Euro Cross Camp blogs

See how CLIF BAR Development Team members Yannick Eckmann and David Kessler are enjoying their holiday cross racing trip in Belgium:

David Kessler's blog post.

Yannick Eckmann's blog post.

Great results for CLIF BAR Devo Team in Belgium

At the Noordzeecross in Middlekerke, Belgium, today, Yannick Eckmann rode to an amazing 2nd place, just 7 seconds behind. David Kessler came through with an awesome 11th place.

Results on cyclingnews.com

Nationals results

The CLIF BAR Development Cyclo-Cross Team turned in an impressive showing this past weekend at the US Cyclo-Cross Nationals in Bend, OR.

Starting off the weekend, the Junior 15-16 race was icy and exciting, with all four team members cruising into the top 10. Zane Godby took the hole-shot and led the race for several laps before a late-race crash set him back a few spots. Zane battled back for an incredible 2nd place ride. Curtis White rode steady all day and finished 3rd. Nate Morse helped the team set an early fast pace in the front group and finished 6th, and Zack Gould rode steady in the top-10 all day to finish in 10th.

In the Junior 17-18 race, Euro Cross Camp member David Kessler ended up down for the count with the flu, so he did not make the trip to Bend. Californian-via-Sweden Bjorn Fox showed all of his hard training and cold-acclimation paid off, with a strong race where he moved up every lap and just barely lost the sprint for 5th.

In the Under-23 race, all four CLIF BAR teammates got themselves into good position early, with Mitchell Hoke and Alex Howes contributing strong efforts to the chase group, and the Mullervy twins moving up steadily. In the end, all four would suffer untimely crashes and/or flat tires, affecting their finish placings, but they had great races. Conor Mullervy ended in 7th, Alex Howes in 8th, Mitchell Hoke in 13th, and Kevin Mullervy in 19th.

Sunday ended the Nationals weekend with Collegiate and Elite races. In the Division II collegiate race, Mitch (Colorado College) and the twins (Mesa State College) went to battle for their respective schools. All three were in on the action and finished well. Mitch took 3rd, Kevin 5th, and Conor 11th. In the Division I race, Brady Kappius took the hole shot and traded the lead with a Fort Lewis rider. Eventually Kappius had a crash and dropped to 3rd, but held on for a strong finish.

In the Elite race, TEAM CLIF BAR's Troy Wells took 13th, and Kappius came back for his second race of the day to get an impressive 23rd.

Yannick Eckmann is Junior USGP Series Champ!

On Sunday Dec. 6 at the final USGP race in Portland, OR, CLIF BAR Development Team's Yannick Eckmann continued the strong history of the team by capturing the US Gran Prix of Cyclo-Cross Series title for Junior 17-18. Eckmann battled again in the final USGP race with Cal-Giant's Cody Kaiser. The two raced neck and neck all season, with Kaiser winning many of the USGP races and Eckmann sweeping the New Jersey weekend. Eckmann's consistency paid off, with no finishes below 2nd place in the Series, and he locked up the overall title with a second place on Sunday in Portland.

Yannick Eckmann 2nd in Portland on Saturday

Yannick Eckmann, in the USGP Leader's Jersey heading into this final USGP weekend in Portland, took home a hard-fought 2nd place on Saturday, battling back and forth all day with Cody Kaiser (Cal-Giant). Kaiser is in second place in the Series points standings. After taking an early gap, Eckmann crashed, Kaiser took the lead, Eckmann returned, and the two sprinted to the line with Kaiser getting him by a wheel.

Robin Eckmann rode to a strong 4th place.

In the Elite race, Troy Wells showed good form coming back from sickness, finishing 13th; Brady Kappius suffered a rolled tubular but managed to come back up to 26th place.

David Kessler and Yannick Eckmann selected for Euro Cross Camp

CLIF BAR Development Team juniors David Kessler and Yannick Eckmann will be heading over to Belgium later this month for the 7th edition of the Euro Cross Camp - joining Elite Team CLIF BAR rider Troy Wells on the roster.

