Let the games begin.....

New season, new team, new bike..... new outlook.

Pic by: Keith Defiebre

CCCX Race #1 Prunedale

Elite men 12th place

Teammates: none.. but Keith rode the Master A

The Prunedale course has been good to me in the past. It has a lot of fast sections peppered with technical dismounts that keep the action going. This was the first CX race for me and on a completely new bike as well.

The new Scott/ Ritchey kits will be here before Pilarcitos

Photo by Rick Rasmussen

The first cross race always is painful but I was pleased with the days events. I got a poor start and moved up in the first lap into about 7th place winding up lap one. I'm on the Rock Lobster train and as we hit the transition from dirt to pavement (a part I did not pre-ride) I washed out the front end. Nothing bad.. just lost a bunch of time/ places and the train keep on a rollin....

I battled back, got a few spots, lost a few, and had some pressure coming from Ben towards the end. A few times during the race, I heard Keith (my new teammate) yell "get up, hammer" and it helped. I fended off Ben in the end for 12th and it was close, who says you don't sprint in cross?

It was a good day. The Scott wasn't dialed in but it will be. It's a really nice bike: snappy and stiff. The SRAM group worked well, I just need a bit more time to get used to it (coming from years or riding on Campy) and the new Ritchey Protocal wheels worked fantastic. Can't wait to mount the Tubular wheel set!

So... here is where I start the season. Things went OK for the most part. I'll be working hard to improve, especially as we get closer to December. Tuesday I'm going to ride out to Mt Tam on the CX bike (more shakedown) and the weather should be great. I am loving riding the bike right now. Good things can only happen......

Yup That's 177 bpm avg....

For an hour.....