In The Crosshairs

The Bicycle Film Festival returns to DC this weekend (www.bicyclefilmfestival.com/washington-dc/). It features movies touching all corners of bike geekitude including an encore performance of “The Cyclocross Meeting.” If you missed it in December, BFF is giving you another shot to see director Brian Vernor’s tale of U.S. ‘crossers training, racing and being big in Japan. Crazy concept, I know. Go check out the trailer and we will meet back here in two minutes and twenty-four seconds.

Now that you’ve watched that, watch this. Here’s the new trailer for the tenth edition of the festival. It’s sparkly.

So here’s the deal, the BFF hoopla starts tonight at 9 pm with a goldsprints kickoff party at Asylum in DC. The movies start Friday night at the Gala Theater, 3333 14th St. NW. Program 1 features The Cyclocross Meeting and starts at 7pm. Program 2 features Bike Shorts and begins at 9 pm. Day two starts Saturday at 3pm with Bicycle Dreams and continues with new films every two hours. Festivities wrap up Saturday night with an after party at Meridian.

If you live in the DC-area and like to see bicycle-related events such as the BFF come to town, you need to go support the cause. Much like pre-registering for a race, buying tickets online makes life easier on the BFF staff. So much so, that BFF DC organizer guy Chris Carraway will forehead kiss all purchasers of online tickets. Just tell him I said so, and get your free smooch.

See you at the movies.

Beth Mason facing conditions she did not find in Iraq. Photo by Eloy Anzola.

A year ago we published an interview with licensed physical therapist, certified bike fitter, and Cat 1 road and cyclocross racer Beth Mason. If you haven’t read it, take a couple minutes and do that now. Although Beth currently lives in West Point, New York, she has strong ties to the Mid-Atlantic racing community. During the cyclocross season Beth will make it out to several MABRA and MAC races and periodically sets up shop in Northern Virginia for several days of bike fittings. 

In addition to being a top-notch physical therapist and bike fitter, Beth also holds another job: U.S. Army officer. Maj. Beth Mason has spent most of 2010 serving a tour in Iraq. Now safely back in the states, she is restarting her fitting business with a four day stint in the Mid-Atlantic. 

As of today, she still has a couple slots available for an in-depth session that, according to Beth’s website, includes the following: 

“A detailed history, flexibility assessment, and static and dynamic positioning. Dynamic positioning will include the integration of the state-of-the-art Retul motion capture system for bike fitting—you have to see it to believe it! At the end of the fitting session the client will be provided with documents detailing their position, and their optimal bike position. Special emphasis is always placed on the foot/pedal interface, with respect to cleat adjustment, and wedging and shimming when necessary.” 

If you suffer from aches and pains on the bike or want to make sure you’re riding efficiently, do yourself a favor and contact Beth for scheduling or questions. She can be reached at bethbikes1@gmail.com or 410-562-4776. 

I caught up with Beth recently to ask her about her tour of Iraq and what it was like to ride a cyclocross bike in the desert. 

Thanks for reading. 

Many readers know you as a bike fitter and Cat1 racer. They may not know that you are also an officer in the U.S. Army and recently returned home from a tour in Iraq. Welcome home and we are glad you made it back safely. I know that before you left one of your goals was to keep as much bike fitness as possible. This seemed like an ambitious challenge that I’d like to have you walk us through.  

What cycling gear did you have shipped to Iraq? 

I had my Blue CXC cyclocross bike with Ksyrium wheels and Hutchinson Bulldog tubeless tires, a Cyclops Fluid trainer, a trainer tire, a floor pump and an inadequate stockpile of inner tubes. I quickly went through all of my tubes and had to call in favors from across the globe. I was sent sealant, tubes, tire irons, CO2 cartridges … I felt the love! 

Describe your accommodations and if storing bikes, trainers, etc. was an issue. 

I had my own Containerized Housing Unit (CHU), which was about the size of a tractor trailer box. Initially I stored my equipment and bike inside and really had no issues. Eventually, however, I was able to move my things to a “bike CHU” that I shared with the senior enlisted soldier who had a mountain bike and some equipment.  Continue reading »

UCI Legal? You Betcha!

Your UCI has announced new rules for the upcoming cyclocross season. Disc brakes are a go. Those 34mm tyres? Not so much. Just remember, these are UCI and not USA Cycling rules, so this won’t affect you unless you are racing a UCI event. Here’s a run down of the new rules from usacycling.org:

Following the recommendation of the Cyclo-cross Commission, the UCI Management Committee has approved modifications to its cyclo-cross rules which will take effect at the beginning of the 2010-2011 cyclo-cross season. A summary of the changes is as follows:

(1) Disc brakes will now be allowed in cyclo-cross competition.

