Eugene Psycho Cross #2

Eugene, OR - Three Collins racers showed up for the second event of the local Psycho Cross series, held at Camp Harlow. Decent weather and a new route made things interesting. Narrow singletrack, a steep sandy climb, two barrier sections, and some bumpy riding through plowed farm fields afforded little opportunity for recovery.

Miriam Gillow-Wiles dusted off the cobwebs for her first cross race of this fall, racing on her mountain bike to a decent 4th place in the Women's B event.

Andrew Bennett took yet another win in the Junior category, and used the event as a tune-up for the big Cross Crusade event one day later.

Luke DeMoe showed his strength in the Singlespeed category, racing his FIXED GEAR cross bike to the finish line, and another VICTORY!

Great job.

Villebois - Cross Crusade #2

Wilsonville, OR - One week after the muddy series opener, it seemed that summer had returned for one last hurrah.

Villebois, a new race venue for the widely popular Cross Crusade series, provided 1,213 (!) racers with a uniquely challenging course that pushed the boundaries in terms of difficulty. Hard packed dirt and some rough "construction site" conditions turned this day into a battle of "who can hunker down and suffer the most". Sharp rocks left many by the sidelines, decommissioned by flat tires.

The Collins Cycling Team is slowly creeping up the ranks, with an excellent showing by four team racers who made the trip.

Andrew Bennett, racing on his fancy new cyclocross bike, set the stage, winning the junior race, and riding laps quickly enough to be competitive in the "B" category. Keep your eyes peeled (yes, this has been said many times before) because this kid is still growing (and getting faster).

Luke DeMoe, wearing the tallest blue socks at the venue, was literally tearing it up out on the course, leaving his competitors in his wake during the singlespeed race. Racing with one gear is certainly challenging, but Luke isn't one to make it THAT easy, so he added a few extra variables to his Specialized Tricross bike setup. For one, he had only a front brake, and to top that off, rode with a fixed gear - meaning no freewheel. If the rear wheel is rotating, so are his cranks. To be able to pull that off on one of the most technical cyclocross courses is a feat in itself, but even more impressive... Luke got 6th place the singlespeed race! Superstar. (edit - the results keep getting updated, first with Luke winning, then 4th, now 6th.)

Justin Thayer learned that bad luck sometimes travels in threes, as he suffered yet another frustrating flat tire. He didn't let that stop him as he made it to the pits, took a bike exchange, and finished on his spare singlespeed bike. If tradition holds true, the remainder of his season should be filled with good fortune, starting at next week's Rainier event.

Chris Brandt was so distracted by selling some used parts and getting a warmup in that he lost track of time, nearly missing the start of the Men's "A" race. When he was being called up to the front line, he was at his car pulling on his jersey. Total amateur move. A spectator walked by and said "hey Chris, they just called you up!" Fortunately he was able to sneak into the second row and in a decent start position. It was a rough battle on an extremely abusive, bumpy course that required some big gears and plenty of momentum to survive. Chris kept the hammer down, fired up by a wasp sting between the eyes mid-race, as he pedalled his Specialized Tricross bike to an excellent 8th place finish. It's a real feat to break into the top 10 at the highly competitive Cross Crusade, and it takes a lot of hard work. Hopefully the good results will continue!

Next weekend is a very fast, european style course in Rainier, OR. Will it be a Belgium-esque mud bog like last year, or fast and dry? We'll certainly find out soon...

Full results here.

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

Battle at Barlow Cyclocross

Gresham, OR - Hot weather made for a day of hard suffering at the old classic course at Sam Barlow high school. Last year, it was terribly muddy and nasty. This year, if you didn't sneak a bottle in your pocket, you'd be dying of thirst.

Chris started out fairly conservative after rolling a tubular off the rim during his pre-race inspection. It's hard to be confident in the corners when you're afraid your tires are going to peel off. Since all the tires were glued at the same time and with the same method, it wouldn't be a surprise if it happened again.

This "battle" course has some significant running as one set of barriers are negotiated on a downhill section, followed by more downhill running over some sketchy roots, over a footbridge, then up the legendary railroad tie runup. This is the one place where long legs and a running background gives you a clear advantage. Unfortuntately, there is also some significant pedalling involved and you need more than running skills to be competitive. There was a strong group of about 6-7 guys riding within 10 seconds of each other. Eventually Chris got over the tubular tire fear and the competitive urges kicked in enough to work back up to a decent 8th place finish.

The next race is at Alpenrose, the first of the highly competitive Cross Crusade series. Will this be a year of good legs and good fortune??? It certainly looks like the mud will arive, just in time.

Eugene Cyclocross Series - Race #2

Camp Harlow - The season, it is a changing. With that transition to fall brings disappearing daylight and the last of our evening riding w/o headlights. Tonight's race emphasized that point as the final race concluded in near darkness out in the more wooded sections of the course. Navigating the challenging roots, rounded river rock stones, or loose corners was not done by sight, but by feel and memory of what was seen in previous laps!

Andrew Bennett won the Junior race, then made his foray into the men's B category race, placing a respectable 3rd! Great job.

Luke Demoe showed up with some serious motivations, wearing TEAM COLLINS shorts and putting the power to the pedals for a WIN in the singlespeed category. Will we see him take charge of the "one gear" racing scene?

Chris Brandt thought he was in for an easy evening, with only four category A racers present at the start, none who had proven themselves in past races. With some tired legs from the previous weekend, the goal was to start easy. This was not the case as new-to-cyclocross rider Quinn Keogh (fast roadie) kept him on his toes with the throttle wide open until the very end, with a tight sprint finish. Chris had to pull out all the tricks and various techniques, and that fortunately paid off. He won the battle for the evening, as well as captured the overall series prize.

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

Eugene Cyclocross Series - Race #1

Eugene, OR - The pre-season buildup has finally been released - cyclocross season is here!

The first local cyclocross race took place at Camp Harlow Tuesday evening. With smoke in the air, dust whirling from narrow knobby tires, and the fall season looming, daylight was of short supply.

Andrew Bennett started the evening out with a win in the Junior race. With competition lacking, we will surely see him make a step up and race in the more competitive B category next week.

In the final race of the evening, Chris Brandt led out the "A" Men's field and kept the pace high from the gun. A softening rear tire late in the race made things slightly complicated, but a spare bike in the pit enabled him to make a last lap exchange, preserving the lead.

Justin Thayer, coming back from a mid-summer shoulder injury, picked up right where he left off last fall, winning the single speed category. Luke DeMoe made his presence felt too, finishing in 3rd, also riding his single speed and wearing some camo baggy shorts. Rumor has it, next week he's coming for battle, complete with team jersey and a desire to drive the freight train.

Full results here.