Cyclingnews.com story is here.

Past members of the CLIF BAR cyclo-cross program who have attended the camp include Jackson Stewart, Andy Jacques-Mayne, Ben Turner, Brady Kappius, Alex Howes, Jim Lennon, Troy Wells, Daniel Summerhill, and Cody Cox.

USGP #3 pics

Here are some pics of the Mecer cup.

Last weekend me and my brother and father traveled to Trenton New Jersey. It was the third USGP race we went to that year but this one was gonna be really muddy. We decided not to go to the course on friday to look at it because it was a little drizzling and it was really windy, so we went to our host house right away. The next morning when we got to our race you could see already that it was really muddy which I was excited about. Me and my brother looked at the course how and where we should ride it. We looked at it 2 or 3 times then we gave our bikes to the mechanics to clean them and that we could go warm up. We went on the road to warm up. We were pushing each other to go harder at the warm up so that we would get a good start. When it was time to line up we went down to the starting area. I was able to start in the first row because I picked a good number. When the gun went off then i was shooting out of my starting position and just sprinted as hard as I could. I got the hole shot plus I had a little gap to the other people into the dirt section. When I got onto the mud I gave them some more meters. I kept on hammering the hole time. I switcher my bikes like every half lap because it was so muddy and the bike would get heavier if you wouldn't change. One time when I cam in the pit my dad was holding a green, whitish bike, then I looked down at my bike and first said to myself that the bike my dad is holding isn't my bike. So I yelled at him that it isn't my bike in german. So at the time I got to him he hadn't switched it yet, s just threw my bike down and waited till he got my bike. It didn't take to long but the Jeffery Bahnson who was in second was closing down a lot, but when I got my bike I took of again and opened the gap up again. So I crossed the finish line in first place.1.Yannick Eckmann (Clif Bar Development Cross Team)
2.Jeffrey Bahnson (Thule / Van Dessel)3.Cody Kaiser (California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized)
4.Skyler Trujillo (Niner)
5.Robin Eckmann (Clif Bar Development Cross Team)
6.Matthew Spinks (Team Metra / Wendy’S P/B Cycles 54)
7.Jesse Keough (Clnoonan/Kam/Coast To Coast)
8.Gunnar Bergey (C3- Athletes Seving Athletes)
9.Joshua Lehmann (Sunapee/S&W/Continental Paving Racing Team)
10.Andrew Bennett (Team Redline)
11.David Kessler (Clif Bar Development Team)
12.Jeremiah Dyer (Hudz-Subaru Jr-Development Cx)
13.Jacob Arnold (Pioneer Racing)14.Chris Wallace (Kccx/Navigators Insurance/Verge)
15.Stuart Wight (Hot Tubes Development Cycling Team)
16.Kolben Preble (Hammer Velo)17.Cam Mancuso (Death Row Velo)
The second day was just an awesome day as the first. I started in the second row and i didn't get off the start as good as I did the day before. I was like in 8th or so. Then when we started going into the dirt I was starting to pass a lot of people. Then when I got to the front i just kept on hammering and nobody could hold my will at the beginning. jeffery Bahnson caught me again and then I just attacked again and got a gap again. The next lap again he was on my wheel again and then i just attack one more time and i was gone for the rest of the race. The race wasn't as muddy as before, it was just harder mud, so some section by running was faster. So i crossed the finish line in first with a nice gap to second.Also this time nothing went wrong in the pit either which was good but it wasn't as much switching bikes because the mud was drying out.
1.Yannic[Photo]k Eckmann (Clif Bar Development Cross Team)2.Jeffrey Bahnson (Thule / Van Dessel)
3.Stuart Wight (Hot Tubes Development Cycling Team)
4.Robin Eckmann (Clif Bar Development Cross Team)
5.Chris Wallace (KCCX/Navigators Insurance/Verge)
6.Cody Kaiser (California Giant Strawberries/Specialize)
7.Skyler Trujillo (NINER)
8.Matthew Spinks (Team Metra / Wendy’s p/b Cycles 54)
9.Jesse Keough (CLNoonan/KAM/Coast to Coast)
10.Andrew Bennett (Team Redline)
11.Joshua Lehmann (Sunapee/S&W/Continental Paving Racing Team)
12.Kolben Preble (hammer velo)
13.Gunnar Bergey (C3- Athletes Seving Athletes)
14.Jeremiah Dyer (HUDZ-Subaru Jr-Development CX)
15.Benjamin Wolfe (Mystic Velo Juniors)
16.Paul Lynch (CL Noonan/Coast to Coast/KAM)

