Planet Bike USGP

September 26-27th brought some of the most eventful pro racing to the Madison area as the cyclocross season begins. This is my first season racing cross and had absolutely no idea what to expect besides a nagging painful feeling.

Saturday: Planet Bike Cup #1

I had received my cat 3 upgrade for cross from Heidi in an effort to not sandbag in the cat 4's, but I had not noticed that the race was the 2/3's. Only did I find out about this small detail until I pre-registered 3 days before the weekend. Great, my first cross race and I get to have my ass kicked by the cat 2's AND my number placed me 70th out of 75 racers in the starting shoot. The gun goes off and I get caught behind a crash before we even cross the starting line...I knew that this was going to be a long race. Lots of chasing put me in at a surprising 22nd overall in the cat 2/3 field. I felt surprised and excited about my finish.

Sunday: Planet Bike Cup #2

My plan for Sunday was to shoot the hole within the pack and chase as hard as I could until I gained some serious spots. I was well on my way to the front of the riders, but another rider crashed in front of me and caused me to flat my wheel. Luckily, the wheel pit was just around the corner and I was able to ride a super duper fast Zipp 404 for the rest of the race. Frustrated about losing all the hard-earned spots, I chased balls-out in an attempt to salvage some of my race. I finally was able to catch the back of the pack and started to gain some spots throughout the rest of 5 laps. After 45 minutes, I found myself crossing the finish line in 24th place after all my chasing and flat. I was pretty happy to place about the same two days in a row, mechanicals included. I am hoping that the rest of the season goes this well and I can be a cross butt-kicker in no time :)

Next up is the Lapham Peak CX race to follow.

B