Hood River Double Cross

Hood River, OR - Two days in a row of racing cyclocross is a good way to tire a person out. Fortunately this year, the weather was a bit more mild, with lower temperatures and a slight misting in the air to help with the dust.

The classic race course of years past was modified this year on day one to go in reverse direction. A bumpy/fast descent followed by a heavy braking 180 turn, some super running sections up/down ravines, and some dusty loose corners made it quite challenging and new. There was a set of 3 barriers right at the finish line that could be taken w/ a lot of speed, affording spectators plenty of exciting views of the action.

Day two had to use the same school venue due to a conflict at the fairgrounds, so they re-routed things in the opposite direction and added some nice improvements to the old classic route. Still two run-ups, but there were no flat barrier sections. Many fresh faces showed up to race on Sunday making the work a little harder for those who chose to race both days. With a 180 degree turn on grass only 8 seconds away from the start line, it made a difference who entered the corner first. Chris led out the race for the first 400 meters or so, but then the fresh power riders took over to set the pace. With some fatigue in the legs, and knowledge that there would be a cumulative effect of all the running per lap, it was a good choice to let off the throttle a bit and see what happened. Turned out to be a wise choice.

Chris Brandt Results:

Day 1 - 4th Cat A men

Day 2 - 6th Cat A men