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Super 8 Cross Series Update: Frederick and Sheldon Retain Jerseys

by Bill Schieken, Cyclocross Editor

As we head in to race six of the BikeReg.com MABRAcross Super 8 Cyclocross Series, the Verge Sport points competitions are really starting to heat up. Schooley Mill Cross, which goes down this Sunday, could be the race folks look back on as the one that turned the tide in several categories. And in case you did not know, there is more to the points-chase than those sweet looking Verge Sport jerseys. There is cold hard cash for the winners in the masters 1/2/3 35+, 45+ and 55 + fields, women and men elite fields, and single speed. Depending on the field, payouts go anywhere from five to 10 deep. Final points prizes will be awarded at Capital Cross Classic, the Super 8 finale.

Racers get 60 points for the win, 50 points for second place, 45 for third and on down the line. This means that a good showing by any of the riders near the top of the standings, or an off day by others could drastically change the outcome in most of the categories.

In the excitement of last week's points update we failed to report on the womens 3/4 category. To make sure there is no repeat of that transgression, this week's rundown starts with that very field. At the top is Emily McDonald (Momentum Racing) who holds a 35 point lead over Madi West (Adventures for the Cure). Amanda Gilbert is another 21 points back in third place. Laura Murray (Baltimore Bicycle Works) and Diedre Ribbens (C3-Athletes Serving Athletes) are tied for fourth 70 points out of the top spot.

The womens elite field continues to be ruled by consistency. The top five riders after five races have accounted for just two victories. Libbey Sheldon (Four Boys Racing) continues to lead the field with 221 points. Allyson Tufano (Sportif) remains in second with 175 points. Laurel Larsen (November Bicycles CX Experience) and Jennifer Maxwell (Van Dessel) are tied for third with 145 points and Elizabeth Harlow (C3) rounds out the top five with 134 points. 

Frederick, Sheldon Lead MABRAcross Super 8 Series

by Bill Schieken, Cyclocross Editor

After a much needed recovery week following DCCX, the BikeReg.com MABRAcross Super 8 Series is back in full swing this Sunday with the always exciting Ed Sander Memorial Cyclocross. Heading into the second half of the season, the Verge Sport leader jersey races begin to really heat up as the points become scarcer with only four races left on the schedule.

In the men’s elite field, jersey-holder Ben Frederick (Team Traveller) has hung up his zebra stripes for 2011 and will not defend his lead this weekend. With the next four contenders for the top spot all signed up for Sunday’s race, the points lead is truly up in the air. Jared Nieters (Haymarket), Chris Beck (TeamCF), Pat Blair (AFC) and Wes Schempf (C3-Athletes Serving Athletes) will all have their eyes on the prize in the coming weeks.

In the women’s elite field, Libbey Sheldon (Four Boys Racing) holds a 31 point lead over Jennifer Maxwell (Van Dessel) and is 41 points ahead of Allyson Tufano (Sportif). The battle for the final jersey will most likely come down to these three racers. Late season spoilers, however, have shown up in the past, so keep your eyes on this field in the coming weeks.

If the Super 8 featured a “field of the week” -- and who’s to say it can’t? -- the men’s elite masters field would definitely be in the running. Wily old veterans doing wily ol’ things  on bikes are always worth watching. Paul Rades (November Bicycles) sheds the Raymond "Eternal Second" Poulidor sobriquet with a big win at DCCX and now holds a 25 point lead over Dave Fuentes (XO Communications/Battley Harley). Jason Lins (Adventures for the Cure), Mike Birner (Sportif) and Rob Huebner (Evolution) are also within striking distance. 

Sportif Cross Cup: Kinder 'Kross Yields Belgian Weather

by Jay Morali, Cyclocross Contributor

The Kinder ‘Kross welcomed in the first real winter weather of 2011, which made for a fun, yet challenging day of racing in Severna Park, MD.  The race, #3 in the Sportif Cross Cup, tested the rider’s ability to hit corners with speed and navigate through mud.  “ABRT did a great job of setting up the course.  It really had a little bit of everything…elevation, speed, and mud.  Not only was it fun to race, it was great spectating.  You could see 90% of the course from the team tent area.” said Antietam Velo’s Eric Krause after finishing 2nd in the 3/4 Men race to Series Leader Stephen Hyde.   

