If you did not make it out to either of this weekend’s cyclocross races at Bryan Park and Chimborozo Park you missed out! Racers and spectators alike had a great time.
Once again the Altius Cycling Team put on a spectacular weekend of racing. Great job guys!
Saturday’s race was at Bryan Park at the northern boundary of the city. The weather was beautiful and the course was fun and fast. Bryan Park always has always been the faster of the two courses and this weekend was no exception. Every race started out super quick and never let up. In the morning the men’s masters races started the day. In the 35+ Brent Williamson took the win and CBC co-owner Tim Mullins managed a respectable 6th place despite never trying to race cross before in his life. In the 45+ Robert Netsch wrapped up 1st place with CBC rider Rob Suydam taking 2nd place.
In the 3 race there was a duel going all race long between Jimmy Deaton and Zach Bradshaw of Altius. In the end Jimmy came out on top leaving Zach hungry for revenge.
I raced the cat 4 race which was taken by Jeff Hellner. Mark Junkerman of Runriderace.com picked up 10th while CBC employee John Emanuel managed 18th despite several mechanicals.
In the women’s race Kelly Benjamin and Erin Sillman quickly distanced the rest of the field and came in 1/2.
The men’s elite event was a stacked field with plenty of local talent as well as Joe Dombrowski of the Trek Livestrong team as well as several other out of town fast men. In the end Ben Frederick came out on top after out sprinting local favorite Greg Wittwer for the win. Dombrowski rounded out the podium.
Sunday’s race was on a course very different from Saturday’s. Located at the eastern end of Church Hill, Chimborozo Park is a near perfect place for a cross race. Where Bryan Park is a relatively flat affair the course at Chimbo is essentially run on the side of a steep hill. A super fast descent and a hard 3 part climb (grass, to stair run-up, to steep pavement) were defining parts of the course for many riders. Mix in plenty of grass and some really cool off-camber/switchback descents and you had a challenging but still fast course.
In the masters race Brent Williamson and Robert Netsch repeated as winners of the 35 and 45+ races. Rob managed 4th this time in the 45+ and I pulled off a hard earned 14th in the 35+. I don’t consider myself much of a cross racer and was happy with this result.
In the 3 race Zach got his revenge and took 1st after managing to drop Jimmy on the climb.
John improved on his placing in the 4 race taking 6th behind winner Chris Smead.
In the women’s race it was a repeat of the previous day with Kelly and Erin dropping the field and going 1/2.
In the men’s race Greg took to the more technical course like a fish to water and almost immediately rode away from the field. Only Keck Baker was able to stay close but his day was ruined by a series of flat tires leaving a shattered field behind him that would never see Greg’s back wheel again.
All in all it was a great and tiring weekend. Big ups to everyone who made it possible and competed!
Julie Hunter, Caroline Carr, and Tom Brookfield were taking some pictures all weekend… here are a few. You can find many more on facebook.
1 comment
Robert Netsch says:
Oct 11, 2011
Valerie and I enjoyed an awesome weekend of racing in Richmond. The two days were exact opposites in way of challenge but exactly the same in way of fun.
We’ll be back next year….