(2) The legal tire width in competition has also been changed. Width shall not exceed 33 mm, whereas before the maximum width was 35 mm.

(3) Continental Cyclocross Championships have been established.

(4) The “6 obstacle limit” has been changed to a “6 man-made obstacle limit.”

(5) The height of barriers is now a maximum of 40 cm instead of a defined height of 40 cm.

6) Man-made sand pits are now allowed and the dimensions for them have been established.

(7) The distance between planks has been changed to a range of 4 to 6 meters between.

(8) Commissaires may now authorize feeding if the temperature is above 20 degrees C. This feeding takes place in the pit lane, but not during the first two or the last two laps.

9) The commissaires may now invoke the “80% rule” and remove a rider who is behind the leader by 80% of the leader’s lap time. Thus, riders can be pulled before they are lapped.

“@CXHairs what, no love for Jones on the AToC cx rider GC?”

-Tweet from @cjonez

It’s embarrassing enough that we left out some of the United States’ best ‘crossers from our Amgen Tour of California CX Classification. But what is even more embarrassing is when one of the guys we omitted calls us on it.* After posting yesterday’s update we received the Tweet at the top of the page from Christopher Jones (Team Type 1). You may know Chris from, among others, his 2009 cyclocross podium appearances at Cross Vegas, NACT Gloucester and both days of the Providence Cyclocross Festival.

Frattini Leads The CX Mountains Classification

In fact, Chris ended 2009 with 10 top 10 finishes in UCI cyclocross races clearly making him eligible for the AToC ‘Cross classification. What makes our omission even worse is that Mr. Jonez is killing it on the roads of Cali currently sitting 17th, 2:05 off the lead.

We also overlooked the brothers Jacques-Maynes in our haste. Ben and Andy both have exceptional CX results and easily meet the JPows “podiumed in a UCI event” criteria. Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell) currently sits 41st and Andy Jacques-Maynes (Bissell) is 78th at this year’s AToC.

With the recent hubbub over USA Cycling’s proposal to use a time trial to determine starting positions at Cyclocross Nationals, today’s stage will be a good look at how the ‘cross specialists do in the discipline. Maybe these guys will give us some insight on how to shoulder our bikes whilst wearing those funny looking helmets.

And now for the updated and corrected standings. No change at the top as Sagan continues flying the flag for the cyclocross troops by winning stages and the points jersey. Dude has some power in those legs, no doubt. We’ve also included the climbers and young guns in our round up to drive home the fact that the CX guys can do it all.

CX Classification

1. Peter Sagan  0:09

2. Chris Jones  2:05

3. Tejay Van Garderen  37:56

4. Ben Jacques-Maynes  45:46

5. Lars Boom  59:37

6. Davide Frattini 1:18:16

7. Jeremy Powers  1:30:42

8. Andy Jacques-Maynes 1:31:46

Points

1. Sagan 49

2. Boom 20

3. Powers 6

Mountains

1. Frattini 20

2. Andy Jacques-Maynes 9

3. Boom 8

4. Powers 5

Young Rider

1. Sagan

2. Van Garderen

*It’s actually pretty freakin’ cool that Chris saw the post. And like a child, we are learning the wrong lesson from this. Screw up and you get attention!

After posting yesterday’s Amgen Tour of California CX Classification standings, Jeremy Powers got in touch to help lay down some guidelines for the competition. First, to better define the field, only riders that podiumed in a UCI cyclocross race are eligible for the CX classification jersey. This makes it easy to eliminate the occasional ‘cross dabbler (read: Lance) and concentrate the jersey race on the cyclocross professionals. Powers also suggested classifications for “most time spent off the front, most awesome, most foreign, funniest …”

JPows (aka Bernard Van Ulden) running for cover

Not sure what we can come up for some of those, but for funniest, I believe Tom Boonen (Quick Step) may be leading that race despite not being a CX guy. When asked about Lars Boom’s Stage 4 performance, Boonen said “Lars Boom should get a medal for today, a medal that says, go back to cyclocross.”

For today, we are going to feature “Best Cyclocross Dismount or Remount” at this year’s Tour of California. So far, we have two nominees for the award. The aforementioned Jeremy Powers (Jelly Belly), who managed to jettison his bike in the pile-up that bloodied Armstrong, and hop over bodies and bikes without going down.

