VT Gran Prix - Elite Women, Cris Rothfuss, 9-24
Vermont Gran Prix of Cyclocross
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Elite Women
15 starters
NEBC: Cris Rothfuss (10th); Libby White (13th)
While it was a beautiful location for this UCI event, the Catamount Center in Williston, VT is located in a galaxy far, far away! Three and half hours from my house, to be exact. The only reason I trekked so far was that there were UCI points on the line, which seemed to be the motivation for the small, but serious field who made the trip. What’s the big deal about UCI points? Well, the several that I garnered last year earned me a front row call-up on Sunday, which gave me a clear path off the line, a very good start and pretty much the only saving grace for my race. I managed to snag another point, which will keep me well off the back row at Gloucester.
The Catamount course was a slog-fest that required a diesel engine. I discovered that, at this point in the season, I’m only running a 4-cylinder. Peppy enough for the start, the technical elements and even the big run-up, but lacking the big power that this course otherwise demanded. Think long, long stretches of heavy soft grass and mud going uphill (like an evil M.C. Escher painting, this course somehow went all uphill). Yes, there was one big downhill, where all the altitude gain was lost in one fell swoop, but I can barely recall any other place on the course where you could recover. Even the start was evil. Several hundred yards on heavy, soft grass, uphill around an arching 180 corner (no asphalt on the course). My tires were all wrong. They packed with mud immediately, were heavy and slow. Felt like Fred Flintstone tires. The run-up was long, but cool – crowded with spectators, two of whom were beating rhythmically on drums as we hauled our butts up the hill.
As noted above, my start was good. I got off in 4th place, behind Mo Bruno (IF; 2nd place), Rebecca Wellons (Gearworks; 4th place) and Sue McLean (Gearworks). Fairly quickly, Amy Wallace (Richard Sachs; race winner) and Steph White (Velo Bella) blasted by. Heading into the run-up, Mandy Lozano (Cheerwine; 3rd place) chugged by and I jumped her wheel to get past Sue. For the better part of the lap, I sat there in 6th place. But when we hit one of those blasted, long muddy windy straightaways, it felt like an anchor popped out behind me and I started going backwards. Three of us swapped places a few more times during the 4 long laps (apprx. 10 min laps!), but I rolled across in 10th. Not terrible, but somewhat disappointing nonetheless. While the top 4 were definitely out of my reach on this course on this day, I know that I can ride with and on any given day beat riders 5-9. But first, we need more power, Scotty (or perhaps, more cowbell)! Good thing it’s early in the season!
A note on Libby’s race. Our cub junior national champion is now not only riding with the elite women, but beating them! Marci Titus Hall, who finished 6th, told me after the race that it took her quite some time to catch up to Libby’s good start and pass her. At one point during the first lap (when I was still riding well), I looked back and could see Libby not far behind. Nice!