Jon Hicks (Sportif Coaching Group) bagged the first win of his cross racing career with a victory in the 3/4 35+ race.  Hicks got off to a good start by successfully navigating the muddy up and down section after the sprint without any problems.  “I was 6-7 wheels back throughout the first lap just looking for the right opportunity to make a move. When the lead group came to the muddy stretch on the backside most of the guys went to the left and I went right and was able to slip right through and get to the front.  From there it was all about staying upright and keeping the pressure on." Hicks, who knows a little bit about course design -- he has been instrumental in the lay-out of Winchester Apple Cross, Psycho Cross, Luray Caverns, and this weekends Patapsco Cross -- had this to say about the course, “I really liked it.  It was a very unique course.  There was a lot of turn/sprint to the course which really tests a rider’s ability.”  

George Schulz, Jr. of The Bike Lane regains the Leaders Jersey in the series after his 6th place finish just edging out Patrick Dolan who finished 10th. The race series sponsor also got a win from Allyson Tufano (Sportif Coaching Group) who edged out Jennifer Maxwell (Van Dessel Factory Team) in the Women’s 1/2/3 race.  Tufano, who now sits in 2nd place in the series, has two more races to try and unseat current leader Elizabeth Harlow (C3/Athletes Serving Athletes) from the top spot.  Hopefully, both ladies will be out this weekend with their 'cross guns blazing.

RAAM Update: Team 4Mil Prepares To Pounce On MABRA's Turf

by Gus Grissom, Correspondent

With just over a day of racing left to go, Team 4Mil is approaching Ellenboro, WV in second place behind the British Team, Strategic Lions.  They are just under sixty miles behind in what the team believes is one of the fastest team competitions in the history of the RAAM.  Both teams were averaging over 32 miles per hour between recent time stations as they crossed the Ohio countryside and set themselves up to assault the Appalachian Mountains.  At their current pace, the team is projected to finish under the lights in Annapolis, MD around 2:30, Friday morning.

The 60-mile gap between them and the leaders, though it may seem insurmountable to most of us, is actually quite small.  The team was less than two hours behind the Brits at the last time check.  In a six-day race, approximately 144 hours, this gap is the equivalent of a 43-second gap in a one-hour corporate park crit.  So, with a few laps around the office buildings left to go, Team 4Mil just needs a few surges to bring it all back together and set up the sprint.

Team 4Mil is filled with confidence and reports that they have “left their secret weapon in the tank” and were getting ready “unleash it ... as they boys are rested and feeling fast!”  This, of course, may be tough talk designed to psyche out their British competition, but even tough talk like this is impressive after nearly 2,600 miles of racing in their legs.  From their comments it seems that Team 4Mil is riding very steadily and pushing the pace at every opportunity.  Some reports hint that the Strategic Lions may be weakening as mental endurance becomes a factor; according to one source, they recently had to serve a fifteen-minute time penalty for an unspecified rules infraction.  Could cracks be appearing in their British armor just as the Americans are set to pounce?

GamJams racers can follow the closing phase of this exciting race either through the Race Across America website or Team 4Mil’s Facebook page.  Regular readers, and members of the MABRA community, will note the photo taken by MABRA’s Bruce Buckley who is documenting the team as they push themselves ever closer to victory (and exhaustion!).  Check back frequently for updates and show your support to these racers as they put it on the line for the Wounded Warrior Project, the guys who really put it on the line for all of us.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Mike Githens on Jeff Cup

by David Kirkpatrick, Features Editor

Of the many things that more experienced and successful racers have to teach, pre-race mental preparation and post-race analysis are two of the less appreciated aspects.  As an experiment, GamJams will periodically solicit a pre- and post-race analysis from members of the peloton who we wish we had more chances to learn from.  The pre-race portion is written and sealed prior to racing.  After the race, the subject will debrief the race and compare the events and outcomes to his or her predictions and prognostications.  For the debut edition, Mike Githens of Your Ad Here p/b Bicycle Pro Shop offers his before and after look at The Good, The Bad and the Ugly of Jeff Cup 2010.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Jeff Cup
by Mike Githens

Pre-Race Forecast:
Teammate 1, sounding profoundly profound, “Its Jeff Cup. THE Jefferson Cup Road Race. The Clash of the Titans. The Holy Grail. You win and that’s it—you’ve made it. Have you seen that cup?”

TM 2, slightly sheepish, voice cracking, “Or just an early season race to tune up the legs? Right? I can just use it as a tune-up? A tune-up?”

TM 3, an octave higher, bouncing, akin to a golden retriever, “But no, no, dude—it’s JEFF CUP. JEFF CUP! Man, ya know JEFF CUP?!!”

