NBX 'Cross - Women's Reports
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Saturday Conditions, Course and Notes
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Flat, long power sections, frozen dirt. One set of barriers and two sand runs. It was COLD with temps in the low 20s.
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Sunday Conditions, Course and Notes
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The course had about an inch of snow on it that quickly got packed down and icy. conditions changed between races, with some sections softening to mud/dirt. The barriers were moved to an uphill section of the course, and the sand sections remained, with the second of the two becoming even longer than on Saturday. Course changes made this a more technical course than on Saturday, and weather made it even more challenging. Temps were still cold, and the wind picked up on the water throughout the day.
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Results – Saturday:
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Women’s 3/4
- Cathy Rowell – 11th
- Janet Ramos – 24th
- Karin Turer – 30th
- Kathy Graves – 32nd
- Julie Lockhart – 35th
Women’s Elite
- Sally Annis – 3rd
- Cris Rothfuss – 6th
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Results – Sunday:
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Women’s 3/4
- Cathy Rowell – 12th
- Teri Carilli – 15th
- Janet Ramos – 22nd
- Katherine Snell – 23rd
- Kristen Luckach – 26th
- Kathy Graves – 28th
- Julie Lockhart – 29th
Women’s Elite
- Sally Annis – 4th
- Cris Rothfuss – 6th
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Reports:
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[Cathy Rowell]
This weekend was tough – I think being late in the season and tougher weather conditions both contributed. I had “ok” races both days, but nothing stellar.
Saturday’s course was fairly non-descript, in my opinion. The ground was frozen and the course was fairly flat, with only two notable sand sections. It was FAST out there, and required way more power than skills, which was ok for me, but not great. I ended up alone, between two groups of racers – never quite able to catch the group in front (although I heard I was gaining on them in the last lap), but able to hold off the group behind.
The course on Sunday was much more technical which I liked. What I didn’t like? The snow/ice on the technical corners. I went down (not hard) on my pre-ride, and I think that got into my head A LOT. Sunday also featured longer sand runs than the previous day – oh boy! ;-). On the first lap, I got caught out getting into the first sand section, but was still with the front group going into the second half of the course – with the icy corners. I took this section WAY too conservatively – to the point of having Teri pass me and ask if I was ok. Once I had that section figured out, I was ok, and managed to make up a few more places (getting past Teri on the sand run-up by running into her with my bike – sorry!), racing to hold off three chasers close behind.
After the weekend, I was BEAT – the running was more than what I am used to, and I think that is what has hurt the most (including the bottom of my feet). My shoulder has the beginning of the season shoulder bruise – I don’t normally shoulder in a way that puts the weight of the bike squarely on my shoulder, but had to this weekend.
Next weekend will be the last race for me, and I am doing it more for fun than anything else. I’m actually going to race my singlespeed in the open category, so expectations are fairly low ;-). I think I’m looking forward to that time off the bike!
[Janet Ramos]
Saturday: My goal for this race was to get into the top 20 but as I saw over 40 women on the start line my goal changed to finish in the top half. My first lap was okay, I just hung in there with the group that I was riding with. As the laps went on my legs loosened up and I was able to pass a few people (juniors included). For some reason the 2 sand sections were pretty easy for me to run so that pumped me up a little bit. On the last lap as I rounded the gazebo all I could smell was the heavenly scent of hamburgers – that was the last push I needed to finish up the 5th lap of the race. Mmmmm, hamburgers and cross, what a better combination???
Sunday: Overnight the race course took on a whole new dimension given the 1-2 inches of snow that fell. So my revised goal changed from a top 20 placing to not going down on the icy corners. I held back at the start which is not what you are supposed to do in cross but the starting pavement was a big sandy and salty puddle. Over the course of the race I managed to pick off a couple of riders and the two sand sections were even easier to run today for some reason. At one point in the race Catherine Snell and I were running side by side on the beach and some dude said “you guys look great, very strong.” I kinda felt like Bo Derek in the movie “10” when she is running on the beach except that I was dressed like a snowman with a bike on my shoulder (haha). So yet again on the last lap I smelled those hamburgers and I gave it all I had to get to the finish line pronto. And let me tell you there is nothing better than a cheeseburger after being redlined for 40+ minutes in the snow. Thanks for reading, have a great winter and good luck to those that are racing at cross nationals this week.