I want to say a thank you to my Dad and to TJ who helped me out in the pit. I couldn't have done it with out them.

Yannick Eckmann Sweeps USGP Weekend, Takes Series Lead

Middle School 'Cross - 2009

Hello Everyone!!

This last week, many of the kids in the Boulder Valley School District, and other districts too, had no school on Wednesday due to Veterans Day. So our very own Ben Turner and the founder of Middle 'Cross Mike Eubank decided that on a day off, what's not better than having a 'cross race? With that being said, they organized a fun-filled non-competitive race at a local Middle School for kid’s grades six through eight. The Clif Bar Team was a supporter, so Yannick, Robin, Brady, Zane and myself decided to go and help out. I arrived right as the races were beginning and saw a "jaw dropping" seventy middle schoolers out on 'cross bikes! The event started out with a couple of warm-up laps and then some "hot laps" consisting of six racers followed one of the Clif Bar team members. Shortly there after, the real racing began. The race organizers created two groups of racer's; girls, and the boys. As the 6-7 racers approached the line the tension felt the same as a regular weekend race. Kids were shedding of their sweatshirts, making sure their shoes were tied, and putting their bikes in a viable starting gear. "BOOM!", the gun sounded, and the kids were off to the races. The starting straight was a 50-yard long grass field, followed by cornering around trees, riding through mini sandpits, and of course having to dismount for barriers! As the day went on, it seemed like the kids started having more and more fun. After the races, they would go around to the "Evol" burrito tent to gain some energy, head over to the Boulder Cycle Sport tent to get their bike tuned up, and of course, collecting stickers from all the sponsors. In the end, I talked to a lot of the kids at the end and they all said they had a great time and love cycling. At the end of the day, it's not who wins, or who's the best, it all comes down to having a passion for the sport and having fun!

Cheers,
Zack Gould

Photos Courtesy of Brandon Dwight

Cycle-Smart International

This past weekend, Nate, Mitchell, and I all raced at the Cycle-Smart International, rounds 9 and 10 of the NECCS. Day 1 was sunny and dry and FAST. From the start, the race broke apart. While Nate had some trouble behind, I jumped into the second chase group. At the end, the chase group split apart. I sprinted in for 3rd behind 2 Canadian dudes and Nate came in 8th. Later that day was the Elite/ U23 race, Mitchell's race. Not 100 meters after the start, a huge pile up took down half the race. Mitchell was only heald up. Mitchell rode his way back up to 17th in the Elite race and 4th in the U23s.

The next day was the exact conditions. Again, the race broke apart fast. Nate and I were in the second chase group. Nate rode a beautiful race and snagged 3rd. I rode in for a 4th place. In the Elite/ U23 race, another pile up accured 25 meters after the start. Mitchell, again, had to work his way back into the race. Mitchell worked his way back up to 5th in the U23s and 23rd in the Elites.

All in all, it's been a great weekend for Clif Bar!

A special thanks to the guys at Pedro's! They were a great help to Nate, Mitchell, and me.

Boulder Cup Zero Waste

Not only was the Boulder Cup race an important race for us due to that it was a UCI race so close to home, we also had the zero waste stations set up again. Our team took on the goal to make the Boulder Cup as environmental friendly as we could. The team once again set up the Trash, Recycling, and Compost stations threw out the venue. Everyone on the team helped out threw out the day monitoring these stations and helping people sort out what they may have thrown away and put them into the right bins. By the end of the day the recycling and compost bins had to be emteyd numerous times, while the trash bin stayed extremely empty. Here are some of the figures that came out of the Boulder cup race.

