BASP Finals

December 7, 2006 @ 11:16 am by will

Sunday was the Bay Area Super Prestige Cyclocross finals at Coyote Point. The fun part: Coyote Point is right on the bay and part of the course is a long section of sandy beach. The not so fun part: The asphalt sections that would snake through a grassy park. It sure was a tease; Riding on asphalt when there was all that grasss to be ridden on that the promoters probably couldn’t get permission to use. However, the course was fun and because it was so fast it encouraged riding in groups which is a positive imo.

The course had more elevation change that most I’ve ridden lately and really I enjoyed climbing through the trees. The corners/downhill in the same area were really fun too. I’ve gotta say though, the sand was probably my favorite part. I rode it several times during warm ups and felt pretty confident.

As usual, I wound up on the 3rd row at the start. Somehow I couldn’t find my pedal as we set off and although I don’t think I really lost any places I certainly didn’t make any up which, being in about 30th position, was what I needed to be doing.

So after being confident about the sand section in practise I got a bit of a suprise when the trench that had been carved out by the masters and As that made getting round the first hairpin easier had completely dissapeared. I struggled around the corner and rode about half of the straight before realising that running was going to be the faster method. I ran through the sand for the rest of the race.

After that I slowly made up a few positions and then got suprised by the bell lap for the 3rd race running! I don’t know what it is but even when I really conciously try and check laps I still get caught out. I guess it’s the 5 lap race thing. So after being informed we were on the bell lap by a competitor I uped the pace and made up a few more positions. I managed to hang on to the wheel of my lap counter around the last half of the lap after he dropped me passing someone on the long straight by the beach.

I don’t think I’ve had a such a close finish before but I convinced myself I was going to beat the guy in front of me. I chose the last corner for my move and somehow it worked, despite the final straight being so short. I took the corner just right and flew past him.

In the end I finished 17th, which put me in 15th overall. Not bad considering I missed a race.

Now it’s almost time for Peak Season Cyclocross and some real cross conditions.

Here it is in pictures.