Interlocken, cross racing week 7

This past Saturday was the infamous grass cx venue at Interlocken. I've never really loved the course, but have had some decent results there. This year would prove to be no different. During warm-up I was struggling to find the right psi, but once settled at 27/28 and leaning forward a ton, my Tracers were hooking up fine. There was a ton of grass, but it didn't seem as thick and power-sapping as in the past. I had a call-up, but not til about 10th position (non CO Cross Cup race). The promoter did not have the typical 8 slots per row. Probably bc the start straight was a huge grassy ball field. I perhaps could have snuck in the front row as the 9th or 10th person, and perhaps I should have. Dean Crandall gives us the 2min, then 1min, then 30sec. But I don't recall the 15 sec warning. Anyways, no distraction for me, I was ready as the whistle was blown. I was slotted in right behind Faia, but unfortunately that day he missed his pedal. We were in DFL immediately. Bummer! Race for the top 5 pretty much evaporated in the blink of an eye. I was in the 20s getting to the first run-up by the v-ball courts. I was disappointed, but stayed positive and told myself to just race my own race, don't burn matches too early, and try to be patient and work my way through the field. It worked fairly well, I was bridging up to small groups after the first couple of laps. It was great to hear Larry Grossman cheering, yelling "damn dog, you must've have taken a shortcut," since I was moving up pretty well. Near the 2nd to last lap, I caught up to Gallegos, Ariel and another guy. The wind was on the increase, and several sections of course tape were coming undone. A couple guys went down, some had some tape stuck in their bikes, but otherwise I rode back up to 8th place.

Not a great result, but happy with my fitness right now, and I still feel I am racing smarter every weekend. Like every other Colorado 'cross racer, I am hoping for great feelings this weekend, out at the Colorado Cross Classic and also the Boulder Cup on Sunday out at the cool Valmont Bike Park. The first significant snowstorm of the season is barreling through Colorado as I type this. Perhaps the Cubus will again see some action! I just want to go fast on the whistle, the rest will take care of itself.