DCCX, the undisputed queen of the MABRAcross series, went off Sunday, October 24, at the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington, D.C. The event attracted over 700 racers and many more spectators. A new course designed by race organizers DCMTB and The Family Bike Shop set the stage for a day of hard racing under ideal conditions. The weatherman helped out the party atmosphere with 70 degree weather and sunny skies.
The elite men’s race was won by wunderkind Joe Dombrowski (Haymarket Bicycles-SEAVS), who looked like his main priority on the day was to open up his legs for the tandem race scheduled for later in the afternoon. Chasing Dombrowski for the entire 60 minutes and taking second place was C3-Athletes Serving Athletes strongman Wes Schempf. Olympian Bobby Lea (Van Dessel) slotted in for third.
Haymarket rider Stephen Cummings followed Lea in for a solid fourth place. Steevo, who has graced the pages of VeloNews for his cyclocross prowess, was kind enough to spend a couple minutes with us after the race.
We caught up with Jared Nieters the winner of the elite men’s race at Winchester Apple Harvest Cross to talk about the race and check out his new bike set-up. Nieters has played the good teammate for the past couple weeks. But with Joe Dombrowski not in attendance, Nieters took it upon himself to animate the race, which became a two-man battle between Jared and C3-Athletes Serving Athletes’ Wes Schempf. Nieters and Schempf have been spending a lot of quality time together in the MABRAcross series and this race was no different.
Donning the Verge Sport MABRAcross leader jersey he wrenched from his teammates shoulders, Nieters talked tactics, skills and what it’s like to ride the Shimano Di2 gruppo in a ‘cross race.
Big thanks to Peter Niccoll (superluminalmedia.com), who used his PRO filmmaking skills to make my little non-pro production shine. Seriously, check out the camera work. Classy, on the fly, stuff going on there.
It’s so crazy it just might work. Sylvan Cycles specializes in using sustainable materials to build bicycles that “rival or surpass conventional frame materials for performance.” We met up with Sylvan co-founder John Fabel at the 2010 Shimano North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Richmond, Virginia, to talk wood bikes and how they would hold up on a ‘cross course.
Sylvan’s featured bike at the show was their adventure model, a sharp looking ride crafted to excel in adventure and randonneur events. This does not mean, however, that the model would hold you back at your local ‘cross throw down. And talk about turning some heads. And I’ll bet for few extra bucks, the boys at Sylvan will get out their wood burning kit and etch your name on the top tube.
Sylvan Cycles cares about building quality bikes and also about getting people to out and riding no matter what they throw their leg over. Hence their by line, “using bicycles to go places.” Learn more about the company by visiting it online at www.sylvancycles.com.
The North American Handmade Bicycle Show took place February 26-28 in Richmond, Virginia. Started in 2005 with around 30 booths and 700 visitors, NAHBS has grown into an event featuring over 150 exhibitors and 7000 attendees. The craftsmanship of the bikes, components, accessories and clothing on display at the show is top notch. I’m sure by now most people have seen photos of the shiny bits that commanded everyone’s attention. I have some, too, and will get them posted soon.
Our mission at this show was to find some interesting cross-specific stories for CXHairs. Along with photos, I conducted a fair number of video interviews. The first is with Eric Sampson, president of Sampson Bicycles & Components, based in Denver, Colorado. Sampson designs and builds components that rival the big boys. His shifters and drivetrain components feature precision operation, competitive weights and a damn nice price-point.
I asked Eric how Sampson’s Stratics group holds up to the rigors of cyclocross. Here’s what he had to say.
Thanks for watching. Later this week we will feature interviews from Mike Zanconato, and Sylvan Bicycles‘ John Fabel.
Jared Nieters (Haymarket Bicycles/HomeVisit) has a robot obsession. In a nod to this life-long theme, we have coined Jared’s interview feature “Interview-a-Tron.” As Jared explains, “It’s a subtle nod to the robot, but still stays on point in that it’s an interview.” So there you have it.
In this episode we have three clips.
First up is Steve “Steevo” Cummings (Indiana Regional Medical Center) discussing old-school modems and his aspirations for Tacchino Ciclocross.
In our next clip, Sam O’Keefe (C3-Athletes Serving Athletes) seems to be taking in stride his upgrade from the Killer Bs to Elites.
Finally, we have Jared giving the run down on the Fair Hill elite race. Not sure who is playing the part of Interview-a-Tron.
