Race Report by Brandon Andrews, AMR Co-Founder- ET Twilight Cross was a venue that resembled Augusta CX but without the big run up. Really it just had baseball fields to ride in. The course had some long straight battle sections where you not only fought off the roadies but the wind too. Storms moved into area just as Lauras race was ending but the wind stayed constant for most of the day. I did a pre ride of the course just to figure out that there was one section that if I took too fast I would end up in the grass. Thankfully nothing was damaged and it was just a pre ride. My race was typical, passed on the corners and technical, only to be passed in the long straights. I ended up 34th out of the 49 finishers. Laura fought her way with the CX3 women's racers and finished 5th of 7 CX3. The last half of her race was in the dark, hince the "twilight cross". We have decided that the CX3 and Pro 12 women's groups are really fast. We were able to leave just before the rain/storm hit, which was nice. No photos of me this week, Laura was to involved hanging out with Shimano. -Race Report by Brandon Andrews, AMR Co-Founder Two days of amazing racing. Trek CXC Cup in Waterloo Wisconsin was an awesome series this year. This was the first year for the race after other races in the country have closed down. Trek stepped up and was not only the title sponsor but also held the race on their campus. I do have the unique advantage as I am also an employee of Trek. This was our race in our "backyard". I had practiced earlier in the week on the course. One of the most difficult parts of the course was the Honey Stinger run up. It was a fast downhill followed by a quick turn to go back up the same hill. Most riders opted to run up the bank, but I wanted to see if I could ride it during the race. (see video below lap 3? on Saturday) Both days Lap 1 ended up being my nemesis and had to run up. (see lap 1 from Sunday video below) But I was riding by the last laps. The race festivities were great too. Saturday ended up being a bit colder than expected. We had a number of AMR racers on Saturday racing. Joe King a new member placed 12th in the Masters 55+ group. Mio Suzuki had her second race ever and placed 17th in the Women's CX4 group. Kathleen Fitzpatrick rode in her first ever CX race from a mountain bike background, raced in the CX3 women's group and ended up getting 10th in for CX3, 19th out of the 2/3s. Laura Andrews placed 15th in the CX3 women's race and 25th overall in the 2/3's. I had one of the largest fields ever and placed 49th out of 72 of the finishers. I also had the unique privilege of being an announcer for the Mens Elite Pro Race where Jeremy Powers took the win. Shimano hung out with me on the stage as I announced. I wore my AMR hat during the interviews after the race. :) (see video below) The entire day was amazing. One of my favorites. Sunday the weather was sunny and warm with a cool breeze. Laura moved up in her placings and got 11th in the CX3 women's, 25th overall CX2/3 Women. I had a rough first lap with a number of riders falling around me. The next 3 laps though I gained back spots, road up the run up, had a cupcake hand up and a splash of beer hand up to wash it down. I felt great on those laps really pushing myself to gain back all that I had lost in the first. I ended up only to 45th but was still happy with that. I almost took 44 after chasing down the rider in front of me and trying to catch him in the last 100 feet only to be just beaten at the line. Again a great day of Cyclocross racing in Wisconsin. -Brandon Andrews AMR Founder Photos below of Joe King (white jersey), Laura Andrews (AMR Jersey), Kathleen Fitzpatrick (Black/blue/pink Trek kit), Brandon Andrews (AMR Jersey) and Shimano the pug (dog). I missed Mio's race since I actually announced her race instead. -BA Greetings from WI Cat4 land. What a wild experience it was - my first ever cross (or any bike) race turned out to be quite a ride for me. The weather could not be more “perfect” for cyclocross. Yup, that 45 degree September rain in Wisconsin turned much of the course into mud soup. I have to confess that I almost chickened out when I looked at the sky when I woke up. But I somehow convinced myself in thinking that ‘hey, this is what real cross tastes like.’ This weather introduced a new challenge for me. I had never biked through any mud, especially the slippery kind. But this is cyclocross. So it’s supposed to be hard. I talked to few fellow cat 4 riders, all of whom were experienced (some were too experienced to be in this category, IMO). They asked me what my discipline is: I honestly thought about answering “engineering.” So these ladies were racers of one discipline or another, and there I was trying to put my best game face on. The whole thing was nerve racking until the starting gun went off: This race taught me more than few things. Among the most notables are: 1. Anyone can race and have so much fun I didn’t podium (not even close). But hey, I kind of podiumed in my mind. It was exhilarating experience to say the least, despite of the unfavorable weather. And, to my amazement, I could lap around the course twice without killing myself. If someone is wondering if he/she is ready for the race, the chances are that they are perfectly capable of finishing one. Right. Now. 2. Getting in the favorable position at the start is important, even for cat 4! At some corners in the beginning, I was stuck behind people who had trouble turning. I could have taken these corners a lot faster than the ladies who were in front of me! 3. Race is a lot different from practice. I know, ‘duh,’ right? But until I experienced it myself, I had no idea how much adrenalin would be running through me during that 30minutes. 4. #2 is true, but practice does make things perfect. Or at least, for me, knowing the basics probably saved me many seconds. And made the difference of being third from the bottom, not the second (super important). 5. Spectators are awesome. And they gave me lots of riding advice as I mowed through the course. 6. Shimano is really cute. -Race Report by Mio Suzuki AMR Racer. 2013 Georgia Cyclocross Series Schedule
September 29 Old Grey Barn, Rocky Face CLICK HERE ONLINE REGISTRATION October 6 Grant Park Cross, Atlanta October 13 Boundary Waters, Douglasville October 20 Oktoberfest CX, Macon October 26 & 27 Savannah Superprestige, Savannah November 9 & 10 Hayes Chevrolet November 17 Serenbe Farms (GA State Championship), Fairburn November 24 Jim Miller Park, Marietta December 7 & 8 Elks Aidmore (Season Finale), Conyers Information from Georgia CX Series website http://georgiacx.com |
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April 2019
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