The weekend of November 21st and 22nd 2009 brought some incredible racing to Pioneers Park in Lincoln Nebraska. Over 100 racers came from six states, to see what the boys from the “Cornhusker State” could put on, and let it be said right from the start that they did not disappoint.
After the 450 mile drive from Cheyenne to Lincoln, I went straight to the park to see if the course had been set. It was, and I had a chance to talk and ride with some of the local guys. After some conversation about the local riding, and how the race would be set up, we pre-rode the course for Saturday. I was immediately impressed with course. To my surprise, there was no mud, or sand, but instead lots of grass, winding through trees and up and down hills. I felt right at home.
On Saturday I arrived early to register and check out the earlier races. As I sipped my coffee, I wandered over to where it seemed like everyone else was watching the race. When I got there I saw the sign for the aptly named “Hooligan Hill.” As the masters made the sharp left turn, dismounted, hurdled the barrier and began to run up this steep loose monster, I thought to myself, “WOW, what did I just sign up for? This is the biggest run-up I’ve ever seen!”
As my start time approached, I dawned my new Jamis skinsuit, did a quick once over on the bike, and began to stretch and warm-up, then went to the starting line. I was early, so when the called for us to stage I got a nice spot on the line. Shortly thereafter, a man pulled in next to me, wearing a skirt, and lipstick. “Apparently no one else knew this was a “cross” race.” he said. I chuckled.
The whistle blew and we were off. 21 guys jostling for position for a short time before we hit the grass. I got in behind the guy that got the hole shot, and sat closely on his wheel amongst the commotion. Around the first turn four or five guys got around me, so I shot around the guy I had been drafting. As we came back through the first barrier section, I managed to get around a few people, and got comfortable in the lead group. We immediately started putting time on the rest of the field and before I knew it, it was just me the leader. He and I worked together/dueled for the rest of the race. Each time we went over the run-up, the screams, cowbells, drums, etc were deafening. My heart was pounding, my mouth was open, gasping for air, and looking over at my competitor, I could see he liked this hill as much as I did.
On the last lap, I had trouble getting back into the pedals after the barriers, and he attacked. “Oh crap” I thought. Fortunately I was able to close the gap, and counter attacked shortly afterward. I had the gap. When we got to the run-up again, I sprinted as hard as I could. As I entered the pavement section, I could see that he was several seconds back, and I sat up in the saddle and gave a fist pump as I crossed the line alone, realizing that this was my first ever cyclocross victory!
The second day promised to be equally if not more challenging. The course was in reverse. One might think this meant the omission of “Hooligan Hill.” Unfortunately not. Plus, they added “The Chute.” A steep U-turn section after descending a big grassy hill, with a long sweeping turn at the bottom.
Lining up I noticed there were few of the people from Saturday, but several new racers. The whistle blew, and we started up the very long, very fast paved section that had been a descent the day before. A young KC man got the hole shot this time, and again, I followed closely. In the trees, I was able to pass him, and gain some time. I was the first cat-4 racer to pass the hooligans, who were out in force. There had to be twice as many people out watching! I was happy that I was able to do the run-up and the chute by myself, because I was unable to pre-ride them.
I found myself leading five other racers away from the rest of the pack. Before the end of the first lap however, I dropped my chain. The guys behind me flew past as I tried to work out the problem. Once I had the chain back on, I had work to do. Those guys had opened up a decent gap on me, and the chasers were closing quickly! So I focused on the guy in front that I could still see, and chased.
I managed to close the gap, without blowing up, in a short enough amount of time. Then, I noticed that the guy who had come in 2nd on Saturday was in the group. I worked my way up to him through the barriers, and sat on his wheel up the hill. When we got to the grass again, it became a rugby match. We were into each other in every turn! Tires rubbing, leaning on each other, it was fantastic! And the hooligans went nuts over it!
I passed 3rd place in “The Chute,” and made my way up to 2nd place. After passing him on the pavement, I set my sights on the leader. But after trying to chase him down, I saw him on his last turn towards the finish line and realized it was futile. And after a short battle with a chaser for 2nd place, I crossed the line too. After the awards ceremony, I loaded everything up and started the long drive back home.
All in all, it was a fantastic weekend. Easily the most successful I’ve had in my career. Thanks so much to all the guys in Lincoln for putting on a fantastic race, to Jamis Bikes, and to my fellow racers for making it so much fun! See you guys next year!
