CLIF BAR DEVELOPMENT CYCLOCROSS TEAM: 2011-11-06

Monday, November 07, 2011

Cincinnati CX Festival

This weekend's CIncinnati UCI 3, a 3 -day midwest cyclocross classic, attracted top racers with 3 days of racing and Sunday's C1 status. This year the promoters snagged UCI status for the juniors for saturday and sunday, which brought America's top riders to CIncinnati for a three-day weekend of muddy action

The weekend served up two separate venues for the juniors and two very different courses. Saturday was flat and fast with many sweeping grass corners and one set of barriers. Sunday offered up a more hilly course that was significantly muddier, one muddy corner actually had most of the junior and pro fields running it. There was a long uphill drag to the finish of each lap which then sent riders straight into a long slightly up hill sand pit. This was hands down voted the hardest section of the course by the Clif Team.

Saturday saw Zane Godby and Curtis White immediately at the front with friend and rival Andrew Dillman of the Bob’s RedMill team. The three of them got a significant gap off the rest of the field. Unfortunately for Team Clif Bar neither of our dynamic duo could stick with Dillman’s pace and he went on to win. Jordan Cullen suffered some bad luck on the first lap getting caught behind a rider with the dropped chain at the beginning of the first lap, but the level headed Cullen never got down on himself and rode back up to 4^th place almost giving Curtis a run for his money for the last podium spot. Spencer jammed a chain pretty good and had to run a majority of a half lap to the pit to get his spare bike, but then put his head down and got to work riding out the rest of the race. Zack Gould got a lot of homework done on what it takes to race at this high level after being out for most of the fall with a broken collar bone, hurting a little bit now often means fresh legs in December and January.

Sunday started much the same way with Drew, Curtis and Zane out to an early lead. Jordan took an easier start and moved up during the whole race. Curtis and Zane were sitting very strong until Curtis rolled a tire and had to ride slowly to the pits. Zane wasted no time and gave it everything he had to catch Drew on the last lap, coming with 15 seconds of him. Cypress Gorry of Whole Athlete Specialized team was able slip past Curtis. Jordan had another great ride rounding out the top 5.

All and all it was a great weekend for the Clif Bar Developmental Cross Team, once again asserting itself as the US's premier junior team.

Saturday