In The Crosshairs

U.S. Cyclocross Nationals took place January 4-8 near Madison, Wisconsin. When USA Cycling first announced the championships would be held in Madison, many decided not to go because it was Wisconsin in the winter. It turns out that was the wrong decision. Unseasonably warm weather and a challenging course made for some spectacular racing. No time to weigh you down with words. Instead, we have video. And pictures. (The constantly growing gallery is also here.) Big thanks to Ryan Dudek for helping film the races. And to Jay Westcott for lending us gear.

Thanks for watching.

The Elite Men

The Elite Women

U23 Men

Had this up on the Tumblr account, which you can find at cxhairs.tumblr.com and believe it is worthwhile to post here, too. It is a short public service announcement intended to clear up some confusion in the cyclocross community. Compare and contrast.

“bunny-hop”:

“riding barriers”:

The more you know …

Thanks for watching and see you this Sunday at Winchester Apple Cross!

The Season Is Upon Us.

Crikeys. Where did the summer go? Or the spring and end of winter, for that matter. It’s already cross season? Every year seems to follow the same pattern. Wait, wait, wait, wait … and … WAIT!!! I’m not ready, yet! The MAC has already started, MABRAcross Super 8 gets going a week from Sunday, Charm City this weekend. Sort of like the sport itself, there is no easing into the cyclocross season. Once it’s on, it is on.

But it’s cool. We know you all did the work, put in the intervals, got rid of that double-hop, glued the tubulars (with glue AND tape … and not that skinny Tufo stuff), furiously hit enter—from 7:59 p.m. until registered—for the past three or four Sunday evenings, and are totally prepared for another season of lung-searing fun.

JPow explains the ways of the cyclocross.

In what has become a tradition in these parts, the 3rd annual Fulcrum Coaching and JBV Coaching Cross Clinic with Rapha Focus pro cyclocrosser Jeremy Powers kickstarted the season with a weekend chock full of cyclocross goodness. Skills were learned, technique was taught, burritos were eaten, and 50+ dedicated cyclocross racers, both new and weathered, went away with the tools to be faster this season.

Big thanks to Bike Doctor of Waldorf for hosting the free meet & greet with Jeremy Powers, the night before the clinic. Next year, go check this event out. It’s free, it’s a ton of information, and JPow tells some great stories. Also, check out the shop. Truly one of the best in the area and worth the drive from DC. Great inventory and service, and the owner, Chris Richardson, is hands down the most knowledgeable bike fitter I’ve ever talked to.

So here we are. At the start of another cyclocross season. And before we know it, it will be over. But that’s sort of the beauty, right? Fast, furious, done.

But in the meantime, lots of things are planned for the CXHairs this season. Course previews will start back up, videos, photos, interviews should all be here, too. If there is something you would like to see or contribute drop me a line at CXHairs(at)Gmail.

For now, check out the super PRO video rundown of the cross clinic put together by the creator of CrossTalk and president of SuperLuminal Films, Peter Nicoll.

And this ode to the end of summer. Sniff.

Thanks for visiting. Talk to you soon.

Your 2011 Cross Clinic Instructors

The MAC is up and running and already has over 1000 registrants, MABRAcross will open its doors for business this weekend. We know you can’t wait. But does that mean you’re ready?

Are you faster around the cyclocross course this year than you were last year? Did you know that using proper dismounting, remounting, carrying and cornering technique can make you ten, 15, or even 30 seconds faster per lap? Think about that. If your race is four laps long, that can mean you are a minute or even two minutes faster than you were last season without any improvement in fitness.

Do you ever practice your race starts? Are you confident you know the best way to approach this important part of a cross race? If you have the proper technique and strategy you will be better equipped to be in that first group as it hits the inevitable chokepoint in every course. Being up front means a smooth ride and faster times. As your competition bottlenecks behind, you will be in your rhythm creating gaps on those poor souls in your rearview mirror.

I know by now you are thinking, nay saying out loud, “Wow, all this sounds great! I too want to learn how to take minutes off my lap times and get to the front at the start. But how? How do I get there?”