We recovered:
1,264 pounds of material threw recycling and composting
Which was 85% of all the stuff discarded that day

We Saved:
37 gallons of Gasoline in energy Savings
3,866 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions

We avoided:
7.1 pounds of air pollution
1.8 pounds of water pollution
3.5 pounds of toxic herbicides(that threaten plants, wildlife, humans and our food system)
1,417 pounds of substances that threaten human health(including carcinogens, particulate matter and volatile organic compounds)

We also need to give a huge thanks to Eco-Cycle for helping us out with this and making it all possible.

Valmont Bike Park Zero Waste

A few weekends ago fellow teammate David Kessler and I took part in heading up the Zero Waste program at the Valmont Cylo-Cross race. For those unfamiliar with this program, its main mission is to reduce the amount of waste that goes into landfills. This is accomplished by placing different stations around a venue. There are 3 bins; Trash, Recyclables, and Biodegradable objects.

We set the stations up bright and early before any race started to maximize the amount of savings. People were using them wisely and helping to make this Earth a better place. By the end of the day, all the bags were pretty full except the trash. It amazes me how much is wasted day to day.

Here are some statistics from the event:

-851.76 pounds of materials through recycling and compost which was 77% of all the materials collected.

-We saved 35 gallons of gas in energy savings

-1,838 pounds of greenhouse gases eliminated

-Our event saved:

-3.6 pounds of air pollution

-1.7 pounds of water pollution

-1.6 pounds of toxic herbicides that threaten plants, wildlife,

humans and our food systems

-387 pounds of substances that threaten human health,

including carcinogens, particulate matter and volatile organic compounds

Imagine the savings on a global scale!

Blue Sky velo cup/ Boulder Cup

Last Weekend was the Blue Sky Velo Cup and the Boulder cup. I started in the junior 15-18 elite field that started 2 minutes behind the Cat.3 field. The first race was out near Longmont. It was a really muddy race. When we started my brother Robin got the whole shot and I was in 6th place. Then i started to move up when it went down the back side of the course. Before it went back up to the sand pit I took over the lead. I had pretty good tires on so I had a good grip and basically took of there from the other people. At the top of the hill then I caught the first cat.3 riders. I picked the cat.3 riders up one by one, sometimes in packs. Going into the 2 lap then I was only 26 seconds behind the leader of the 3's. I rode as fast as I could to catch the leader of the 3's. Before the barriers at the top I was on his back wheel and past him after the barriers then. After I passed him then I decided not to play around and slow down I kept a nice hard pace up. One lap to go then I just watched out that I wouldn't crash because I knew that I won. So I crossed the finish line in first place in the juniors field, but I also crossed the finish line in first in the cat.3 field. I don't get placed in the cat.3 field because I was starting in the junior 15-18 field. I think I also did so well because I changed my bikes like every lap so I got a new clean bike that runs fluently and smooth.

Yannick Eckmann David Kessler

Zack Gould Robin Eckman

Danny Hiller Yannick, Zane Godby

I want to give out a thank you to my awesome pit crew and all the people who came and cheered.