Sagan remounts on Stage 3

The second nominee is Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Doimo), who went down on Stage Three. Sagan hit the deck, rolled once, got up, grabbed his bike and executed a beautiful running remount. Sagan did this on a climb and did not lose his spot at the front of the field.

Those are your nominees. Tell us via comment or Tweet to @CXHairs who should take the prize.

As for the GC standings, Tejay Van Garderen had a good day moving up to third in the CX race. Sagan, by winning the stage, moved into a big lead on points. Powers picked up some second place sprint points as well.

CX Classification

1. Peter Sagan  0:15

2. Lars Boom  31:32

3. Tejay Van Garderen 36:29

4. Davide Frattini 46:59

5. Jeremy Powers 59:25

Points:

Sagan 34

Boom 20

Powers 6

JPow demonstrates proper remount technique or something ...

Yesterday’s Tour of California stage featured top-notch cyclocrossers in a long break that made it within 10 kilometers of the finish before being caught by the pack. Former Cyclocross World Champion Lars Boom (Rabobank) and Jeremy Powers (Jelly Belly), the U.S. top-ranked CX racer, were joined by Canadian Rob Britton (Bissell), who has toed the line at many CX events. Midway through the stage, a three-man chase group featured Davide Frattini (Team Type 1), the winner of the 2009 Charm City Cyclocross.

Frattini Leading The Field At the 2009 Charm City Cyclocross

Before the stage started, Powers commented on his Twitter feed that Boom was putting everybody to shame in the cyclocross classification. Of course, having somebody with the palmarès of Boom near the top of the general classification made it easy to overlook another cyclocross phenom that was putting it to everybody including Boom. Namely, Peter Sagan, the Slovakian rider who is currently in fourth place and winning the Young Rider Classification. Sagan is the 2008 World Junior Cyclocross silver medalist. If you saw the Tour of California highlights from stage 3, you may remember Sagan showing off his smooth CX skills after going down on the climb and performing a flawless running remount to stay with the front group.

The involvement of the CX boys in the break produced a lot of chatter on the interwebs. We here at CXHairs even attempted a little live Twitter coverage (@CXHairs) of the ATOC CX Classification during yesterday’s stage. In that vein, we are proud to present the first CX Classification Jersey in a Road Stage Race Competition.

Before unveiling today’s ranking, there are a couple matters that need clarification. Namely, Horner and Armstrong. Both raced CX last year. Armstrong did Cross Vegas and Horner did a handful of races. Does this qualify them for the CX Jersey? Let us know what you think. For now, they will not appear on the list. Also, let us know if there are any ‘crossers racing in California that have been left off the list. The standings as of now are based on GC time. Also included is the Points race totals, but for the official tally it is probably best to stick with GC. 

CX Classification 

1. Peter Sagan  0:21

2. Lars Boom  3:54

3. Rob Britton  18:13

4. Davide Frattini 19:21

5. Jeremy Powers 31:49

6. Tejay Van Garderen 35:53

 Points: 

Boom 20

Sagan 19

Powers 3

Britton 1 

Check back tomorrow for updates.

Pipes, Maxwell and Kuliecza at the 2009 Urban Cross

The BikeReg.com MABRAcross Series for 2010 is turning it up to 11. Eleven races, that is. With three new venues joining the ranks, the Mid-Atlantic Bicycle Racing Association’s cyclocross series, MABRAcross, will have ‘crossers toeing the line on almost every weekend from September through November.

New to the MABRAcross series are the Winchester Apple Harvest Cross, Hyattsville CX and All Hallows Cross in Hughesville, Md.

Along with the new venues, MABRAcross continues to feature some of the most exciting cyclocross events the East Coast has to offer. Kicking off the series is the eighth annual Ed Sander Memorial Cyclocross, MABRAcross’ longest continuously running race. That race is followed by a Western Maryland weekend featuring the Breast Cancer Awareness Cyclocross Challenge and the Winchester Apple Harvest Cross race. The show then heads back to the DC metro region for Hyattsville CX.

After a two week hiatus, MABRAcross comes out swinging with DCCX. Featuring the largest fields in the series, the only cyclocross race in the nation’s capital is not to be missed. Starting off November, the long running Tacchino Ciclocross is back to put some funk in your trunk, along with a heaping helping of hurt. Riders can expect a “typical Squadra Coppi course”—fast, a little bit technical in a few places, and a stiff test of fitness and resolve. The show then moves south to Charlottesville, Va., for Urban Cross. This technically and physically challenging course features the “Stairs to Nowhere” and the scenic ruins of the Frank Ix & Sons silk mill.

