Downeast Cyclocross #1 - Elite Women, Cris Rothfuss, 10-14
The New Gloucester course is always interesting, challenging and can never be mistaken for easy. This year’s version opened with a long section of pavement – an uphill sprint followed by four crit-sharp turns. I thought that I would have to be redlined through this section in order to get a good start, but it turned out not to be an anaerobic effort as the pack carefully wound itself through the opening corners in a tight bunch, trying not to go down en masse. Hard crit corners and 40 lbs of tire pressure make for an uneasy mix, and people seemed to be aware of this. The game wasn’t fully on until we hit the grass.
The barriers quickly came next, followed by New Gloucester’s signature obstacle, the severely off-camber right hand bender into a steep little uphill. The off-camber forces you to scrub your speed, which makes riding the hill difficult (or, at least, not terribly efficient). While running the hill is the better choice for most racers (myself included), the dismount is very difficult, as the approach camber is bumpy and falls away to the left (dismount) side of the bike. It takes a bit of nerve, skill and luck to nail the dismount perfectly at speed.
Next up was a very fast, fun, twisty woods section. And then the mud. MUD? The entire State of Maine seemed to be dry with the exception of two stretches of surprising thick mud on the race course. Where’d that come from? Left over, perhaps, from last year’s unfathomable mud bath? After the mud, came an uphill grinder followed by a big log followed immediately by a steep, slick uphill run (which made me wish I had put in toe spikes). The log is being billed as the ‘Log of Death’ in the Velonews.com pictures, but it wasn’t quite that imposing, just unique. More twisting, turning, climbing and fast descending, then back out onto the pavement. Which should have been a relief. Expect that it was uphill into a brisk headwind. I think I worked harder on that hill than anywhere on the course.
After we hit the woods for the first time, the lead group smoked out of sight quickly. I concentrated on keeping maximum speed while staying upright through all the first tricky bits and then finally picked my head up to spy a pair of Velo Bella riders not too far ahead. As I worked to get myself up to them toward the end of the first lap, Rebecca Wellons caught up and went around me. She was a good wheel to follow up the paved hill and across the gap to the Velo Bella riders (Anna Milkowski and Steph White). After the barriers and off-camber bit, however, Rebecca seemed to be flagging a bit, not quite riding like herself, so I jumped around her.
Toward the end of the 3rd lap, as I was finally approaching Anna and Steph (having caught and then lost them again over the course of the lap), I spotted another rider ahead coming backwards. It was Mackenzie Dickey, which surprised. I’ve never seen Mackenzie in a race after the first minute or so. Anna caught her first, but unfortunately the catch seemed to ignite both of them. Off they went, leaving Steph dangling behind. I bridged up to Steph just as they showed us 2 to go. Before we exited the asphalt, I came around her hard, not wanting to have to try to follow a very technically skilled rider through the tricky stuff. For 1 three-fourths laps, we rode like that, with me controlling the pace through the obstacles, Steph right on my wheel, and me punching it out of every remount, corner, muddy bog, etc…..trying to wear Steph down and also trying to keep anyone behind us from catching up, as I was now aware (and thrilled) that I was in 8th place in a field where top ten seemed a bit like a pipe dream. As we headed through the mud at one point, I heard Julie Lockhart clearly yell ‘C’mon Steph, stay on her wheel!’ Hey! Who’s your teammate here!? Actually, it made me smile. It’s hard not to root for the Whites. Although, I usually manage not to do so when I’m in heated one-on-one competition with one of them! J
My repeated efforts finally paid off when Steph fell off the pace with about one fourth lap to go. It was a relief not to have to play a sprint game at the end. I crossed the line very pleased with my result. Looking forward to hearing other NEBC tales from the other races, as the club was well-represented in Maine.
Cris