring to hold the group.  I lost contact at some point.  The only highlight of this race was I rode the sand the last 3 laps, and by doing that I dropped Al Greene who was tight on my wheel.  Otherwise, it was just bad.  I finished 16th overall and I think 3rd in the 45+.  Blah.
A few photos that Jay Westcot took:

I rode this in later laps

 

Then we got Jake lined up.  He scrumed into the 4th row, but then 10 seconds into the start at the end of the sprint, tragedy.  the idiots around him bunch up and stop at the slightest little kink in the course.  He is stopped, then someone hits him from behind and his chain is off.  he's off his bike and putting his chain back on, literally last and 15 seconds behind the back of the field.  I yelled for him to go and do like Joe Dombroski (i.e. chase from behind).  Jake set off at speed. He was flying and quickly made his way through half the field.

chasing more

With 3 laps to go or so he had made his way into the top 20-15. Here he's with a group (Tanner Brown had been leading but 2 crashes took him backward)

In the meantime, his teammate Andy Fleming was in his first race of the year in the 15-18 race that started behind the Men's 3/4

Jake stayed with the same group with 1/2 lap to go

He finished 16th, which is really pretty good given the start.  He was upset, understandably.  I tried to make him understand that he had gone much faster than anyone in that 2 lap effort to move WAY back up.  Afterward we did a little interview practice while he was cooling down on the trainer, for when he's on www.cyclingdirt.com

SUNDAY

Today,  Jake & I made the trip down to Harrisonburg, Va for the Rocktown CX. 

It's always a beautiful drive out through the mountains; these iphone photos from the car don't do it justice:

 I was 4^th there last year in the 45+ 1/2/3.  It’s basically a climb up a hill then a slalom down, although this year it seemed even a little tighter. 

My legs felt sore still, until the gun went off.  I was in about 5^th off the pavement and onto the hill, I just stood up and just went by everyone, I was 1^st up the hill and figured “ok”, and I held that for the first few minutes until Ron Heubner decided it was time to go bye-bye and shot by me.  I let Jon Hicks slip by and then Scott Stahl, so I slotted into 4^th.  I was there for a lap or so, then Scott crashed coming into the barriers and I was in 3^rd.   I was going back and forth with a guy from Tri-Power, a Richmond team (he won the 45+ VACX series last year I think, his name now escapes me [post edit -- Bill Gilmer is his name, sorry I couldn't remember that last night]), but I was faster up the hill.  Scott Stahl came back by and then so did Scott Paisley from Charlottesville when the tripower guy was slow over the barriers in front of me.  Then I slid out in some leaves and crashed.  I lost a few spots and had to regroup.  With 2 laps to go I was catching up to 2 guys in front of me and figured I’d get them (or much closer) on the climb in the last lap, but as I came through the finishing pavement the officials are out stopping us.  I was like “I’m in the top 10!”  they had stopped everyone in the 45+ who was 4^th and higher.  Just stupid.  We weren’t lapped, we weren’t going to get caught by the 35+ leaders, and we were in the top 10!  If I’d know I had only one more lap to go when I saw 2 laps to go, I would have blown it all out to catch them.  Anyway, I was 7^th.  Not as good as last year, but it was a strong field and the crash took me out of the top 5.

Jake got warmed up and lined up in the 2nd row of the Men's Category 3/4 race.

 He got a decent start, in the top 10 of the road (that guy in front in the video shot off the front and never looked back -- upgrade time maybe)

Jake was moving forward even within the first few minutes.  here they are coming through the tight wooded turns coming down the hill

After the first lap he was 6th.  And after the 3rd lap was in 4th, but was doing battle with a guy from a Richmond team (the guy in red ahead of him on this run up, who he ultimately passed on the hill).

 I stopped to talk with Joe Dombroski who was going to pop in to the Elite race.  We watched the elite race a bit.  Joe was clearly being conservative.  You don't want to tell the folks at Sky Pro Cycling that you've hurt yourself bunny hoping a barrier in a local cyclocross race.

Pro Tour....swoon

With 4 laps to go, Jake dispatched that guy on the climb up the hill, and was chasing the guy from Rocktown Cycles who was in 3rd (Jonas something).  Jake got very close to him going up the hill but the guy was a mountain bike racer and extended his gap in the turns.  In fact, Jonas made a big effort and was getting closer to 2nd.  In the end, Jake had a solid lead over 5th and finished 4th.

They only did a podium 3 deep so no photo, but I thought it was a good ride for him.  Hopefully it gives him a little boost.  His starts need to improve so that he's not fighting through the crowd to get to the leaders.

I was on the fence about Rocktown but I'm glad we went.  It was fun and a nice change of pace.