Race Report- NCCX Southern Pines- 2 days playing in the sand

I wanted to do both days at Southern Pines, so I decided to make it a family outing as well. Since my race was at 10am and it's a 2 1/2 hour drive, we had to get up pretty early. I wanted to do both days it is pretty flat and not a lot of climbing. Yes, all that was true, but the SAND! Some of which I smuggled back with me as a souvenir inside my bottom bracket, chain, shoes and body crevasses. Life's a beach..... sometimes...... so is Cyclocross!

Day 1-
I took a easy spin around the course just to get a feel for the turns and obstacles. I took another lap with more speed, checking out different lines, and to see if places were ride-able. Although the course was flat, it was tough.  It wasn't an exciting day of racing for me.  Yeah, I passed a few racers and I raced pretty well but nothing worthy of writing a race report. The only thing exciting about this race was when the sprinklers came on mid-race. For the excitement see Day 2. That being said, watch this video of a portion of the course-by far the most difficult part.




link to video

You can also see "The Shelf" at the top of the run up. Some of my fellow height challenged competitors had to kneel on the top step to get up to the top.

Day 2-
We arrived early.  It was very foggy; it had rained the night before and the grass was wet. On pre-ride the small mud puddle at the bottom of the hill had turned into a 20' long gauntlet of slick mud. Somehow they also found more sand for the second day and re-routed the course to include
more drivetrain killing sand. I finished 1 lap and wanted to switch tires to my Clement PDX but realized I forgot to bring a tire lever. I bailed on switching tires and decided to continue with warming up. On the warm up I could hear the sand grinding the inside of the bottom bracket. That's NOT good!




Foggy and damp start to day 2- greenway to the finish line.

The whistle blew and we all sprinted down the straightway then slammed on the brakes for everyone to file 2x into a narrow paved greenway. Into the woods then out onto a paved downhill section and into the mud. While most guys took the inside line, I followed a friend, Bob, on the outside which was a little straighter and dryer. Mind you, this mud is directly after a fast paved downhill, so you are going through this mud with some speed.  Mud was thrown everywhere-on the bike, legs, shoes and fellow racers. The course then turned to grass with sandy corners. Then another fast downhill with a really fun 90 degree right hard banked turn with a slight uphill-no brakes needed on that turn! The turn put you on top of a dam of a small pond, then more SAND.  Actually, an uphill section of sand that was maybe 1/4 mile of soft sugar sand which stuck like glue to the mud from before. Then the crux of the course was a 1/2 pipe of soft sand which provided the crowd with many stopped front wheels and resulting face plants. Once past the sand the course set up pretty well for me - a ride-able steep hill followed by a grassy flat field and a paved track to the finish.

The first few laps everyone got sorted out into their positions. Going into the race I wanted to stay on Bob's wheel, or least have him in sight. On the last lap things were pretty much as they had started until the sand run-up. On the run-up my legs were burning.  The sand was so soft-- as I took a step my foot would sink into the deep sand.  I was exhausted and my legs said "We aren't running up this!" so I relented and walked up the sandy incline-2 guys ran pass me. We followed each other down the drop-in and up the small sandy hill to a hard right hand turn. The crowd was going wild- ringing cowbells, yelling and heckling us.  With the 2 racers right in front me, I jumped on the gas and passed one before a narrow section of single track. Then I passed the second guy who was on a mountain bike. I gunned it as we approached the steep ride up. I had to take the outside line because of the big roots on the inside. Once I got to the top I made a hard right turn.  Just as I got my bike straighten out, the guy on the mountain bike rode up next to me, apparently taking the more direct line up the hill. We were neck and neck on the flat grass, pedaling side by side on the back side on the course. As we approached a 180 degree corner, I got out in front, took the corner and poured on the power after the corner to drop him.





You can see the 2 guys in front me that I'm getting ready to pass. Knuckles & Elbows!

Next up is a group of 3 riders, one of which was Bob. I'm in no man's land all by myself. We went through the volley ball court (as if there wasn't enough sand on the course) and passed another guy that was sitting up and spinning- he was fried! I passed him and went through the barriers and noticed Bob and another racer on the Greenway.  I took the turn onto the greenway and closed the gap on the mountain biker. I blew by him.  I wanted to put enough distance between us to dissuade him from trying to catch me but before I knew it I was closing in on Bob. I was happy where I was but I just kept peddling. I thought it was going to come down to a sprint at the finish but I passed Bob as the track straighten out. I finished, EXHAUSTED! The course was set up very well for me- A Fast flat finish! I finished 39th out of 59- my best finish to date. I'm beginning to think that racing every weekend is finally paying off. I feel like I'm getting faster, and bike handling is getting better. I'm able to trust my tires more in the corners.  I was able to make it through some tough sections of sand. Overall I'm very pleased with the weekend of racing.



Me with Bob in my sights - 100 yds form the finish line.

All that being said, I doubt I will be back to play in this sandbox (see liter box). Once we got back I immediately had to disassemble the bike and spent the next 2 days cleaning the drive train of grit to get ready for the "Fight under the Lights" race on Tuesday night.



My crank after the 2nd race. I'm pretty sure sand isn't supposed to be inside the bottom bracket.

Boone NCCX- Race Report

Cold, sticky mud, big nasty run-up, great racing, costumes, heckling, grilled pizza's, flat course (?), big fields, free beer, fast, loads of spectators, and a fun course! I had a great time. Thanks Boone, See you next year!