1. Todd McLoughlin, is this week's number one. No argument, no discussion. He's number one and you are not. On the heels of shredding shit up during CX practice sessions with Ragot and Co., McLoughlin lines up in the very competitive 2/3/4 category on Saturday, overcomes a 4th lap crash, and charges to the line in 17th place out of 101 riders. For those of you who have to "race and run" you might consider taking yourself to school by scheduling extra time to watch this dude race.
   
   
2. Eric Ragot hangs onto the number two spot. Crossresults.com points ranking system would place this guy on the top of the heap, but having spent the weekend getting spanked by some of the country's best cyclocrossers, then riding solo OTB and getting pulled and placed, Hotlist can't give him the top spot this week. But he's still way better than you. So he earns number two.
   
   
3. Jim Feehan rides rock solid and steady to earn 3rd on this week's hotlist. Picking up where he left off last season, and the season before, Feehan is a steady presence in the front third of the 45+ MAC peloton. Sunday was the stronger of his two finishes, narrowly missing out on a sprint at the line for 24th. Still, 25th in the 45+? Yeah, that's solid result to start the season.
   
   
4. Joaquin de Baca just misses out on bronze, but comes in a strong fourth. Riding a sweet new cyclocross rig with feathery light breaks, de Baca races both days, culminating with a 38th place finish on Sunday's 2/3/4 race. Crossresults.com pointage, ranks this race as his best of the past 2 seasons. Hotlist agrees.
   
   
5. Patrick Grehan demands a National's-style podium so he can stand tall among Kissena's best. A mysterious no-show on Saturday, Grehan comes into Sunday with a fresh set of legs and a front row start and turns in a rock solid 10th place in the Cat 4/5 race.
   
   
6. David Stokes continues to ride at the front of the Kissena peloton and snags number six on the hotlist. Overcoming start line confusion, Stokes rides from the back of a 33-rider peloton to finish in 19th. Hotlist sees a top-10 is this dude's future. (Someone check his skewers at Town Hall please)
   
   
7. Michael Perlberg is solid in seven. Teaming up with Ragot for the double Pro beat-down this weekend, he was the back-marker both days, and with just a handful of 2012 season results in the books, he's one of the tougher crossers to rank at the moment, but that never stopped Hotlist from being all judgey. Prove Hotlist wrong, okay?
   
   
8. Konrad Ratzmann traded his Subaru for a spot in the top 10. A frustrating weekend on and off the bike for the dude who KILLED it at GMSR, he still managed to snag 48th place in Saturday's 2/3/4 race. With his beloved car at the junkyard, and an early season reminder that cyclocross starts are critical, Hotlist suspects that he might rocket up the rankings in a hurry.
   
   
9. Keith Snyder. Damn, dude. Start at the back of a 92-rider Cat 4 field and finish in 31st? Then reload for the cat 2/3/4 race just a few hours later and finish 79 out of 95? That's the kind of tough-guy antics that virtually guarantees a top ten in the Hotlist. Rumor has it somewhere Frank McCormick felt a disturbance in the force, (as Snyder pedaled around the course in some ridiculously huge gear) clutched his own knees and checked himself into arthroscopic surgery. Snyder has serious voodoo powers, will he use them for good or evil this cross season?
   
   
10. Alex Vaughan and Rick Perner are going all sharesies for the last spot on this week's Hotlist. First cross race for them ever and to quote Mr. Perner who said it better than I can: "I raced yesterday. It was my first cross race. Cyclocross is absolutely fucking amazing. I can't remember the last time I had this much fun. I am hooked." Yes, Rick, yes it is. Welcome.

Next two weeks looks to be quiet on the competition front. As a reminder, you don't have to race EVERY weekend to remain on the hotlist, but if you miss more two or more weekends of racing you drop off the list until your next race (unless you've lost your form and suck-it at the aforementioned race).

Ragot is running another valuable cross clinic this coming weekend at Cunningham Park making sure that Kissena is dominant in all racing categories at upcoming races. It looks like Bertucco, Perner and de Baca are the only ones currently registered to actually race between now and the weekend of the 28th where Kissena's will split their squads sending riders to compete at Gloucester and Town Hall.

Here are a few pics from post ride festivities at Nittany.  What a great afternoon.  This is what it's about, folks.

mperlberg said:

Dear hotlist, Your race every two weeks rule sucks. No close racing for 3 weeks.

mperlberg said:

go here and park right by the pin:

https://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=40.732879,-73.771936&daddr=Cunningham+Park,+Oakland+Gardens,+NY+11364&hl=en&geocode=;CZibz6WdL7MuFfuXbQIdRmKa-ymzjRjZmWHCiTEqREqw5d8bwQ&sll=40.732552,-73.771892&sspn=0.002366,0.002411&vpsrc=0&t=h&gl=us&mra=mift&mrsp=0&sz=19&ie=UTF8&z=18&iwloc=A&q=40.732879,-73.771936

Marc Bertucco said:

Hotlist Reality Check for all Gloucester crossers: Evaluating the crossresults.com points awarded this weekend at Nittany and comparing them to points awarded at last year's Gloucester shows an unexpectedly LARGE discrepancy.

The Cat 4 35+ master's winner at Gloucester 2012 was awarded 379 quality points. The winner of this year's Cat 4/5 Nittany? 438 points. In fact if we were racing on points, and we messed with the space-time continuum, the winner of this year's Nittany would have been in a battle for 20th place at last year's Gloucester.

Fortunately, we do not race on points alone, and we have time to train. Train, train, train. It could be rough going in Gloucester for Kissena, if we're not diligent.

Jules said:

^This is a good video @Marc.  What do you want him to say, "physics doesn't apply?"

Nelson Martins said:

Hello everybody, so who's going to green mountain cx this weekend for both days? I'm hoping to go but need a ride. I could help pay for gass and driving duties but only if its an automatic.

mperlberg said:

Clinic 9am saturday sept 14th. Cunningham park 199th and union turnpike.