1st Yannick Eckmann

2nd Robin Eckmann

3rd Skyler Trujillo

4th David Kessler

5th Zack gould

The next day the race was at the Boulder Reservoir it was amazing that it wasn't muddy or anything. I raced again in the junior 17-18 filed that started 2 minutes behind the 3's again. My brother got the whole shot again and I was right behind him. I took over the lead after a U turn on the very far back side of the course, because my brother had a problem with his wheel. I got instantly a gap to all the riders in my field. I was happy that i was in first place that lap because there was a prime also in the first lap that who ever crosses the sand after the bike pit first from the field would get a prize. So I got that and also had passed some of the 3's riders. So i was chasing the 3's down once again. Both days my goal was to pass the leader of the 3's. That day I didn't catch the 3's leader so fast because the ground was dry so everybody went a bit faster and it was so difficult because there was no mud. At one point I saw a time by the finish that said how far back we were behind the leader of the 3's. The first time I looked after 2 laps was 1:40 min I knew that i had to put a lot more power in to catch the leader that day. The next lap then was 1:15 min, then 35 sec, then the next lap I saw him and it was only 15 sec left to him. I caught him 4 laps to go then. I passed him right away and I kept going just not full power anymore. I tried to have more fun then, like speeding through the sand like the elites. It felt good because all the people would like yell and all that and that made me feel like I was in the elite race. I finished in 1st place that day in the juniors and unofficially in the 3's again.

Zack, Zane, Danny, Yannick Robin Yannick

Yannick Eckmann Zane Godby enjoying the sand

David Kessler Robin Eckmann

Danny Hiller Zane Godby

Zack Gould Zane Godby, new way to get over the barriers

I want to give a thank you again for the people who were at the Boulder Reservoir cheering and watching and just for being there. It is just a great atmosphere when so many people come and watch the race. It makes me go even faster at some points.

Also a thanks to my pit crew again. Unfortunately I didn't have to change but you never knows what can happen.

1st Yannick Eckmann

2nd Robin Eckmann

3rd Skyler Trujillo

4th David Kessler

Yannick

350 around the world

Downeast 'Cross

Last Saturday and Sunday, Curtis and I raced in maine for the 7th and 8th rounds of the Verge series. The conditions were extremely muddy both days. It was freezing and rainy on Saturday. It was nice and warm on Sunday, but muddy because they just ran the previous day's course backwards. I started out well on saturday and got the hole shot with Curtis right behind. I had too big of a gear for the extremely thick mud, so I went right back to 7th place. My legs just didn't work. (This was also due to poor race preparation on my part...) Curtis was with the leaders for most of the race and finished fifth. A few of the top finishers were mountain bikers, so they had an advantage in the woods section. On sunday, I used my dad's bike because it had a 39T little ring, which was needed for the mud. Again, Curtis was second off of the start and I led. Curtis and I changed bikes every half lap, which was extremely helpful. Curtis was with the third place rider for the majority of the race. I caught up to him in the long woods section. We were going to try to catch second and third place but his gears were shifting all over the place on a climb, forcing him to run. Curtis and I both held our spots for the next two laps to finish in 4th and 5th place. I learned a good lesson on saturday. A successful weekend overall for the New England Clif squad!

Kentucky USGP #2

Last weekend was our 2nd USGP race in Kentucky. We looked at the course on friday to check out the course. It was muddyish and in some spots it was dry. The next morning me and my bro pre rode the course and looked at it. Then we went to warming up on the road. When it became to the staging i got nervous. When we started i was going second into the first turn which was a great position. After 1 lap the field was split up already it was Chris Wallace, Robin(my brother) and me. After another two laps robin dropped back and it was only Chris and Me. Two laps to go then I put the hammer down through a really hard muddy section were i dropped Chris then. From that point on i was pushing as hard as i can to get me a win and get me closer overall to the leaders jersey. In the last lap i had a nice gap to second. I crossed the finish line in first and behind me Chris was fighting with Cody Kaiser the series leader and cody ended up second then becasue i just had a greater momentum going in the last mud section of the course.

So the results were 1st me, 2nd Cody Kaiser, 3 Chris Wallace, 4th Jeffery Bahnson and 5th Robin Eckmann

The next day they switched the course a little. It was robin who got the whole shot and was out front for 2 laps with a 5-10 second gap to the main group. After the two laps i attacked and went out front. I was leading the last 3 laps of the race and then in the last 200-300 meters of the race Cody Kaiser came from the back passing me and i tried to stay on him but at the last muddy section i took the wrong line that i thought was better but unfortunately it was the slower line so i didn't get on the road right behind him for the sprint so he got another win. I still finished in a strong second place.

third place was Chris Wallace

fourth Robin Eckmann

fifth Jeffery Bahnson

After the race my dad told me that if you don't look at the course carefully enough that this could cost you the whole race unfortunately that happened to me.

