Team Bike Rack KILLED IT today at the second-annual DCCX, the only cyclocross race in the District of Columbia. TBR fielded five riders in Men's Cat. 4 race, with Matthew Bartlett taking the win, and the four other riders putting in strong rides. Bartlett not only won, but then skipped the podium presentations to jump into his car and head down to Atlanta for a race the next day. The man is an animal, a committed racer, but like all Bike Rack riders, an incredibly nice guy.
As for me, I had my best race ever. I rode what I considered a smart race, taking it easy on the early laps and them ramping it up as the laps progress, waiting for riders in front of me to die as I made pass after pass, especially in the tricky corners, and sprinted home to 19th place. Last year I placed 44th out of 55 riders, and this year faired much, much better in a much larger field. My goal this season was to place in the top 30, or at least as close to it as possible, but now with a top 20 finish, I'll be looking to go even higher.
Mad props to my good friend Mike Giancolli or Hup United for putting in an awesome race to 16th place. That's what cyclocross is about - when your "arch nemesis" on the bike is a good friend off the bike.
Mad props also to my wife Shana and my 10 -month old son for getting up yet again in the pre-dawn hours to accompany me to a race, to Shana for being a combined team manager, water-bottle fetcher, babysitter, and cheering section. I might be the one on the bike doing some brutal racing, but she puts in just a big and effort as the wife of a hopelessly committed hardcore cyclist and as the mother of our future racer.
Mad Props (OK, last one) to The Bike Rack for supporting the team and looking to expand DC cycling. We got some good video footage of the race, so I'll link everybody into that when it's up.
And finally, I highly recommend competing in this race to all riders and attending it to all spectators. The course, set a the Armed Forces Retirement Home, is both beautiful and fun to race. This year, the Belgian Embassy and the DC Dutch club kicked in beer, steak frites, and poffertes to add the the European feel of this race and a party atmosphere to the DC 'cross scene.
Pictures will come soon.
2 comments:
That's terriffic that you cracked the top 20! Pretty soon you're going to be your team's go-to guy when it comes to winning races. Keep those wheels spinning!
Great race Jason! Way to jump into the top 20 and keep moving on up. It was great to see Bike Rack out in force at DCCX.
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