Alpenrose - Cross Crusade #1

Portland, OR - The skies finally opened up, bringing some traditional cyclocross racing elements in the form of MUD, dismounts, and running.

Chris Brandt, Justin Thayer, and Andrew Bennett all showed up to face the muck and battle for glory in what turned out to be the cyclocross race with the biggest participant numbers EVER! There were over 1,265 racers making laps around the sloppy course throughout the day. That is a lot of bike parts to wear out.

Andrew, racing his mountain bike, raced well to a 6th place finish in the Juniors. Surely he was wishing he was riding a cyclocross bike, which is typically 4-6 lbs. lighter with narrower knobby tires, which pack up with less sticky mud. But he made the best of it showing that this discipline is right up his alley.

Justin started out on his geared cyclocross bike in the Master's A field and was having a great day until a mechanical setback forced him to hop on his spare bike in the pits. Low tire pressure and ONE GEAR wasn't the easiest choice, but it got him to the finish line in one piece. Great job Justin.

Chris was honored to have been called up to the front row of the big "A" event, sandwiched between racers that have competed at the World Championships. The "call up" is typically where riders w/ good results recently, or a reputation for dominance get placed. It's one of the advantages of being ranked well, and having years of experience. Starting at the front makes a big difference during the first few corners as there is a major accordian affect behind. Usually the speeds from the gun are very fast and there is only one line to take in the corners, so it instantly goes single file. Last year, Chris made the first turns in 2nd position, which was ideal. Unfortunately, even though he got a good start, some diagnal riding by adjacent competitors forced him to hit the brakes early and he was instantly in the mid-20's with a mucky field to crawl back through.

Lap one was a tight, sinuous string of riders winding through the course, trying to stay upright. The portion of the course that looped through the Alpenrose Velodrome was particularly dangerous, and it was important to stay off the painted surface. One rider went down hard right in front and that was all the reminder that was needed to be careful. Regardless of that care, Chris proceeded to crash 4-5 times in the slippery mud as he clawed his way back up in the final 3 laps to finish 11th, at the tail end of the "fast guys" club. His Specialized Tricross bike worked perfectly and there was no need to make a pit exchange (and thankfully, no need to make two bike overhauls).

Next week is a new venue for the Cross Crusade series, held in Wilsonville. Most likely, there will be another muddy battle.

Photos taken by www.oregonvelo.com and www.pdxcross.com