Yannick

350.org International Day of Climate Action

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Weekend Wrap-Up, 10/24-25

The CLIF BAR squad was racing this past weekend in Kentucky, Maine, and Colorado...

At the Crank Brothers US Gran Prix Series in Louisville, KY, great results were achieved by Robin and Yannick Eckmann in the Junior 17-18 races, and Brady Kappius and Troy Wells in the Elite race.

Saturday: Yannick 1st, Robin 5th / Troy 16th, Brady 17th
Sunday: Yannick 2nd, Robin 4th / Troy 15th, Brady 18th

The East Coast crew was dealing with rain, cold, and mud in Maine at the Verge New England Championship Series.

Saturday: Curtis White 5th, Nate Morse 7th
Sunday: Nate Morse 4th, Curtis White 5th

Out in Colorado it was a muddy and snowy weekend, with races in Castle Rock and at the Boulder Reservoir.

Saturday: Conor Mullervy 4th, Kevin Mullervy 12th
Sunday: Colin Cares 16th, Mitch Hoke 26th

Connecting with the pavement

This past Friday Kevin and I made our trip over to the front range for some cross racing. Saturday was the Castle Cross race in Castle Rock. We had some nice weather and a muddy course. Since it had snowed a couple days before this the course was covered in mud making for a fun race. Pre-riding the course was interesting, considering some of the course was difficult to ride with all the mud. Though by the time our race started some places firmed up and made for some quicker sections, but was still muddy.

I had a good start this time, sitting in about 8th or so before we got to the first corner. I sat in for the first lap as Summerhill and Baker made there gap off the front. Starting the second lap I started moving up to try and close that gap as much as possible. I made my way up to 3rd after the second lap with Baker and Summerhill about 30sec. up and 4th about 20sec behind me. Though as I came into the finish I went wide to make the 180degree turn off the pavement. Though doing this I went threw some water greasing up the mud on my tires making it so I slid out on the corner hitting the pavement real hard. I laid there for a couple of seconds before I got back on. And by this time 4th place closed that gap on me.

This fall took a lot out of me, including a good portion of skin. I kept on going trying to stick with 3rd but by this time I was hurting a lot due to the fall. I managed to stick it out for 4th which is my best result this year. Kevin had some bad luck with a flat on the start, though he clawed his way back to 12th. Not bad considering he almost lost 2min by the time he got to the pit to get his new bike.


We heading over to the race today at Boulder Res. I decided I wasn't racing cause I am still real sore from the fall and I have a bad chest cold now. Kevin pre-road the course which was about 90% sand and most of it seemed to be un-rideable. So we decided it was best to head back to Junction cause the mountains are suppose to get a lot of snow.

Next weekend is a set of UCI races in Boulder that Im really looking forward to. I just hope I get over this cold and the passes are clear to head over.

Old school log-hopping

Nate Morse in the freezing rain at the Wrentham Cross.

Brodie's first 'cross race

I guess he found it boring!

Valmont Bike Park Groundbreaking & Cross Race

Yesterday was a monumental day for Boulder, and all those cycling advocates and local 'cross legends who have worked tirelessly for years to make the Valmont Bike Park a reality. The City of Boulder, Parks & Rec Department, and Valmont Bike Park organization held the official groundbreaking ceremony for the park, slated to open as early as next year. It will be an impressive, world-class bike facility, with a permanent cyclo-cross course, BMX park, singletrack trails, and more.

Boulder Daily Camera story here.

Chris Grealish put on an ACA 'cross race and over 400 riders got to test out a sample course. Chris continued his support of more sustainable cycling by working with Eco-Cycle to make the race a Zero Waste event.