That part, Mid-Atlantic friends and neighbors, is easy. You get yourself to the top cyclocross clinic in the area. The Fulcrum Coaching and JBV Coaching Cyclocross Clinic with Jeremy Powers.

It all happens Labor Day weekend starting with a Saturday, September 3, cross talk and meet & greet at Bike Doctor of Waldorf. Rapha-Focus pro cyclocrosser Jeremy Powers will be on hand to answer your questions about his racing career, tricks of the trade, training advice and anything else you care to ask. Joining Jeremy during this session will be Fulcrum Coaching’s Dan Tille and JBV Coaching’s Chris Mayhew. Dan and Chris have years of experience racing and coaching cyclocross. Come out and pick their brains on the latest gear and training techniques. The Saturday night portion of the clinic is free but you still need to register.

On Sunday, September 4, we get down to business. It’s a full day of on the bike training at Rosaryville State Park in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, venue of the MABRAcross Super 8 opening race, Tacchino Ciclocross. From 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., Jeremy, Chris and Dan will be joined by instructors Marc “FatMarc” Vettori and Rusty Williford to make sure every attendee receives one-on-one instruction. Also on hand to help out will be Gunnar Bergey, who spent part of last winter in Belgium at USA Cycling’s elite level Eurocross Camp, racing against Europe’s top talent.

Throughout the day, the full group will receive demonstration and explanation of a certain skill and then break into smaller groups based on skill and experience level. These smaller groups will work on the skill and receive instruction from the coaches.

As if that wasn’t enough to convince you to sign up now, Fulcrum coaching will also provide individual video analysis of each attendee using Dartfish motion capture technology. At the end of the day when the group has reviewed and practiced the essential cyclocross skills, each attendee will be filmed dismounting, carrying and remounting. Detailed, written feedback on form and technique will be sent out within a week of the camp ending.

Finally, did we mention the FULL RAPHA KIT Jeremy Powers will be raffling off Saturday night at The Bike Doctor of Waldorf? Seriously, a FULL RAPHA KIT. You have to look good racing and training and you can’t not do that in Rapha. It’s an extra added incentive to get you to this clinic. Everybody is going to come away from the weekend faster. One of you will also come away just a bit cooler and more fashionable than the rest. (All registrants for the free Saturday evening session will be eligible for the Rapha giveaway. You do not need to sign up for Sunday to win.)

This clinic is truly the best way to get a leg up on the field. Many attendees are coming back for their second and third years, and it’s not just for the complimentary Chipotle lunch. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for you, too. Come on out and join us.

To register, please visit http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=13780. Space is limited to 50 attendees and last year’s clinic sold out.

Check out photos from last year’s clinic here.

Also be sure to follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Fulcrum-Coaching-JBV-Coaching-Cyclocross-clinic/112506545463716?ref=sgm.

If you have any questions about the clinic please do not hesitate to contact Chris Mayhew at chris@jbvcoaching.com or 724.413.7441.

In what has become a can’t miss annual event, U.S. pro cyclocrosser Jeremy Powers (Rapha/Focus) will once again join forces with JBV Coaching and Fulcrum Coaching in a full day cyclocross boot camp. Building on the overwhelming success of the last two years, this one-day cyclocross indoctrination—sponsored by the Bike Doctor of Waldorf—is the perfect way to kick off a successful 2011 ‘cross campaign. Ideal for new and experienced cyclocross racers, Jeremy and a staff of four top-notch instructors will give you the inside scoop on everything you need to know to step up your game.

Fulcrum Coaching's Rusty Williford gives one-on-one instruction.

The 2011 event kicks off September 3 at 7 p.m. with a free Jeremy Powers Meet & Greet and Q&A at the Bike Doctor of Waldorf. The clinic takes place the next day, September 4th, at Rosaryville State Park in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. A short drive from Washington, D.C., and the site of MABRAcross’ Tacchino Ciclocross, Rosaryville’s varied terrain gives clinic participants the opportunity to learn and hone their skills on most surfaces found in East Coast cyclocross racing.