We’ve all been there, the team meeting before the first “big” race of the season. And for us in MABRA-land, it’s that time again: Jeff Cup. So what do you do with a race like this- an early season icon, made more difficult by the unpredictable weather and constant barrage of attack-counterattacking than the course itself?  Do you treat it as an early season race to train through or seek eternal glory?  To the Jeff Cup haters, as much as you want to deny it, Jeff Cup is a big race. It fills up in 3 seconds flat.  And you know you will be there, so stop your hating. There are those with good early season form looking to absolutely and unequivocally rip the legs off of their once-upon-a-winter friends. And then there are those whose fate is to end up on yougotdropped.blogspot.com.  Damn those photographers.

Love it or hate it, you will be there.  A race is a race, right? The point is to win. How will you do it?

Here’s the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Your Ad Here p/b The Bicycle Pro Shop.

Our team is new. And we are the opposite of deep. These attributes make winning a race like Jeff Cup difficult. But not impossible.  There are 8 of us and we are fit. That’s what we are telling ourselves at least.  For starters, the race is predictable, and by predictable I mean predictably chaotic… absolute mayhem. Some years a break goes on lap 2, other years on the last lap, maybe not at all this year. The point is pre-race strategy only goes so far. But it is worthwhile none-the-less.

Could'a, Should'a, Would'a: 02/23/10

Here's how this weekend's racing could'a, should'a, and would'a played out if it hadn't played out the way it did...

In the Snowball Criterium Training Series, hosted by Virginia Beach Velo, a few folks found the early season racing to be just as competitive as last year's late season racing:

• The Vanderkittens turned a beautiful day into a beautiful start to the season: first and third on the podium speaks for itself.
• One of the newest additions to the region's women's racing scene, Tradewinds Racing, kept the action hot and nearly stole the show in their debut race.  With a little more time together, these ladies are going to be a formidable force.
• Stormyworld bypassed the whole "could'a, should'a, would'a thing" and went straight the "see for yourself" stage with a few pictures he snapped while planning his own return to racing very soon.
• Celerity Cycling p/b Fitness Together took it a step further with a race report, some photos, and some video of the finish.  They put racers in the mix in every race and were very disappointed that the rest of the region did not seem "excessively fat and filled with residual Christmas cheer."  Welcome to reality, folks!

In the collegiate racing scene, all racers converged on Wake Forest University for some road racing:

• Fiddleharpa tears himself away from his Ke$ha worship long enough to write his thoughts on what seems to have been a fairly vicious event.
• My Daily Ground captures the essence of the Hokies Cycling Team with a photojournalism essay on the race, the day, and the fun of having a solid team working together.
• George Washington University Cycling was "rolling pretty thin" and got a little thinner when one of their guys decided to cheat on his girlfriend with a really attractive section of pavement.
• Okay, call me a sucker for Scooby Snacks, but the men at East Tennessee State University gave us a tease with some videos and a promise that they would race and then...  Someone get in touch with those guys and ask them to give us the rest of the story, please! 

Updates:

• Fiddleharpa came through on his promise and provides a video of the Virginia Tech racing experience.
• Scooby's Snacks answers the call and gives us "the rest of the story..."

Know of any more great race reports from last weekend? Send them to me here.

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Gus Grissom races for Team GamJams Racing, teaches Greek and Latin at DeMatha Catholic High School, and writes a dissertation in his spare time.  He compiles this column strictly for fortune and glory.

Could'a, Should'a, Would'a: 12-09-09

Here's how this weekend's racing at the Capital 'Cross MAC Championship could'a, should'a, and would'a played out if it hadn't'a played out the way it did...

• Indy's Small World was filled with low expectations which were exceeded and a back that sounds like it's less-than-optimally functioning for 'cross races... 
• The Unholy Rouleur starts with excuses and ends by blaming his Paleo diet.  But, sandwiched in the middle is the honey-sweat thrill of a lifetime: a "hey, you're not dead last again!" heckling by Joe Jefferson.
• Mike Festa gives a great blow-by-blow summary -- complete with an action shot of his own faceplant! -- of the Rockville Bridge Cyclocross Classic
• One racer who is StillTryingNotToSuck at Rockville Bridge returned to the scene of a crime: the race that started his 'cross addiction.
• Captain Crunch apparently sees course-marking tape as a viable raceday nutrition strategy and eats his way to a top-5 at Rockville Bridge.