The CLIF BAR team volunteered to set up the Zero Waste stations and make sure the waste produced by the event got sorted into the proper bins - recycling, compost (food waste, compostable cups, and napkins), and trash..

In the racing action, Zane Godby led off the day for CLIF BAR with a solid 3rd place finish in the Cat. 3 category, after leading much of the race. Danny Hiller finished 3rd in the Junior 17-18 race, in his first cross action of the season.

In the Elite men's race, TEAM CLIF BAR's Brady Kappius, and the Devo Team's Eckmann brothers showed they are on top form heading into next weekend's US Gran Prix races in Louisville, KY. Fittingly, the race was won by Boulder MTB star Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski. Yannick Eckmann made a strong showing in the lead group from the start, and was quickly joined by Kappius. The two rode in the front group all day, with Yannick dropping back in the last lap due to a flat tire. Kappius cruised in for third. Robin Eckmann had his best Elite race of the season to date, finishing in 11th.

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Video From Providence Cross

Video from Providence Verge race. Curtis and Jesse Keough are off the front and I am a little behind. Great weekend of racing!

http://www.cyclocrossvideos.com/cx/2009_cx/2009_Providence_cx_day_2_Juniors_15-18_barriers.html

I couldn't find another way to get the video in the blog, so you have to copy and paste into the box.

A COLD one!!

Well this past Saturday was the second race in the Boulder CX series. I was looking forward to this race because it was the first race of the season that we had some cross like conditions. It was a little different from the hot, dry dusty races that we have had all season so far.

The field was a big and strong with a lot of talent showing up. I knew the start would be critical with the first set of barriers not too far after the start along with a sand pit we passed threw twice in a matter of seconds. Though I didn't get a good start I was still sitting in the top 20 after the sand pit, which meant I had a lot of work to do. This course had a lot of tight corners, and since it snowed the previous day it made some of them pretty slick.

Though I never did come close to the front group I still had a good race to practice my technique in these conditions, considering this was the first time this year I got a chance. As the race went on my cornering skills got a lot better. Though my result didn't show the improvement I still had a fun race.

Now Kevin and I are heading off to Truckee, CA in the morning for Collegiate MTB nationals this week. So this means we wont be doing a cross race for a couple weeks. Though I cant wait till we get back because then its full on cross season.

Providence Cyclocross Rounds 5 & 6 Verge Championship Series

Nate and I just finished up races 5 and 6 of the Verge New England Championship Series in Providence, Rhode Island.  This was our first real weekend working together as teammates.  

Day one was the exact same course as the 2006 National Championships.  From the gun, a lead group of four formed at the front, Jesse Keough, Josh Lehmann, Nate, and myself.  About half way through the race, Josh Lehmann attacked.  I wasn't able to stick with the acceleration, but Nate hung in there.  In the end, Jesse won, Nate got second, Josh got third, and I finished fourth.

Day two was a very different course.  It was more technical than day one, which meant lots of quick accelerations.  From the start, again, a lead group formed.  This time it was a group of three.  The group was made up of Jesse Keough, Nate, and I.  Half way through the first lap, Nate decided to bunny hop the barriers.  Nate cleared the first one with ease, but hit the second one.  Jesse attacked and I followed.  Nate chased for the next two laps.  Nate bunny- hopped the barriers for the rest of the race.  The crowd liked that.  With 4 laps to go, we started putting in small attacks trying to weaken Jesse.  With 2 laps to go, I put in a huge attack, and was away for the next lap.  Jesse and Nate caught me with one lap to go, and we remained together until the finish.  It came down to a sprint.  1st-Jesse, 2nd-Nate, 3rd-me.  Nate and I were feeling pretty proud standing on the podium representing Clif Bar.  

 

Howes not 'crossing just yet...

he's busy in the KOM jersey at the Tour Down Under with Garmin/Slipstream...

Alex Howes (Garmin/Slipstream) dons the Herald Sun polka dot jersey as King of the Mountains Championship leader after stage one.
Photo credit ©Shane Goss