The Slide

If you're good enough to contend for the win or a major placing in a cross race, whatever the category, then I guess that means you go into it with a strategic plan, and the confidence that you can match up with the leaders throughout the start, middle, and finishing portions of the race. You know who the other contenders are, you keep them close at the start, dissect them tactically in the middle, and try to kick their asses in the end. At least that's how I perceive the battles up front, as personally I've never been in a position like that in a cyclocross race... not even close.

For us who live in the middle of the thundering herd, the approach is somewhat different and varied. We know there are dozens of riders in the event who are just flat out faster than us, and whom we stand no chance whatsoever of beating. At major events, these speediest competitors get lined up in the front and we never have to worry about them at all (unless either the course is short and/or we are exceptionally slow, in which case they may lap us). The pack fodder riders all know that by the end of the race, the order gets sorted out and you end up racing against the same old nemeses and victims as always. It might make sense to just line up with them and have at it. But no. Racing is about seeking any advantage you can get. And nothing is so holy as getting your name up on the bikereg race results three spots ahead of Hairy McScrub. So when given an opportunity to line up several rows ahead of your rivals, you're going to make the most of it, right?

So what's making the most of it? And why all these stupid questions? Well, most of you know we've thrown around the debate topic of going out with guns blazing, securing a good spot, then doing "the slide" versus starting conservatively, waiting for the pack to string out, and then making a late race charge to 25th place glory. I'm generally in the latter camp. Going out too hard and blowing up prematurely is almost always the wrong way to contest a race. Maybe it will work better on a course with tons of drafting sections, as hanging on to a spot in a sweet, fast groupetto may draw you so far out in front of Hairy your higher placing will be secure. Most of the time though, cx is more like a TT or even a running race. You won't find people sprinting off the line doing well in either of those. I've also found people who will fight you to the death for the good line on lap one, probably crashing both of you out, will often have no fight left by the bell lap. OK, three long paragraphs in and we haven't started the race report yet. Talk about a slide...

By now those of you who were at Wrentham may have figured out where this is going. Your hero pre-registered, thus earning a starting spot just three orderly five-person rows back from the front of the Master 35/45 race. With 55 or so registered starters, those fast guys who signed up on race morning were a long way back. Even better, since the lineup of pre-registered riders was loosely based on cx ability, in theory I had twenty riders allegedly slower than me stuck in as a buffer between my row and the fast guys in the back. The Wrentham course is anything but a drafting layout, and in fact probably rewards a good starting position more than any other race, as basically the course is one big bottleneck. All this created a perfect storm for a biblical "slide." And slide I did...

I was three rows back, but I had the preferred right edge spot. On the gun we went off, and no crashes at first, but a Union Velo guy on a mountain bike chopped me not once, but twice in the first turns. Thanks. Further up, I tried to follow Soups, but on the big left-hander in the middle of the mess he "ran the cushion" instead of cutting across the inside, and this launched him two spots ahead. I made a mental note to try to remember which turn this berm-shooting worked for him on, so I could foolishly experiment with lines in the later laps. Anyway, all the way to the woods and no major mishaps. More than anything else, I was surprised by the lack of carnage and chaos. Maybe this up front stuff wasn't so bad after all.

Out of the woods and into the first chicane, Jeff Maclean announced to me from the sidelines that I was 17th. At the first switchback at the top of the pasture, I could see the head of the race coming back the other way. It's been a long time since I've been close enough to the front to have such a view in the tape maze. I held my spot for the most part, and ran the hill after the barriers, shouldering the bike. I got the mountain bike guy back, but some others worked their way by me. Lap one down. I don't remember much about lap two, except that I knew I was going hard. Gewilli tried to take me at the barriers with his deer legs, but there wasn't enough room there to complete a pass. Out of the woods Jeff M said "19th" -- the slide had already begun. Amazingly though, on the meadow switchback, the leaders were still exactly the same distance ahead as they'd been the lap prior. This was just confirmation that I'd gone out too hard...

At the end of the lap all I was thinking was "lap cards" but there were none. I snuck a peak at my watch and realized we were going to be going around four more times. I thought about the 10k that I'd entered for Sunday, and how I wanted to do well there, and how I was just doing this race for training, you know, to open up. Into the woods up the autobahn section, I did not take the next cog as I had on previous laps. Basically, I cracked. At least this made the race interesting. You see, I don't have the memory for every detail of a 45 minute race, but there was some passing going on. Some fast guys were working their way through from the back, but I had also recovered a few spots. There was a tall Benidorm guy I'd passed in a group with a few others, and they came back up to me when I slowed, passing me. Then the Benidorm guy slid out in the chicane coming by the top pit. I went right over his carbon wheel, but didn't lose too much momentum. Jeff declined to call out my placing that lap, so I knew the news was grim. Or maybe I just didn't hear him due to the excitement of negotiating the crash scene.

The lap cards indeed said "3" to go this time. I was wondering where was Frankie? He started in the back and had not passed me yet. On cue, he came by in the woods. Then John Mosher. Then some other 35+ fast guys who I don't know. I was now in full slide mode. Better news is I was passing a few guys who must have been sliding worse than me. Or maybe they were lapped. I suspect some of them were selfish assholes from the later races who were warming up on the course. It adds to the confusion. In the midst of this, I was caught by Rob Kramer (Ridley), who is one of my typical nemesis/victim types. Since I've been doing the 45+ and or the "B" masters, I haven't raced him much this year, but I always note where he finishes in the "A" race as that's most likely the neighborhood I'd be in if I had made that entry choice. Rob shadowed me to the low barriers and I elected to clip in and ride the hill to save energy. He ran by me, remounted and had me blocked. But it sure was easier than running. I rode his wheel for the next lap and we took the bell. I thought I had him, but then it was like he found another gear and he pulled out twenty meters. By this time Dave Belknap (frequent nemesis, rare victim, and not a man to stick his nose in the wind at the front of a group, ever) had run me down from behind and quickly and uncharacteristically came right through (I told you there was no drafting on this course). He went after Rob and I immediately realized I was on defense, with more riders lurking behind. Keith Button (Noreast) was either blown or mechanically compromised up ahead, so I went by him, then rode past a chain on the ground. On the last stretch before the log that poor guy was running to the finish, so I took a spot from him. No more changes before the finish and I wound up 22nd. With a starting spot anywhere from 11th to 15th (row 3) depending on how you look at it, this was quite a slide. There was plenty of racing and passing back and forth in there though, and Wrentham is fun. Good thing too, as taking this opportunity to race close to home two weeks in a row was surely going to compromise my efforts at the Canton Fall Classic 10k on Sunday. But that's another story. Thanks for reading.