So, the 'cross season has been in full swing for a month and the Salem Cycle-Comp Racing team has been racing almost every weekend since mid-September. We've had some good results and some tough races, with some broken derailleurs at Gloucester, but we've also stepped up and raced some tough races taking on the Open Masters race at Brockton and taking our teams first win of the season at the NE Velo 'Cross. Way to go Scott!!!! So, from here on out, the results and race reports will most likely come from yours truly, but I will do my best to capture the gist of the races from everyone's perspectives and I might even post a little personal commentary...
Comp Racing came out in force at Canton on Saturday, fielding 4 riders in the Cat 4's which included the newest member of our cycling team, Chris Field, sporting the Comp Racing colors for the first time. With the chaos that is the Canton Cup Cyclocross free for all at the start, we all lined up about mid-pack, with Chris and Matt one row in front of me (Kurt), with Eric directly behind. The whistle blew and sure enough the guy next to Matt, who was directly in front of me, broke a chain, causing Eric and I go have a really slow start. As we make our way into the energy sucking field, still tightly packed heading into the first sharp turn of the race, a guy came to a complete stop in front of me... I jammed on the breaks and came to a complete stop and watching at least 30 guys pass me. Not wanting to be relegated to tail-gunner, I surfed from group to group, gaining 3 spots here and 3 spots there until I caught Matt and Eric. Chris at this point was long gone, cruising up toward the front of the race. I road with Matt and Eric for a few minutes until we got close enough to the next group in front of us. I moved around Eric and Matt, hoping we could get the Comp Racing train going. We moved up a few more spots, through the slippery road section in the woods. I looked back at the next hairpin and Matt and Eric were both about 5 spots behind me. I bridged to the next group hoping at some point, to see Chris in my sights, but he was GONE!!! So, as the race progressed, I looked back periodically to see Eric chasing hard behind me and Matt G chasing hard behind him. The race ended with all 4 Comp Racers, unscathed, with Chris taking....drum roll please.....8TH overall out of 110 finishers!!!! I ended up finishing 58th, after dropping back at the start to someplace in the back 20, Eric finished lucky 69th and Matt "I suck but I love this sport" Garceau, coming in 87th.
On the ladies side of things, Jen made her debut at Canton! On her bike that now fits her better, she rocked the black bike and orange tape and yes, in the Halloween spirit, black and orange ties around her pigtails! The women's races this season have been getting larger and larger fields and the women's field rolled off with a little over 40 racers. A big crash on the back side of the field split the pack and Jen was behind the split. Chasing hard, she cranked through the first lap until just before the run-up to the track. On the most technical section of the course, she bobbled and took a tumble knocking her seat loose. (Who is that crappy mechanic she uses anyway?) With a loose bike seat and 2.5 mile lap still in front of her she basically pedalled the entire second lap standing... Legs screaming, she managed to stay on the lead lap and be the last finisher to be counted... That's COMP RACING!!!!
As always Canton did not disappoint. The weather was unseasonably warm and as always, super windy! So a good day was had by all and the weather held out for a great night of Halloween wondering in Salem! See everyone this weekend in Northampton!
Later,
K
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