Jules said:

Check it out - ex Kissena Britlee 5th today at nationals!

It's an awesome result, I wonder if she's just using that race as a hard pre-ride to shake the cobwebs prior to the elite women's race? 

Check out the video interview. She talks about the fear she had about nationals and the course. There is no question that she did herself a world of good by racing the Master's.

I expect you Ragot to do the same next year in Austin. Double up.

Sorry Marc. My job schedule doesn't allow me to do so

Where you guys watching Nats? Bar Ragot? RAPHA CYCLE CLUB?!?!?!

U23 - Won by Logan Owen in his first year out of the juniors. He lives about 1/2 mile from where I grew up. Still has to contend with Matheiu Van Der Poel at worlds though.

And here is Cody Kaiser riding up the stairs at speed without pedaling once

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=o0oGMix5X44

How did he do that?

There was another rider, in a mostly yellow kit, who I caught riding up the stairs too. But nowhere near as smoothly. I was bummed to hear that Curtis White dropped a chain. He finished a distant 4th. Those with average memories will recall that he was up in the mix at several UCI elite races including, notably ours that included an on-form Tim Johnson. I think most of the Empire of CalGiant will be racing Elites tomorrow too. Will be interesting to see how they fair.

And here is the Stairmaster himself:

http://dirtwire.tv/2014/01/cx-nats-day-4-cody-kaiser-talks-about-his-insane-stair-hopping-technique/

Oh, I was wrong...no UCI U23s in the Elites...not allowed. One UCI category per event I guess.

Looks dry as a bone out there.

Go Tree Farm!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJWfRJ7Wn7Q

Listen on mute to avoid Dave Towle while playing some black metal or something.

Yawn

I bet a dollar Powers rides those stairs before it's all over. I need to win back my betting dollar that I lost to Dave today.

Double yawn. Boring course too.

He has to the last lap with a 30 second lead.  HAS TO.

Also, zzzzzzzzz..... Tree farm is too hippy these days.  All wavy gravy, dude.  TJ without the crappy start might've been cool to see.

Also, where is CHABANOV?!?!?! 

Well, Rapha wins and treefarm second, so I guess it's 1-2 for me.

I don't think the course is that boring. I think it's the camera work and locations. Of course mud would have made it more interesting.

Agreed, if Tim hadn't flubbed the start I think we would have something interesting going on.

Stellar ride for Anthony Clark.

Well I heard the Compton comment and my brow furrowed. I get the whole point, but that doesn't turn a snoozer into a page turner. Speaking of which

WHat happened to page? Altitude?

Page....Cracked ribs?

@theryanfisher: @CXHairs THIS RACE HAS BLOWN APART! ITS LIKE THE RIDERS ARE SPREADING OUT BASED ON FITNESS/ABILITY WHICH NEVER HAPPENS IN CYCLOCROSS RACES!!!

Was a perfect summary of the dumb commentary.

Yeah...I wish the commentator was all like you guys...

"This race is boring, the course is boring, they should make it easier so they can all race together."

Dude has a job to do. And it's not to NOT get excited. Is some of it Hyperbolic BS? Yeah, but whatever, I want my announcer to get excited. And Colt McElwaine was good part of the team.

P.S. You guys should watch some of the rider interviews and see what they thought of the course. From juniors, masters to elites. Near universal praise from the ones I've watched (and I've watched a LOT of them)

You could see how bad Powers wanted it from Brooklyn.

No. What would be good is someone who knew what they were talking about and didn't condescend to the listeners. You can keep an eye on the leaders while talking about other aspects of the race. Asking Todd Wells inane questions and feigning excitement with ridiculous hyperbole doesn't make the race more interesting. It makes your voice and comments obnoxious and annoying.

Good grief bike racers are a complainy bunch! Non condescending sports commentary? Sure thing, right after world peace and a cure for testicle cancer.

HTRWW is all there is.

Page is mentally delicate. I haven't seen an interview with him yet, but it wouldn't surprise me if, once he realized he was racing for 5th, he was like "f-it, the world hates me, I can't believe this is happening to ME again, everyone is against me, I might as well shut it down."

But yeah, cracked rib is hard to race with. Also altitude is a factor. Also, not very impressive this year in Europe at all. So honestly, not a total surprise that he rolled in in 6th. But also, I still root for the guy, even though I wish he would HTFU sometimes.