Dave Fuentes (Battley Harley Davidson-Sonoma) is an accomplished road racer that started racing cyclocross last season. He has battled this season in the Masters Elite field taking a second place at Charm City Cyclocross, third place at Kelley Acres ‘Cross, and a win at the Breast Cancer Awareness Cyclocross Challenge. With many of the area’s pro/1/2 men racing in Ohio, Fuentes took the opportunity to test his legs in the elite race at the inaugural Hyattsville CX.
Fuentes attacked the power sections. Photo by J. Steen.
It was clear from the outset that the power output that works to Fuentes’ advantage on the road would translate well on the Hyattsville course. In the early laps only one rider, Adam Driscoll (Adventures for the Cure), was able to keep close as Fuentes put in a string of brutal attacks that depleted the field. The pair stuck together for about 45 of the 60 minute race. But after Driscoll lost his chain, Fuentes established a gap and went into time trial mode to seal the victory.
Following the win and podium presentation, while most racers and spectators made their ways back to their cars, Fuentes and his podium-mates stayed at the venue to escort a group of Special Olympics athletes through the course. The race was able to raise close to $3000 for the Special Olympics organization and it was great to see Dave, Adam Driscoll, Patrick Blair and Chris Consorto take the time to help the cause.
Following the race we caught up with Fuentes to ask him about his day. If you are a hardcore roadie that still hasn’t caught the ‘cross bug, pay special attention to this interview. Here is a guy that is still “learning” the sport of cyclocross (50 psi in the Dugasts??), yet winning races and having a blast. Continue reading »
The SpectaCross cyclocross and speed trials races took place July 31 and August 1 at the New Jersey State Fair. Being the only show in town this time of year, we have lots of good stuff to share. But before getting to rider interviews from this past weekend’s races we are going to start our coverage with the man behind the curtain.
Ken Getchell
Ken Getchell’s SpectaSport LLC spearheads publicity for several cyclocross race series including MAC, OVCX and MABRA, as well as the Gravity East downhill series. Getchell can also be found as a race announcer for many events on the CX calendar. He has been at the publicity game a long time. Ken started SUPERKARTS!USA (now SKUSA) and was the publicist for future three-time Tour de France champion Greg Lemond’s first race as a professional in Wildwood, New Jersey in 1980.
He had to call on much of that experience to pull off two days of cyclocross in the middle of summer and at a state fair. Now that the dust (or mud) has settled, we caught up with Ken to get his thoughts on the weekend. Continue reading »
Did you finish last cyclocross season with an aching back and the feeling that you were fighting your bike every race? Are you looking forward to repeating that same scenario this season? If not, it may be time to consider a professional bike fitting. While it is not going to strengthen your core or increase your VO2 max, a proper fit should make you more efficient and decrease the discomfort inevitable in our sport.
When it comes to cyclocross, the bike fit conundrum comes with a host of oft-repeated truths that anonymous interweb posters insist we must follow. These include buying a smaller frame, lowering your saddle, moving the saddle forward, moving it back, raising your bars. Are these ‘truths’ correct? Honestly, I don’t know. So I asked somebody who does.
Beth Mason is a licensed physical therapist, certified bike fitter, and Cat 1 road and cyclocross racer. This triple threat of experience provides Beth with a rock solid perspective on common fit issues facing anyone toeing the line at a cyclocross event. Continue reading »
In Part I of our interview with Simon Burney we talked about coming up in British cycling and what it was like racing cyclocross as a pro back in the day. In Part II, Simon provides some great tips for the upcoming CX season, talks about the state of the sport in North America and Europe, and gives us a sneak peak into his latest venture.Continue reading »
“Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.” ~P.J. O’Rourke
After hosting a fun but slightly embarrassing pity party in my last post, I received a comment from Simon Burney commiserating with me over my chronic knee issues. Seems Simon is in a similarly immobile position and was nice enough to pass on some words of encouragement. If you do not know who Simon Burney is, you haven’t been following the sport of cyclocross carefully enough. Simon wrote the book on the sport. Literally. He wrote the book. It is available here. Go buy it now and come back. I’ll wait.
Not wanting to lose a great opportunity to pick the brain of one of the most knowledgeable people in the sport, I asked Simon if he would mind answering some questions. He was gracious enough to comply and did so in spades. When I first asked for an interview, Simon said, “you might want to put a word limit on my responses, I can waffle on about ‘cross for pages.” He may consider it waffling, I consider it knowledge and you should too. Continue reading »