The Howard County Double Cross represents “go time” in the MABRAcross series. Points leaders look to secure their position and challengers look to move up the rankings. The HoCo2xCx weekend starts out fast and furious at Schooley Mill Cross and finishes up with dirt trails and technical goodness at Rockburn Cross.

The MABRAcross finale once again takes place in Taneytown, Md. The Turkey Chase is a make or break race. Not only is it the MABRAcross Championship, but it also the state cyclocross championship event for Delaware, Maryland and D.C.

2010 MABRAcross Series Schedule

9-26     Ed Sander Memorial Cyclocross (NCVC)

10-2     Breast Cancer Awareness Cyclocross Challenge (Antietam Velo Club)

10-3     Winchester Apple Harvest Cross (Winchester Wheelmen)

10-10   Hyattsville CX (Route1Velo)

10-24   DCCX (DCMTB)

10-30   All Hallows Cross (Patuxent Velo)

11-7     Tacchino Ciclocross (Squadra Coppi)

11-14   UrbanCross at Ix

11-20   HoCo2xCx: Schooley Mill Cross (Team BBC and Kelly Benefit Strategies/LSV)

11-21   HoCo2xCx: Rockburn Cross (Adventures For The Cure)

11-28   Turkey Chase/MABRAcross Championships (T.E.A.M. Fuji)

To get the latest info on MABRAcross be sure to follow the Twitter feed: MABRAcross. The series is also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MABRAcross.

Rosaryville State Park

For those of you out there that race ‘cross first and foremost, this time of year is typically referred to as the offseason. Many ‘crossers are racing on the road to keep sharp but others are just starting to come out of hibernation to pack on the base miles. For me, it has always been a combination of the two. Lots of saddle time on the road with the occasional “who cares” race thrown in for good measure.

Little did I know there was a whole other world of cyclists out there that do it a little differently. You may have heard about these people. They ride around on bikes with fat tires and squishy forks. They call these contraptions “mountain bikes.” From what I understand, folks have been riding and racing these “mountain bikes” for quite some time and having “fun” while they do it. Intrigued but unconvinced this was no more than mythology and old wives’ tales, I set out to learn more.

Now this whole “dirt riding” concept isn’t completely foreign. I spend plenty of time “off road” on my bike in the fall and winter. Granted that riding is on a well-groomed cyclocross course in which there are usually clean smooth lines that spare my supple yet fragile tubular casings from too much wear and tear. Rarely are there the roots, divots and rocks that seem commonplace on the trails these mountain bikers or “MTBers” like to ride.

I was intrigued by it all but a little concerned as well. Egged on by teammates that partake in this “MTB” scene and claim to have “fun,” I got myself a bike. It has 700c wheels on it. The same as my ‘cross bike. That left me more at ease. But then I was told that I was supposed to call the wheels 29ers. That got me feeling a little uneasy again.

I have now ridden this rig, conveniently named the “Rig,” a handful of times and there’s no denying it, the “mountain bike” is “fun.” Dare I say “a blast.” You can get a great workout at threshold, work on the handling skills and break up the monotony of the road. That being said, I still don’t understand why you need a visor on your helmet if you are riding in the woods while wearing sunglasses. So much to learn.

I guess you can call this my MTB conversion story. For kicks, I strapped on the helmet cam for today’s ride and below is my video testimonial. Set to a song about having a well-stocked pantry. This, of course, has nothing to do with mountain biking, but what can I say, riding makes me hungry.

Truth be told, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to post this video because without anybody else in the frame it seemed like it could get a little boring. It is definitely not a CX race vid. In fact, Mrs. CXHairs watched for about ten seconds, and then mockingly said “look … around that bend … it’s … more trees.”

Understandably, after that exchange I was even more concerned about the boredom factor so I also showed the video to Jim, The Unholy Roleur, a lifelong MTB guy. He liked it and thought it would be interesting for all the fat tire folk out west to see what the East Coast terrain was like this time of year. Jim also mocked me for riding a mountain bike like a roadie. For now, I’m going to take that as a compliment.

Here’s the video, roadie skeelz and all. It was shot at Rosaryville State Park in Maryland. Home of the 2010 Tacchino Ciclocross. Thanks for watching.

If you have a CX Time-Trial, it should have a flyover ... and mud.

