After a solid 5th place Saturday, my teammate Eric and I headed up I-26 for a short drive to Mars Hill College, where the cycling team was holding their inaugural cyclocross race. Eric told me that it was a short course, however what we found was one of the toughest courses of the year . . .A small, but amped field lined up for a late (3:15PM) race that followed both collegiate and USAC races on the day. As "the gun" went off, Eric got the hole shot, followed by Paul Webb (who will be racing with us on the road next year) and then myself. Eric kept the pressure on, gapping Paul, and I followed one of his bobbles on the descent to begin my race-long pursuit of Eric. Eric tapped out steady laps, and consistently put about 5s a lap on me as he throttled it up the long climb which started after the start-finish. The course followed a grassy, off-camber climb that wound along a hill, before popping up a short run up and zig-zagging through a parking lot. The short respite was followed by a quick left-hand turn that wound (straight up!) through the woods before beginning a fun and circuitous descent back down toward the start-finish area. The course finished off with some more off-camber action before a series of 4 S-turns spat you out to a short 10 meter sprint to the finish.
Overall it was a successful day for the team, a fun course, and it was great to support a local collegiate team on an imaginative course! Thanks Mars Hill! Pictures courtesy of Christopher Graphics.
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