Update:

• Scott's Right Of Way turns out to be a comedy of errors; his son's right of way, on the other hand, is the right to crush some adults by moving up from the junior's field.

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Know of any more great race reports from last weekend? Send them to me here.

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Gus Grissom races for Team GamJams Racing, teaches Greek and Latin at DeMatha Catholic High School, and writes a dissertation in his spare time.  He compiles this column strictly for fortune and glory.

Could'a, Should'a, Would'a: 12-02-09

Here's how this weekend's racing at the Taneytown MABRA Cyclocross Championship could'a, should'a, and would'a played out if it hadn't'a played out the way it did...

• Idiot Cyvant somehow found a stripper pole in the slopfest.  Weird analogy, but it works for him...
• The Unholy Rouleur explains his 12% loss in FTP with one of those computer generated videos.  Maybe it hurts less when a computer Lego-guy says it for you...
• FatMarc Vanderbacon doesn't have a race report per se but he does apparently race through some of the toll booths on the way to the races and -- let's be honest -- isn't a little bit of anarchy (but not the hurtin' kind) part of the whole 'cross experience?

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Know of any more great race reports from last weekend?  Send them to me here.

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Gus Grissom races for Team GamJams Racing, teaches Greek and Latin at DeMatha Catholic High School, and writes a dissertation in his spare time.  He compiles this column strictly for fortune and glory.

The Could'a, Should'a, Would'a: 11/25/09

Here's how last weekend's racing could'a, should'a, and would'a played out if it hadn't played out the way it did...

• The Hebrew Cyclist admits that he's just another angry Jew with an affinity for the sandpit at Rockburn Cross.
• Estebe boils Howard County's Double Cross Weekend down to its essential component: fun.
• One Poor Dumb Bastard won a (very) little cash during the Howard County Double Cross Weekend but is still holding out for future "hole shots."
• WrenchOut focuses on the details of his Rockburn Cross race and the entire 'cross phenomenon.
• The UnholyRouleur starts his race report with a strong list of reasons he shouldn't have raced the Rockburn Cross.

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Know of any more great race reports from last weekend?  Send them to me here.

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Gus Grissom races for Team GamJams Racing, teaches Greek and Latin at DeMatha Catholic High School, and writes a dissertation in his spare time.  He compiles this column strictly for fortune and glory.

A 'Coaches Roundtable' Question in Real-Life

A 'Coaches Roundtable' Question in Real-Life
Susan Hefler
Hefler Performance Coaching

Last week's GamJams Coaches' Roundtable question was about what tactics to use when outnumbere by other teams. I wasn't able to participate as I was in Fitchburg, coaching Nathan Wilson (Kelly Benefits Stragegy / LSV Amateur) through the race where he was outnumbered by other teams. His experience there are a real-life example of the Coaches Roundtable question.

My advice to Nathan was this: Do not be afraid to ride hard and push several attacks, just be aware that you must level the playing field. So, make sure that each of your efforts is actually tiring the big team that you are racing against. Do not attack and dangle 10 seconds off the front for 5 minutes. Do attack repeatedly and see if you can draw some other opportunists into your move- then control the move and get the others to ride hard with you. You may also expect some riders from a big team to latch on too, so, make their life hard- don’t just tow them to a sprint. Put them in the wind, on the shoulder, or apply pressure with your efforts. No free rides.  Make friends with the other solo racers. They want results too!

At Fitchburg Lonjso, Nathan (Kelly Benefits/ LSV) was racing for G.C. Against EIGHT Riders from Hot Tubes- a very hard tactical situation. Nate followed what I have described above… It was hard, but it works very, very well. Nathan performed incredibly by getting in all the big moves with Hot Tubes, and
rather than just sitting, he pressed the attack whenever possible. He placed Second on G.C, wore the Points leader Jersey, and if there was a red number for “most aggressive rider” he would be wearing it! A Big Shout Out to Steven Kendall (NCVC) who applied some mad pressure to Hot Tubes to help both Nathan and Himself! Awesome.

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Next week, Nathan, Steven Black (NCVC), Ben Salibra (CRCA JR development), and Kevin Gottlieb (Squadra Coppi) will have the power of a full team with them at the UCI Tour of the Red River Gorge in Lexington, Kentucky. We also have a few bullets from Garmin/Holowesko to fire- but that’s our high altitude secret weapon! HPC U23 will be there in force! Stay tuned to GamJams for updates on these excellent Junior riders.