Attendees can look forward to a jam-packed day of technique, tactics and skills, as well as one-on-one instruction from JPow and professional coaches. “Everyone learns something which is my number one goal with this camp,” Powers said after last year’s clinic. “The coaches make our best effort to get everyone nailing the techniques the correct way,” he added. “We hit on the fundamentals of cyclocross so all participants have the tools to get a result in their upcoming races.”

This clinic is designed to help the beginner and accomplished cyclocross racer. With four coaches in addition to Jeremy, every attendee will receive individual instruction tailored to improve their technique, tactics and training. Participants will be divided into groups by experience so beginners are not left behind and experienced racers are constantly challenged to improve their skill set. All coaches, including Jeremy, will work with each group several times as the day progresses.

Jeremy Powers (Rapha/Focus) Addresses 2010 Clinic Attendees

Where most clinics give you a couple hours or a half-day of instruction, the Fulcrum Coaching and JBV Coaching clinic goes all out. Not only do you receive a full day of instruction on all facets of ‘cross racing, a Chipotle lunch, and an end-of-the-day mock race to put all your new skills into practice, but you also get the opportunity to pick Jeremy’s brain at the Friday night ‘cross talk session at The Bike Doctor in Waldorf, Maryland.

Friday night’s cross talk event at The Bike Doctor of Waldorf is 7 to 9:30 p.m. Although the cross talk event is free, you still need to register to attend. Saturday’s clinic at Rosaryville State Park will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To register, visit http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=13780. Space is limited to 50 attendees and last year’s clinic sold out fast.

Check out photos from last year’s clinic here

If you have any questions about the clinic contact Chris Mayhew at chris@jbvcoaching.com or 724.413.7441.

Jeremy Powers Demonstrates the Dismount at the JBV & Fulcrum Clinic

Last Friday afternoon a group of Mid-Atlantic CX diehards welcomed Cannondale-Cyclcrossworld.com rider Jeremy Powers to the DC-region by hitting the single-track trails at Maryland’s Rosaryville State Park. Normally a favorite destination for the area’s MTB crowd, Rosaryville’s smooth and fast trails turn out to be ideal on the ‘cross bike. 

Powers, in town for the JBV Coaching & Fulcrum Coaching Cyclocross Clinic that went down August 28, was coming off a 30 hour training week and a couple hours of sitting on a plane. Needing a little extra time to get his legs going meant that I was just about able to hang on his wheel for the easy first lap and get a little helmet-cam footage. The other folks in the group were Steve Fife (Bike Doctor), Rusty Williford (Fulcrum Coaching), Bruce Buckley (The Bike Lane), Dan Tille (Fulcrum Coaching) and Kate Graham (BioWheels). 

A couple caveats before we get to the video. First, what you see is more or less a warm-up lap. Sure, seeing JPow ripping through these trails would be sick footage, but by the time he was doing that, I was hanging off the back and running into trees. Next time, I’m giving the camera to Rusty. Second, my filming skills are still in pre-season form and the camera angle is not ideal. Too many treetops and not enough action in the center of the frame. Finally, stick around for the end of the clip to see a little bonus coverage of JPow taking some time out of the ride for a session on one of Rosaryville’s skinny sections. 

Soundtrack by The Hood Internet. 

Thanks for watching.

Coach Mayhew rails the off-cambers at the clinic despite the bad wing.

JBV Coaching and Fulcrum Coaching hosted their second annual cyclocross clinic with Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com rider Jeremy Powers at Rosaryville State Park in Maryland, August 28th.

Over fifty participants joined JBV Coaching associate coach Chris Mayhew and Fulcrum Coaching president Dan Tille for a day of drills, instruction, entertaining commentary and friendly competition. Tille, Mayhew and Powers were joined by Fulcrum Coaching’s Rusty Williford and C3-Athlete Serving Athlete’s Marc Vettori.