There has been a lot of talk—maybe too much talk—about this next issue. Yes, I’m talking about the introduction of a time-trial qualifier at ‘Cross Nationals. What was proposed at last weekend’s “Cyclocross Promoters Summit p/b USA Cycling” was a bit confusing and not necessarily explained well in the blogosphere. Thankfully, USA Cycling has now weighed in and issued a press release. Most of the release is about what a great time everybody had at “Cyclocross Promoters Summit p/b USA Cycling.” If you want to read about that, the full release can be found here. 

What interests us, however, was in one of the last paragraphs in the release. And it’s not as bad as first portrayed on the Interwebs and by no means a done deal. As you will see, the time-trial will not disqualify anybody from starting a race. Its purpose, for now, is to determine starting positions after the top eight for non-elite category racers. Here is the relevant language from USA Cycling: 

“USA Cycling staff presented the idea of conducting a time trial at the Cyclo-cross National Championships to create the call-up procedures for the non-elite category riders. The top eight finishers in each category will continue to be called up first. The time trial will offer all participants (for those categories that are not seeded by UCI points), the opportunity to vie for start position via a time trial held on a separate course. All participants, whether they choose to compete in the time trial or not, will retain the right to compete in the their race category with those opting not to contest the time trial called-up behind the last time trial qualifier. The final details on the time trial rules, schedule, process and the time trial course set up will be established and announced by July 1. 

Any and all discussions pertaining to the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships are preliminary as the International Cycling Union (UCI) retains all rights to final decision making on world championship policy.” 

Is this good, bad, flawed, perfect. Heck, I don’t know. But at least the proposed changes are a little clearer and from the horse’s mouth. You may now discuss amongst yourselves.

Have you ever noticed the arrow between the “E” and the “X” in the FedEx logo?

See the arrow?

How about the “11” hiding in the Big Ten, or the bear on the Toblerone wrapper? Create a cool, recognizable logo and folks will notice. Heck, they may even pay top dollar for a t-shirt with your design splashed across it.

This one is easy. Illogical, but easy.

Or even make a buck selling spoofs of said logoed t-shirts outside concert venues … “Just Dew It” anybody? 

Here in the Mid-Atlantic region, MABRAcross is looking for the iconic image that will set them apart from the cyclocross crowd. And they are asking you to help.

Bear where?

Create a logo for the MABRAcross series and fame, fortune and fabulous prizes will follow. Okay, maybe not fame and fortune but you will get free entry into three MABRAcross races, some other goodies to be named later and we will throw in a CXHairs shirt for good measure. 

Check out all the details below. 

Thanks for reading. 

MABRAcross Logo Design Contest 

Washington D.C., April 22/MABRAcross/—In 1925, the Minnesota Valley Canning Company knew they needed something eye catching to market a new line of extra-large peas. They put their heads together and came up with a scowling grey gnome sporting a bearskin. The legume buying public was unimpressed and many peas went unsold. The company learned from its mistake, asked for outside help, and soon introduced to the world a cheery green giant named Jolly. As quick as you can say “ho ho ho,” the company’s fortunes reversed and its canned peas were flying off the shelf. 

MABRAcross finds itself in a similar position. As one of the fastest growing cyclocross series in the country, we are looking to update our identity. For fear that doing this in-house would result in a race series represented by the equivalent of a grumpy pea-selling gnome, we are looking to you to help design the MABRAcross logo. 

We know many in the cyclocross community have a creative side. This is your chance to shine. So get out your colored pencils, fire up Illustrator or that new iPad, and give us your vision for MABRAcross. The logo design should incorporate “MABRAcross.” Not including this term will not disqualify your submission, but it is going to have to be a pretty amazing design to overcome the omission. 

The winner of this logo design contest will receive free entry into three 2010 MABRAcross races, and other assorted prizes. 

Please e-mail your submissions by May 14 to MABRAcross@gmail.com.

Entries will be judged by MABRAcross race promoters and a winning submission will be announced May 24. We will accept most any format. From high-end vector files to scanned cocktail napkins, as long as we can safely open the file, all comers are welcome. But please, no gnomes. 

The fine print: All submissions are the property of MABRA and MABRAcross. By submitting an entry, you agree that you are the owner of the design, and further agree to transfer all rights, including the right to reproduce, distribute and create derivative works based on the design, to MABRA and MABRAcross. Selected designs may be modified or combined with other entries. 

MABRAcross is the Mid-Atlantic Bicycle Racing Association’s cyclocross series, featuring eleven races at venues in Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C.

"Your Design Here"