The Tale of a First CX Race at DCCX
With encouragement and assistance from my teammates, I had assembled a superb cross machine: a blood-red Garneau Steeple. It would be the first race for both of us, but it seemed the more prepared. I had ridden it for several weeks, watched some videos, practiced mounting and dismounting, and rode some MTB trails to get the feel of things. I was nervous, it was at ease. Everyone who raced CX told me how they loved it, something that doesn’t seem to happen in other disciplines, so I had to try.
Early morning light, Day 1. Photographs by Clay Jones and Russell Karn
Day 1: A dusty, tubed start.
Lots of mistakes. I had tubes in my tires, inflated to 38 PSI. CX racers will tell you this is not the recommended setup. I signed up for the race late, which for all of those who don’t know, means you line up in the back of the starting grid. DCCX is a popular race; I was in the 4/5 field with 150 others, starting behind all but 20 or so. I arrived too late for the pre-ride and in fact didn’t even really get to warm up… “just gonna send it.” I lined up and shot off as fast as I could in the crowd. The course had some tight turns early until you make it to the feature obstacle, “the W”. It’s a tight set of three 180° turns on a short steep hill. I was told to just run them the first lap. I did. It was crowded and I lacked the confidence to remount on a steep downhill into a 90 degree turn. So I just kept running, sprinting as I remember, my bike held out behind me in one hand, like a cape. Clay later pointed out that this also is not standard CX procedure.
But I felt more comfortable as the race went on and though my turning never felt comfortable, I was getting into a groove. I worked my way up, and finished 44th. I had definitely burned matches, establishing another HR record, but most of all, I was having a good time. After the race, Clay took me aside to give me some pointers: pedaling without clipping in, unclipping, emergency dismount methods, keeping your weight over the bike properly, seat height, etc. There was lots of room for improvement. I followed him around the course on a pre-ride. I could tell things were starting to click more.
I went back, changed, put on my cowboy hat, and sat in to cheer my teammates on… and observe. Lucia raced at 11. She is an experienced cross racer, and rode the W with ease. Clay and Clark raced at 2:15, also experienced cross racers. It was strange, I didn’t see a single rider in their field reenact my bike carrying trick. Although a few attempted to hop the barriers, some made it. As I watched the races with friends it was immediately apparent how different the cross scene is from road. There are food trucks, lots of spectators (for amateur races), team tents, and even some lil’ Belgians (kids that seem much too small to be on bikes, yet they are) hopping their own mini barriers. Don’t get me wrong, I love road racing. But for spectators and hanging out with teammates, friends, and family, cross wins.
I got home around 6:30 and after a good meal with family, went about setting my tires up tubeless. After a bit of fuss it seemed to work.
Day 2: The Rains Came
I woke up earlier, and got to the course in time to pre-ride half of it and warm up a little. I knew it was supposed to rain today, which meant I was going to get the true cross experience, a little mud and grit. I went to the start but somehow missed them calling my name. So I was starting at the back, and I mean dead last, 102nd out of 102. I went out hard, trying to pass as many people at the start as I could. The course was run in reverse today but “the W” was still early in the course. This time I mounted the bike on the downhill. Improvement. Between Clay’s advice and my MTB skills seeming to kick back in, I was feeling good. The mud seemed to be my friend here. Clay, Clark, and Lucia (and my Dad with his walking stick) all started to let me know that top 20 wasn’t far away.
“Keep Going”
“Get off and run that!”
“Get on, Go Go Go!”
They were calling out my position, next lap I heard about 15th, and last lap 10th. I just kept looking ahead, “OK, he’s your next victim.” It seems as you get closer to the front your opponents start to box you out. A few times I tried to pass on the inside or out and got pushed out, rubbin’ is racin’. I went hard through the last few turns and nailed it down the last tarmac stretch, finishing 7th.
There is no way I would have achieved my result without my teammates, putting the advice I had received into action, and having some of those MTB skills kick back in.
As the day wears on the course changes in cross. In the case of a rainy day it gets very muddy. By the afternoon the turns that I took on the bike were being traversed on foot. Clark ended up breaking his shoe mid-race. How, I still do not know. He proceeded through the mud until realizing it was a fruitless task. Clay broke his chain and almost his femur. Yet both seemed to be in good spirits. Again, I think this is a cross thing?
It was an amazing event. While sitting here in the office, I think back on the weekend with a muddy smile.
