Former Canadian National Cyclocross Champion Mike Garrigan
La Biciletta’s Mike Garrigan, the 2007 Canadian Cyclocross Champion, brought his skills as a professional mountain biker, accomplished ‘crosser, and former runner, to the fast technical Charm City Cyclocross course. In this past Sunday’s race at Druid Hill Park in Baltimore, Maryland, Garrigan battled with Adam Myerson and Davide Frattini all day long at the front of the Men’s Elite field. In the finale, it came down to a two-man battle for silver. Garrigan put in a strong effort to hold off Myerson and secure the second step on the podium.
Mike took some time to share some insights on how the day unfolded and his appreciation of a good bottle of wine. Continue reading »
Team Fuji’s Davide Frattini came to Charm City Cyclocross with arguably the best form in the elite men’s field. He proved this the day before by winning Nittany Lion Cross, race #1 in the MAC Cyclocross series. At Sunday’s Charm City Cyclocross, Frattini, who rides on the road for Colavita/Sutter Home, survived a mid-race crash to rejoin the lead pack and ultimately pull away at the end for the victory. Frattini previously won Charm City in 2007.
Davide travelled from Baltimore back to his home in Italy but was kind enough to take time out of his travels to answer some questions. Pay special attention to his pre-race routine. You don’t have to copy it exactly but it shows the meticulous planning professional racers undergo. It’s not just being a better athlete, boys and girls, it’s doing the little things that put yourself in the best position to win. Continue reading »
Bruno Roy Entered Sunday's race as one of the favorites.
A good argument can be made that the 2009 edition of Charm City Cyclocross featured the strongest elite women’s field racing in North America this past weekend. One of the favorites going into Sunday’s race, held September 20 at Druid Hill Park in Baltimore, Maryland, was Maureen “Mo” Bruno Roy, a multiple cyclocross and mountain bike national champion. Bruno Roy, the 2007 MAC Cyclocross Series champion, entered Sunday’s race fast on the heels of a second place finish in Nittany Lion Cross, the MAC season opener.
Bruno Roy, who along with her husband Matt Roy make up MM Racing, spent Sunday battling it out in a five women lead group that contained Charm City Cycling stalwarts Laura Van Gilder and Diedre Winfield. What was by far the closest race of the day, came down to an exciting last lap battle. Maureen gives us the inside scoop on how the race unfolded. Continue reading »
The interviews from this past Sunday’s Charm City Cyclocross that took place at Druid Hill Park in Baltimore, Maryland, are coming in fast and furious. Because several pro riders from the elite field were kind enough to take time out of their incredibly busy schedules to share some knowledge, I am going to change the format of race interviews a bit and push a couple posts out ahead of the field. The first interview I’d like to share is with Adam Myerson.
Adam has been a professional bike racer since 2003. He races on the road for Team Mountain Khakis and dons the kit of his coaching business, Cycle-Smart, for cyclocross season. Myerson hit the first two races in the MAC Cyclocross series days after finishing third on the road in the Texas Tough criterium, September 17. He placed second at the MAC opener, Nittany Lion Cross, September 19, and finished third in Sunday’s Charm City Cyclocross.
Myerson and the elite men chill before the start
I had an opportunity to ask Adam about the Charm City race. If you are new to racing, or even if you have been at it a while, give this interview a careful read. The amount of coaching, tactics, strategy and training advice stuffed into his responses to eight questions is incredible.
As I work on getting together interviews from this past Sunday’s Charm City Cyclocross at Druid Hill Park in Baltimore, Maryland, I am pleased to present the first ever In The Crosshairs helmet-cam production. Here is the prologue and first lap from the Men’s Masters B race.
In its original format, there was a smoking soundtrack to accompany the video. But it turns out that Sony Corp. and I disagree on the definition of “fair use” and You Tube has disabled the audio. I will try to have an alternative copy with restored audio up on Vimeo soon. In the meantime, take your Dramamine and let’s go for a ride.
The wait is finally over. Cyclocross season gets under way in earnest this weekend. Now is the time to pull those race shoes from the trunk of your car and scrape last December’s mud off the cleats. Time to get the skinsuit out of the mothballs, and to make sure you haven’t used the last of the embrocation.
For many in the Mid-Atlantic region, Charm City Cyclocross, which takes place September 20, is the kickoff to the CX season. It’s our Daytona 500. The big race right at the beginning of the season. And although it seems like this has been the case forever, the race is not that old. Born out of weekly ‘cross practices, the event has grown from a small grassroots effort in 2005, into a UCI-sanctioned event boasting fields of over 100 racers in several categories. Continue reading »
