Race Report: DCCX Day 1
Race: DCCX Day 1
Category: Men's 35+ 3/4/5
Date: October 22nd, 2016
Race Start: 09:00
Distance/Time: 40 minutes
Weather: Overcast, low-60s
Location: Armed Forces Retirement Home, Washington, DC
Bike: 2015 Santa Cruz Stigmata
Wheels:
Tires: Schwalbe Rocket Ron, 700x35
Gearing: 42 x 11-42
Finish: 79/87 (Incorrect)
Narrative:
DCCX is a great venue: the terrain is nicely hilly, with roots sticking up often enough to keep you on your toes, and the dirt in many of the turns digs down deep. If weather cooperates, the course is smooth and fast. For Day 1, the course had rain the night prior, so the soil was moist, but not muddy. I started the race in position 73 of 115, as I haven't raced CX this season. On the whistle, I clipped in cleanly, and found a good position in the scrum on the left side of the course, ready for the first left turn after the prologue section. I stayed in the scrum through the first third of the course, which meant I ran the little hilly S curve at the top of the course, all the way through the barriers. After that, I worked on using the straight sections to pull ahead of rabbits along the way, trying to find a good line through the turns to maintain my gains. I definitely felt the lack of training over the past couple of months, and I am not comfortable on my CX bike this season, since I haven't done any CX specific training, either. Oh well. I finished ahead of the people I expected to beat, but didn't realize my placing in the group, and so didn't protest my official finish position. After talking with Juan Costanza (PHASE Cycling), I realized I should have received a finish of ~40th place, not 79th, but I didn't realize that until Sunday, so I missed my protest window. NO big deal, as I am not in contention for anything, after the long break I took before the beginning of the season. I am happy that my bike ran smoothly, with no mechanical issues, and my tire pressure choice served me well given the state of the course. I am less than thrilled with my normalized power on the course, as it is significantly lower than my capacity. The lack is due, I am sure, to my lack of technical ability on the CX bike, which means I waste time braking to make turns I could roll smoothly through, and then waste energy coming back up to speed instead of getting faster. Only way to fix this lack is practice.
Category: Men's 35+ 3/4/5
Date: October 22nd, 2016
Race Start: 09:00
Distance/Time: 40 minutes
Weather: Overcast, low-60s
Location: Armed Forces Retirement Home, Washington, DC
Bike: 2015 Santa Cruz Stigmata
Wheels:
Tires: Schwalbe Rocket Ron, 700x35
Gearing: 42 x 11-42
Finish: 79/87 (Incorrect)
Narrative:
DCCX is a great venue: the terrain is nicely hilly, with roots sticking up often enough to keep you on your toes, and the dirt in many of the turns digs down deep. If weather cooperates, the course is smooth and fast. For Day 1, the course had rain the night prior, so the soil was moist, but not muddy. I started the race in position 73 of 115, as I haven't raced CX this season. On the whistle, I clipped in cleanly, and found a good position in the scrum on the left side of the course, ready for the first left turn after the prologue section. I stayed in the scrum through the first third of the course, which meant I ran the little hilly S curve at the top of the course, all the way through the barriers. After that, I worked on using the straight sections to pull ahead of rabbits along the way, trying to find a good line through the turns to maintain my gains. I definitely felt the lack of training over the past couple of months, and I am not comfortable on my CX bike this season, since I haven't done any CX specific training, either. Oh well. I finished ahead of the people I expected to beat, but didn't realize my placing in the group, and so didn't protest my official finish position. After talking with Juan Costanza (PHASE Cycling), I realized I should have received a finish of ~40th place, not 79th, but I didn't realize that until Sunday, so I missed my protest window. NO big deal, as I am not in contention for anything, after the long break I took before the beginning of the season. I am happy that my bike ran smoothly, with no mechanical issues, and my tire pressure choice served me well given the state of the course. I am less than thrilled with my normalized power on the course, as it is significantly lower than my capacity. The lack is due, I am sure, to my lack of technical ability on the CX bike, which means I waste time braking to make turns I could roll smoothly through, and then waste energy coming back up to speed instead of getting faster. Only way to fix this lack is practice.