CX Race Recap: Evan @ Granogue

Follow NYC Velo Cyclocross (CX) Team Rider Evan Murphy as he tackles a the 2011-12 CX season, his first as a RISD degree-holding adult:

Last weekend, I headed down to Wilmington, Delaware, for my first attempt at this legendary Granogue MAC (Mid-Atlantic Cyclocross) series event. In excited anticipation of the weekend, I set my sights on a solid finish.

Prior to the starting gun, I tried to do everything right, like pre riding multiple laps, re-riding tricky spots, asking every fast guy I knew what tire pressure to run, but it seemed as though my luck was still down. I spent the first three laps of the Elite race on Saturday caught behind multiple crashes, even getting taken off my bike coming around a flat turn, while working my way through the field. After a last row start I was pretty stoked to have picked off five or so guys, and was heading up the steep back section run-up when I decided to ride it (instead of running/hiking). This is when my chain broke and fell off my bike.

After the mishap, I was encouraged to run to the pits, a friend from Pittsburgh yelled, “gimme your chain, I’ll meet you there!” I know that choosing to stay in the race made no sense as lapped riders are pulled (politely reminded that they are no longer allowed to race with the rest on account of their lack of speed in competition), but I was deep in the (pain) cave and no thinking clearly. I ran ten minutes to the pit only to end up riding a SRAM-supplied neutral bike (complete with flat pedals and 60 psi clinchers) through to the end of the lap, where I was lapped and pulled from the race. I ended the day with one of my best Elite-class results, 39th of 55, mostly because so many others had failed to finish. The result doesn’t look so hot on paper, but I’ll take it!

I decided to race the Category 2/3/4 event on Sunday mostly because I’ve been getting slaughtered in the Elite field and I needed a break (Is it really sandbagging if you’re predicted a last place in the Elite race and have a last row start in the 2/3/4 race??). I made my way up through 124 viciously competitive racers to find myself 10th behind a young, competent bike handler heading into the last lap. It turns out that my decision to follow his wheel was the wrong one as I took the rocky/rooted section far too fast and punctured my front tire. I rode around the course on a flat tire to the pit to grab another flat-pedal-equipped SRAM bike. I finished the last half of the race on a bike with the seat jacked up 4 cm beyond my comfort zone – OUCH – before flatting again! on the finishing straight and bleeding spots to finish 25th on the day.

I suppose the lesson learned this weekend was to take bad luck with grace and finish hard even if you want to quit, because you never know how bad it really is. Thanks to the Dupont family for again lending their property to us bike racers for another excellent weekend. See you on the trails!

all photos by Anthony Skorochod cyclingcaptured.com