CCCX #3 CSUMB, BASP #1 Clark Natwick @ CandlestickPoint

This was the first double weekend of the year. On Saturday the 3^rd Central Coast Cyclcocross (CCCX) race was at California State University Monterey Bay.

 The CSUMB course on Saturday was relatively flat compared to the past two weeks at Fort Ord, with only one small climb that was about 10 seconds, and a gradual gravel road climb, and one barrier in a U-turn. The rest of the course was quite pedally, with a few sandy turns and a high speed step down into a sand pit.

Photo By: Samantha Smallwood

The race field for Mens Bs was quite small, but fast. I had a decent race, went out with the lead group of four of us, until three quarters of the first lap when I dropped my chain coming out of the a high speed sandy corner and took a few pedal stokes to get it back on letting the front three break away. The rest of the race I riding by myself trying to catch the lead group, and cheering on friends as we went by on parts of the course next to each other. I finished on the forth step of the podium

Photo By: Samantha Smallwood

            The Bay Area Super Prestige held their first face of the year at Candlestick, in San Francisco this year the race was a USA cycling race in hopes of hosting a UCI race next year. When I remembered about preregistering for the race it was already closed, and had 99 racers registered, so I had to make sure to get to the race early to get a spot in the 125 rider limit field. When I got to the venue and registered I received the number #680, the 105^th register rider, and being the first race of the series call ups were base on resignation order, I would start on the last row of the 100+ racer field.

            The course was again pretty flat like the CCCX race the day before, but it did have a few little climbs through out the course, and a lot loose deep dirt turns, the TRP brake zone quite long with two U-turns and five barriers, and there was also a bridge 100 yards before the start finish line.

Photo By: Mark Seymour

Knowing the field and would be slow through the turns decided to sacrifice some turning ability and run a little higher pressure for less rolling resistance on the pedaling section to pass as many people as possible. At the start of the race I was on the out side of the first few turns, passing around twenty racers before getting taken out in the third turn as the guy on my inside had his front wheel slide out in the loose dirt, I quickly got up and tried to sprint ahead in the pack, but their was a large bottle neck of people. As the race went on I slowly picked people off, mostly on the barriers, bridge, and the gravel flat section, lost a few spots from a dropped chain around the 3^rd lap. 

Photo By: Jeff Namba, fixing a dropped chain

I caught Lee Slone and a racer from Go Pro near the end of the 2^nd to last lap, Lee let me pass, but the other racer tried to sprint ahead when I closing on his wheel, and took a turn in the gravel too fast, and slide his back wheel out, causing me almost crash after running over his rear wheel and steeping on his front stay up, for the rest of the lap and most of the bell lap Lee and  I worked together passing three or four racers, but I took off on back stretch and opened a 11 second gap on him, and passed four more racers in a sprint from top of the bridge to the line.

Photo By Jeff Namba, catching Lee Slone

 

Chainring wound from the crash on the first lap