Race Report: State CX Champs
Sunday, January 10th, 2021 - Ronnie Van Zant Park, Green Cove Springs, Florida
Outside of regular training, my prep for this race entailed about 4 hours of pro cyclocross races streamed onto my living room television. I’d watched Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert duke it out through lap after lap of intense racing on wet, muddy, Belgian courses. It was intense - inspiring, but intense. The State Cyclocross Championships at Ronnie Van Zant Park in Green Cove Springs was not that. Well, it was intense, but it was not quite what I was expecting…
Right from the gun, it was a high-intensity sufferfest filled with obstacles designed to send your heart rate through the roof. Dirt mounds twice your height, 100 feet of shin-deep mud, little barriers just tall enough that a bunny hop seemed oh-too-risky, and a silly wooden ramp that just begged to bottom out your crank arm at the top. Sounds fun, right? Well, it was! To say I was underprepared for this race is an understatement - and that’s okay. I have done one race in the last nearly 400 days (and it’s been years since I’ve done a cycling race), I’m deep into a well-earned “base” season of long, easy days, and this was my first shot in the dark on equipment choices for cyclocross.
I am extremely thankful for the opportunity I got to race this weekend. The COVID pandemic has put races and athletes on the sidelines for what feels like an eternity, and I was glad to have gotten the chance to participate in an event that, for many reasons, was safely run. Obviously, cyclocross happens outdoors, in open air, under the warm sun (despite a chilly day, the sun did warm things up by race time). The park and venue were well spread out, and everyone certainly had their fair chance to distance themselves from one another. Furthermore, as I’d expected, attendance at the race was pretty low - a little over 100 athletes from what I understand. All that to say, it was a good, safe, racing experience.
Like I mentioned, this part of the year I am spending putting in lots of time on the bike riding relatively easy, with very little anaerobic efforts. For most, this is considered “Base season”. But, for many Europeans, this is considered “Cross Season”. Let me tell you this, cyclocross is not “relatively easy, with very little anaerobic efforts”. While I felt very prepared for the ample technicality required for yesterday’s cyclocross race, I did not have the spark I needed to keep things up-to-pace. Point proven in my low Zone 2 heart rate in the second race of the day; I just couldn’t get things going fast enough. Yet, this is all fine, it’s base season.
Finally, equipment choice. Riding a bike seems simple enough, but as soon as you take things off-road, mix in some questionable terrain, and add in a dose of speed, simplicity goes away. For both races, I rode on a bike I’d never raced on, tires I’d ridden once on, and with gearing that had ultimately been untested. What a learning experience, it was! Last week I switched up my tire selection on the assumption that we’d find ourselves riding in softer, beaten-in terrain. Meanwhile, this race course was dry, hard-packed, and at times a bit loose. My skinnier, 33c tires, running at waaaaaayyyy-too-high pressure, left me feeling beaten up and digging my way through the course. I was probably better served by the wider, 37c tires and more plushness that I was accustomed to on the tires I was running before. Lesson learned. The second race of the day was single-speed, meaning that I had to zip-tie my shifter, locking my gearing into just one gear. While I think I chose well-enough, my style of riding and conditioning for the day left me with more to give. Another lesson learned.
All-in-all, this race was a success in my eyes. I learned a lot about myself, my equipment, and cyclocross. I got the chance to safely race in a strong field on a new format. And, perhaps most importantly, I had fun.
Super special thanks to my wonderful support team led by my amazing wife Cara, followed along by my Dad’s clandestine arrival, and 3/5th’s of Team Cohen made up of sweet Frankie in her cute jumper and coat, Abe’s endless energy, and Dave’s limitless patience. Thank you all.