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Capital Cross Classic

by Joe Foley

The Capital Cross Classic was the the last local cross race of the year and by virtue of being a UCI international race and part of the Verge MAC series was also one of the most competitive of the season. The field sizes are down a bit from the beginning of the year but those racers not frightened off by the cold are the hardened ones, and for the most part the fast ones.

I drove out to Reston early, knowing that i’d need to get out to have a look at the course before the start of the C-race since the day was scheduled differently than most cross races and the killer-Bs were the 2nd race, rather than the 3rd. on my first pre-ride lap of the course, bundled up to keep warm, my hands went completely numb. i could hardly pull the brakes and shifting wasn’t possible by the end of the lap. Instead of heading out for a 2nd lap i went back to the car and spent 10 minutes rubbing my hands together to get the blood flowing again and feeling back (and the pain to subside).

Once i had feeling back in my hands i went back out onto the course for another look for good lines, then back to the car to take a quick break to see the C race start and get checked in before starting my warm-up. rode around the roads outside the park to get warmed up.

the start was chaotic. i got a decent position on the line in the scrum, 3rd row, right behind the call ups. a couple of guys were joking pretty loudly and then with no warning from the offical the whistle blew and no one knew what to do. a couple of guys started then stopped someone asked the official if we should start. he said yes and we started to move. the lane i was in was the last to move, but it didn’t really matter since i was headed to the back of the field anyway — my starts have been bad all year, it just seems like i don’t know what to do when the pack starts moving.

after the first couple of turns i was near the back, with mike scardaville right behind me, and we spent the first lap passing some slower riders that had come around us on the start. we passed a large group at the top of the big climb on the first lap and after a couple of trips around the course mike and i were locked in a battle with squadra coppi’s peter nicol. we hung with him for a while, taking turns pulling, untill he started to get away from us. a couple of laps into the race i thought that i was probably holding mike back, so i told him that i thought he should just go.

mike started to get a little bit of a gap on me, but i was trying to keep in touch and was starting to feel a little better. a lap and 1/2 later, with bernie mcdonald from charm city hot on our tails, mike slid out in a turn and fell. i’d been trying to beat him up the climb and through the corner before this one, so i was right on his wheel. i managed to stay upright and get around him while he was on the ground.

in the last couple of laps a 3sports racer started gaining ground on me on the long climb after the dam. with one lap to go he closed a 50-yard gap to get on my wheel at the top of the climb, but by the bottom of the downhill he was back by 30-yards and in the flat section before the next climb i was able to build the gap up again only to see it disapear again on the next lap.

on the last lap, he closed the gap down again, and as i wound around the top of the little hill i kept focused on keeping him behind me. if i got onto the downhill first and he rode it as slowly as he did the lap before, then i’d be in good shape to hold him of to the finish line. the strategy worked, at the bottom of the downhill, instead of hearing his wheels creeping up on me there was no one. i stayed on the gas for the rest of the course, slipping a little but staying fast through the muddy corners, staying smooth and balanced to the ride the little rooty climb, turning the pedals to churn through the muddy and gravelly sections, and then opening it up on the road to finish strong.

my placing may be a dissapointing looking 30th of 46, but i was really happy with my race. i felt comfortable throughout the race, no cramping like last year, and was able to stay strong all the way to the end.

congrats to evan and matt for their good results. matt took 1st in his last C-race and evan took 2nd in the killer Bs. lots of DCMTB/City Bikes/Metro Gutter riders will be heading up to cyclocross nationals in a week and half so look out for some good stories from providence soon.

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