As Eloy said, this course at Wawayanda Lake was great for learning how to choose the best line through all different kinds of surfaces, including some I haven’t raced on this year—squishy grass and packed sand—and the usual ones, like tacky singletrack, loose sand, and thick grass. JP and I agreed, however, that there was too much gravel, including a treacherous loose turn. The weather felt as good as it looks in the photos Eloy posted.
Yes, I placed 5th, but I'm disappointed. I wanted my first podium spot. Given the other guys in the race, I figured it would only be a three-way battle and I thought I was ready for the challenge. Instead, I couldn’t match the leader’s power on the squishy grass as he opened a gap on us during lap one, and I made one crucial mistake before the race that came back to haunt me on lap two. Here’s what happened.
I was called up second, after a 40-something guy I’d raced against in other NJCX Cat 5 races. He’s strong, so my goal was to hold his wheel as long as I could without blowing up completely. I was ready to dig deeper than I’d gone before, and imagined myself making opportunistic moves in the sandpits, on the run-up or on a piece of technical singletrack, like the off-camber descent that hooks left into a steep little climb.
The whistle took me a little by surprise. I went fourth or fifth through the holeshot. I rode the second sandpit into second place. Shortly afterwards, in the Spiral of Doom, the leader began to open up a gap. On the little climb into the woods somebody in baggy shorts and eyeglasses muscled past me. He'd go on to win the race, and I'd never get better position than second again. For the rest of lap one and the first half of lap two, I defended third place, even opening a little gap on those behind me.
Then came the log. I’d been riding near my limit to try to catch first and second places. Ride or run the log? I hesitated. It looked rideable but I didn’t know for sure, because I hadn’t tried. During my recon lap I had run it and kept going, anxious to see the entire course, instead of taking the time to practice it both ways and determine which would be faster. I may have still ended up choosing running over riding, but at least I would have been sure of my approach. My mistake became very clear to me.
I made a last-second dismount, leapt over the log with my bike, and then dropped it back on the ground…too hard. My chain dropped. Fourth place rider (whom I’ve smoked in previous races this year) overtook me. I got my chain back on and started moving, but soon the fifth place rider caught me. It was Miles Whitford, my girlfriend’s cousin, a nice guy doing his first ever cyclocross race—who also happens to be the reigning champion of both the New Jersey Junior Criterium and Cat 4 Road Race. The guy has legs! We had fun going back and forth on lap three. After the officials rang the bell for us, he managed to stay in front of me until the end. I finished 24 seconds off the podium, and 1:12 behind the winner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGrOWRf14ws