...Courtesy Jerry Heath
From: Gerald Heath
Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 10:07 AM
Subject: Munson CX Race Report
Well, here is my attempt at a summary of the cyclocross race last weekend:
Saturday October 3rd the Signoutfitters.com Cyclocross team headed down to Munson Park in Monroe, Michigan for the first night race I believe Tailwind has ever hosted. The weather looked like it could be a problem, but it ended up being a great night for racing. The 6:00 start time for the C-Race worked out great for all of the Michigan and Michigan State fans. You got to watch the game and still had time to make it to the race on time.
I showed up in the parking lot at 5:15 and promptly got an earful from Russ on how the race started in 45 minutes and I still had to register, plenty of time for me. The team for the race consisted of myself, the Kissel crew, Russ, Leila, Zoe and Dylan and Heather Patterson. Russ and myself raced in the Men’s C 40+ class with mixed results. Russ did extremely well placing 3rd, while I placed 16th (not last). Russ actually had the leaders in his sight, so our expectations are growing that we will see him take the top spot on the podium later this year. For myself, this was my first cyclocross race of the year so it was important for me to pace myself and make sure that I didn’t burn myself out too early. We all pre-rode the course before the race started, so we knew how the course was going to ride. I let most of the riders go ahead, including Russ and just kept to my own pace. It ended up working our great for me, of my first four laps, my slow lap was 6:32 and my fast lap was 6:30. My final lap was 6:20 only because I was determined to pass someone. While my times were good for me, Russ’ laps were all under 6:00 and after a slow lap of 5:52 he ran the next four laps between 5:40 and 5:46 and was less than a minute behind the winner.
Leila raced in the Women’s C division and there were some pretty impressive times in that group and Leila’s lap times were all within 15 seconds each other. It is a tough division because there is no Women’s B class, only C and Elite, so she is competing against some very good riders. The other Kissels, Zoe and Dylan competed in the Junior 14 & Under division. Zoe won the division by over a minute and she had to stop during the race because he chain fell off. Dylan had a race to the finish with another rider and it came down to the last 200 yards. After a back and forth battle the whole race and a slight lead,Dylan stayed aggressive and tried to lock up second place. Unfortunately he crashed pretty hard and that allowed the other rider to pass and grab 2nd. Dylan got up and finished a strong 3rd and I think we all saw a battle between Dylan and Brandon from Jack’s Bicycle & Fitness that will continue for the rest of this season and probably many more to come. I love those battles, I have had my share of guys that I shoot for over the years.
Last but not least Signoutfitters got a surprise entrant in the Women’s Elite division, Heather Patterson. As most already know, Heather has been recovering from a thumb injury she sustained trying to do a cartwheel on the Grosse Ile toll bridge while riding a bike. The thumb is progressing so well that after pre-riding the course, she felt well enough to race. It was an epic race to watch. Heather went back and forth with our newly semi adopted teammate and training partner Lillian Ruiz. Lillian actually races for Tree Fort, but there has been some posturing to get her to Signoutfitters. The two women battled for seven laps exchanging the lead more times than I can count and I can count pretty high. While Heather outdistanced Lillian on most of the flats, Lillian was a gazelle through the obstacles while Heather looked like she was walking through quicksand. In the end Heather ended up in the ahead by about 5 seconds and finished 7th in a class in which the leaders were so fast only two riders finished on the lead lap. Again, both Heather and Lillian ran very consistent laps times from start to finish and turned their fastest lap on their final lap.
Overall I think it ended up being a great race and showing for the Signoutfitters.com Race Team. The entire final results can be found here: http://tailwind.net/results/RESULTS-ALL-MUNSON%20NIGHT%20CX-20091003.pdf . I am really looking forward to the next couple of races. October 17th is the race at Historic Ft. Wayne in Detroit, October 18th is the Tailwind race in Belleville and October 25th is the Lungbuster race at Maybury. I am personally planning on doing the Maybury and Ft. Wayne races and hopefully the rest of the team can make it out there too. Hope to see everyone soon.
Jerry – Captain Terror.
...Thanks Jerry
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