2008 Downeast-Cross Elite Men's Race Report
======================
Conditions:
======================
Sunny, cool and calm with temps in the 50’s. Overall, excellent weather with dry but tacky conditions.
======================
The Course:
=====================
The race is held on the grounds at Pineland farms in New Gloucester, ME (http://www.pinelandfarms.org/).
The course was very similar to that of last year but slightly different as well. We started on the road but then swooped into the front field to a high speed 90 degree left into the high speed barriers and a hard left to hard right to right and down over the bank to the off-camber. From there you were onto the access road down around the fast and loose corned and up around the fast loose corner and down around another roller. Climb up onto another side-hill off-camber, a quick down into a left then a tight loose right around a tree. Now another couple tight turns and a grassy climb to the access road and up then into the roller-coaster section. This section was high speed with a tacky left that is a challenge when muddy, up a rise, down a rise, up a big rise, down a big rise and a hard left off the trail into the big run up through the woods. At the top of the run up, take a hard right onto the upper access road. Hard and fast rolling back up into the field, down around the access road and climb back up and around into another middle field for some more turns in the grass, then zip back toward the main venue with another set of corkscrews in for good measure. As you can tell, the course had lots of corners and switchbacks. Up through the pits into the primary front field and turn and climb past the finish on the pavement.
Long description of a long, super fun and challenging course. This is a must do event, even though the numbers this year were not indicative.
======================
Results:
======================
Men’s 1/2/3 Race:
- Mike Rowell – 1st
http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2008/10/18-Downeast-Cyclocross.asp
======================
Reports:
======================
[Mike Rowell]
I’d tried a couple non-masters races in the past and though that between the course and the expected low turnout, this might be a good race to give it another try at. Cathy and I have done this race the past 3 times it has been held and always like it. We also have a place in Maine so it is fairly convenient.
After taking a couple early recon laps with Cathy and a good solid hot lap right before our start, I lined up with eight other racers. I recognized many of these kids from some of the P/1/2/3 road races I’d done this past season. I say kids because they mostly all looked so young. The clear favorite was Brendan from Mechanical Services/PVC, who I recognized as the winner of Topsfield a couple months back. Other likely candidates were Ryan from Noreast and Tom G. from IF. I’d raced Tom a couple years back at Porky Gulch and he beat me handily. I had the fortune of being a silent unknown.
At the start we sprinted down an Brendan got the lead into the barriers. I was mid pack but got caught behind Tom G. who got pushed off into the tape. This is great, I’m next to last over the barriers now. No worries, just move up. I passed a couple in the off-camber then a few more on the next off-camber, which I determined in warm-ups was fastest to ride straight up then hit the flat at the top and sprint. Clearly it worked. At that point I was in third and at the run up, which I chose to ride, I went up to second. From there I tried to make time on 3rd and gain time on 1st. Brendan kept a solid pace and in the first couple laps managed to get a good gap on me. What I had going for me was my consistency and I was turning laps that were within a couple seconds of each other give or take and the gap started coming down. With about 4 to go the gap was way down so Brendan could see me in every corner. I suspect this caused him to push a little too hard and he crashed. I came by him and attacked for all I had and could see in the next corner that he was back up and fairly close so I kept moving. After a half lap of heads down I’d made so room so just kept plugging. The laps peeled off and I tried to ride hard but conservative. It worked and the gap increased steadily over 2nd place. More importantly, I didn’t crash and nothing broke, which is always my fear when the going is good.
In hindsight, I think the fact that I road the run up and that I had a much better line up the off-camber paid off huge. This just goes to show how important it is to practice your skills and also to recon a course before a race to find out the good lines and where you can make up time or goods spots to attack.