[Karin Turer]
Well, the cross is getting better and better – too bad the season’s almost over! I’m just getting warmed up.
It was strange. I hate early wakeups, but somehow I got out of bed on time, and even had a relaxed breakfast (no post-race cold oatmeal!). I got to the venue early, with plenty of time to relax, ride the course, change, cheer, and stretch before our staging time. Twilight zone!
I felt the strongest and best in this race than in any other this season – my back usually shouts and screams, but the stretching (why haven’t I been doing this more??) kept it at bay. The run-up and sprint practice from earlier in the week was the perfect warmup for this course with its two sand runs. The whole race, I knew there was a whole bunch of people (again, unusual!) behind me, and I wasn’t going to let them go by without a fight – I felt strong enough and comfortable enough with the non-sketchy course to take on more challenges. The course was fun had that hard-to-find “flow”. Plus, I liked that there was a crowd watching at the barriers – unless I mess up the timing (which I didn’t at NBX) I take pride in really boinging over them. With my stubby legs, it’s a bit of a crowd-pleaser!
The whole race felt like it was over so quickly! 30th of 38 may not sound like much, but I think it’s my best result. More importantly, it keeps getting more and more fun! See you at Ice Weasels!
[Julie Lockhart]
Countdown to Nationals …
Race ‘hard’ Saturday … Practice Sunday(no competetiveness) %-)
Sat: Fairly good Start (gotta work on the line – got caught behind a slower rider who had passed me), too tentative into the sand, and there was such a crowd to run by … passed at the top by a few. Fast forward to lap 3, some people behind me and maintaining position, could not ‘see’ people in front, thus no idea how to push to catch. Note to self, focus of top speed even if no ‘target’ ... the target will appear if I give my all. Rubber down, more confidence built for NATZ.
Sun: Better Start (almost excellent – I still sort of don’t keep the power on – Note to self practice w/power meter to see what is happening) ... into same sand, more relaxed, since this one was all for NATZ and the snow was perfect, in case … started with 3 behind me, but kept my level constant to effect steady Aerobic w/o taxing muscles … then started do-si-doing with a rider (competetiveness surfaced) and managed to put some distance on her and had a great time. Tried different lines, approaches to the sand and run ups. Experienced/survived slide-outs … again more learned. See ya at natz Terri, Libby, Victoria, Cris, Sally (Rebecca) and the guys.
[Katherine Snell]
Recently it seemed that every time I got a little more comfortable on my ‘cross bike, the courses would get significantly more difficult and keep me from doing better. That was certainly the case the previous week at Sterling where I chickened out riding sections that I could’ve/should’ve ridden and lost lots of time for an abysmal finish. Despite the snow, I liked the NBX course much better. No tricky steep up and overs, no icy run-ups, no off-camber steep downhills and I’d finally solved my pedal issues (thanks Cathy!). I only had time to get a quick lap in for warm-up before the race and rolled up to the line in the last minute before the start. I made a good start and managed to move up a little before hitting the dirt. I then lost a few places through the run-up and the barriers and was racing with Janet Ramos and Leah Pappas-Barnes after the first lap. We traded places though out the race. I made a couple of passes that I was fairly pleased with only to lose position on my remounts (more to work on next year!). I eventually finished behind Janet and ahead of Leah despite my best efforts to screw up on the last lap by riding into the pit. While enjoying the free beer (my first one at a CX race since my kids weren’t with me this week), I noticed that my name was not on the list of finishers! Turns out the officials had my number wrong and we got the issue corrected after a little running around – so as Cathy says “Always check your results!” Yup, got it!