In the coming days we will have some great posts to share with you from this clinic. Until then, here are some photos to give you an idea of how the day went. Check back every couple days as the set is sure to grow.

The full set of photos will eventually be available here. Below is the appetizer. Thanks for viewing.

Update: My gallery app that should be below doesn’t seem to be working great. You can click here and check out many more shots from the day.

Powers, Mayhew and Tille field your questions Friday night

In conjunction with the 2010 Fulcrum Coaching and JBV Coaching Cyclocross Clinic that takes place this Saturday, top U.S. cyclocrosser, Jeremy Powers, will be answering your questions at the Bike Doctor of Waldorf during a Friday night meet and greet. This free event, made possible by the Bike Doctor, Cannondale Bicycles and Swiftwick, is open to the public. If you live in the DC metro region, take advantage of this opportunity. Jeremy is here to share his knowledge on all things cyclocross. If you are new to the sport or a seasoned veteran this is a great opportunity to pick the brain of a rider at the top of his game. The meet and greet is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m.

As if you needed another reason to attend this event, Cannondale is upping the ante by giving away a brand new Cannondale cyclocross frame. The only catch is you have to be at the Bike Doctor Friday Night to win.

Jeremy Powers is a professional cyclist with the Cannondale-CycloCrossWorld.com professional cyclocross team and the Jelly Belly professional road team. Last season he raced his way to 20 UCI cyclocross podiums and was ranked number one for the USA Cycling Cyclocross national racing calendar. In addition to racing domestically Jeremy has spent the last six seasons training and racing in Europe. He has represented the U.S. at the cyclocross world championships seven times.

Along with Jeremy, Dan Tille (Fulcrum Coaching) and Chris Mayhew (JBV Coaching) will be on hand to field any training, nutrition and technique questions you may have. Tille and Mayhew are experienced coaches and seasoned racers with the knowledge to set you straight on a plethora of cycling-related issues. For those also attending the clinic, this is a great time to get your questions answered, leave that much more time on Saturday for hands-on instruction.

For directions to the Friday Meet and Greet with Jeremy Powers you can enter into Google or MapQuest: 3200 Leonardtown Road, Waldorf, MD 20601.

As an appetizer to the Friday night gig, we caught up with Jeremy to ask him a couple question about transitioning from road to ‘cross and his goals for the upcoming season.

Have you changed your approach over the years in how you transition from road to ‘cross?

Yes and no. Every year’s approach to the season is different because my schedule with Jelly Belly constantly changes from year to year in August and September. For example, this year I’m not racing the tour of Missouri because it was canceled.

That gave me the opportunity to relax a little bit in July andAugust, and come into the season more relaxed. In turn, this will keep me more on task for doing well in December through February.

In years past I’ve come out of the blocks with great form, fresh off Missouri and as the season and miles in the air add up, my form slips little by little as we make our way to February. So this little shift in timing and schedule is a huge change for me this year.

It’s a positive change and I’m constantly trying to figure out the formula to racing competitively here in the U.S. all season and still racing at 100 percent in Europe in January and February.

How have your ‘cross goals evolved over the years and how does this affect where and when you race?

Back in the day … I definitely did whatever races could to garner a sponsor’s attention to my results!  When I came back to the U.S. from racing in Europe in 2006, my number one goal was to find a good sponsor. I cherry-picked some races I could win and that worked out for me.

A couple years later, with the help of Cannondale and Cyclocrossworld.com, I’m trying harder and harder to bring my best form to the biggest races of the season! Vegas, Ohio, USGP, Nationals, Europe, Worlds.

I think once you get towards the top of any sport, you have to think about goals and what your weaknesses are so you can be the best you and get the most out of yourself.

I set a lot of personal goals, some that aren’t even related to racing, like drinking more water throughout the day or getting in bed at 10pm!

Looking at the scheduling stuff, the team and I try to build my schedule around what makes the most sense logistically and for our sponsors. There’s a lot of racing out there.

Sometimes a weekend on the east coast with some racing is a nice break from being away from home and living out of a bag.

Thanks for reading and see you on Friday.

“@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