Last Friday, at 7:30pm, I hopped in my van and drove three and a half hours in the rain on the Mass Pike to Cambridge, where I spent five or so fitful hours asleep, before waking up at the ungodly hour of 5:45am to drive the final hour to Gloucester, excuse me, Glaaahstah, Mass, for the first day of the Great Brewers Gran Prix of Gloucester, one of the biggest cyclocross races in North America.
When I arrived at Stage Fort Park, a very pretty municipal park right on the Atlantic coast, the temperature was maybe 50 degrees, and it was misting enthusiastically. I picked up my number, got it pinned, and headed out on my pre-ride. After my tire pressure fiasco at the BCA cyclocross, I wanted to make sure I was smart about how much air I put in my tires. Traction was scarce on the grassy, off-camber turns that made up much of the course, so I went as low as I could without worrying about pinch flats.
The Cat 4 men’s field was huge: 125 were registered, and all told, I think 99 raced on Saturday morning. Due to some last minute points calculations at crossresults.com, I was staged on the 8th row instead of the 15th. Not that it made much of a difference; with a field that large the start was bound to be messy, and I quickly found myself trapped behind a massive wall of riders as we sprinted our way up the finishing straight, turned onto the dirt, made our way up the stairs through the beer garden, and then transitioned into the off-camber spirals. Yep, off-camber spirals. All hope of staying on the bike was abandoned, everyone hopped off and tromped up, down, and around the turns before hopping back on for the straight shot to the barriers. After the barriers, it was back around towards the north side of the course, which brought more technical turns, a short descent, then a straight shot on dirt to the bottom of the famed run-up (from hell). See below:
I’m the speck at the bottom of the hill (far left). Thankfully, I had put my toe spikes on my shoes, which helped me claw my way up the run-up a bit faster than most. The top of the hill brought a few more turns before a very difficult chute which quickly became very muddy, and then a long, fairly open section past the pits which led to still more turns before a quick jaunt through the sand pits (aka beach volleyball courts). Then it was back onto the finishing straight (which was really an uphill curve), which was almost short enough to sprint but not quite, and really put the burn in the legs. Overall, it was a difficult but still relatively fast course.
I rode a fairly mediocre race. As I said, I got held up in race traffic in the first lap, and then spent the rest of the race trying to pick people off. I had some great technical moments, and I was able to make up time in the off the bike sections, but I also royally messed up a few sections. I never quite got the hang of riding the off-camber spirals, and towards the end of the race I took a turn too tightly and end up tangled in course tape, destroying my chances for finishing in the top 40. I ended the day 43rd, which was higher than my predicted finish, so I count that as a win. Below is another photo from Saturday, showcasing my inability to ride the off-camber spirals (also I think I might be wining the unofficial team quad-off).
I stuck around to enjoy the beer garden and watch the pro races, which were spectacular. The mist stopped and the course drained a bit before the pros went at it, so they were super super fast. It was fun to see current National Champ Jeremy Powers take the win, though I was cheering mostly for his rivals Ryan Trebon and Tim Johnson on the Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com team.
Sunday began similarly to Saturday: up at 5:45am, out of Cambridge by 6. There was more substantial rain coming down as I got my new number, and got in one pre-ride lap. The course was changed for Sunday’s race: the beach volleyball court was gone, replaced by a jaunt through the sand on the beach which ended with a set of stairs. The dreaded off-camber spirals remained, as did the run-up from hell. The previous day’s racing, combined with the precipitation, had turned the course into a muddy, rutty mess. I was staged in about the same location, in a field of 97. I tried for a good start, but once again got stuck in traffic.
My race is slightly less memorable: I didn’t make as many technical mistakes, but suffered from my lack of sleep and from the previous day’s efforts. The beach run was tough, and none of the 4’s could ride it, as far as I could see. The stair run-up was fun, and I always gained time as I pushed up it. I got a lot dirtier than I had been on Saturday. By the end of the day everything I had brought with me was either wet, dirty, or both. I ended up 48th.
Overall, I got two finishes in the top 50% of my category, and I got to enjoy the atmosphere and course of one of the best professional cross races in North America. It was a totally great weekend. I take a “mid-season break” this weekend, before returning to racing in Troy, NY on the weekend of the 13th-14th at the Uncle Sam GP.
