Friends of In The Crosshairs and Crosshairs Radio, Arley Kemmerer and Rachel Rubino, have a new team and a new teammate and we couldn’t be more happy for them. Kemmerer and Rubino will be joined by Taryn Mudge and will race for Fearless Femme Racing. As great as it is for Kemmerer, Rubino and Mudge, it’s also exciting to see Fearless Femme Racing, an elite road and crit racing team enter the world of cyclocross. I hope it’s a path other domestic road teams follow.Continue reading “Kemmerer’s Level 11 Racing Joins Fearless Femme Racing”
DCCX takes place Sunday at the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington, D.C. With over 600 racers already registered, this … Continue reading DCCX Course Preview
Dee Dee Winfield (C3-Athletes Serving Athletes) is one of the fast women on the national cyclocross scene. Looking at the results for 2009 she has been on the podium in her last eight races. She came into the 2009 Tacchino Ciclocross a clear favorite, and did not disappoint, taking the win seemingly with ease. In fact, Dee Dee had established such a large gap on the field that she had time for a couple packaged meat hand-ups from host team Squadra Coppi’s “Suitcase of Sausage.”
We caught up with Dee Dee to talk about her day.
How much time do you spend on the course before racing?
For a 2:30 race, I usually arrive between 11 and 11:30. It takes time to get numbers, trainers set up, chat with a few people, try to make sure I am not too rushed.
Do you walk the course?
If it is super muddy, I may just walk the course and not ride but usually I will ride around while others are racing, check out potentially difficult areas, see how others ride those sections. I will hop on the course in between races for a few laps.
Do any hot laps?
One or two before the 1:30 race.
What are you looking for during this time?
Areas where I can make up time or where time may be made up on me due to strengths or weaknesses in my abilities. Places that may be difficult to pass or challenging in general, what line to take. Continue reading “Tacchino ‘Cross: Dee Dee Winfield”
Arley Kemmerer (Hub Racing) is an elite level women’s cyclocrosser that has been racking up UCI points this season with a slew of top 20 finishes at big races. In her third season of ‘cross, Arley has established herself as a top racer in the Mid-Atlantic region. Happy, but not satisfied, with how her season has progressed so far, Kemmerer would like to improve on her already impressive top 25 national ranking and finish out the MAC series in the top three.
When it comes to the MABRA Cyclocross Series, nobody has come close to Kemmerer. She powered away from the competition in the muddy Ed Sander Memorial race back in September and did the same at this past Sunday’s DCCX.
We caught up with Arley—who somehow balances a full race schedule with the demands of being in her third year of law school—to learn more about her season, training and the DCCX race.
Thanks for reading.
You were a skier before bike racer. How does the skill-set from skiing transfer to cycling?
Ski racing has definitely helped for cyclocross. A big part of ski racing is carrying your speed efficiently around turns, which requires you to choose and hold a fast line, which translates well into navigating a cyclocross course.
How long have you been racing ‘cross? Is CX or road your main cycling focus?
With the beginning of the season right around the corner I have decided it was time for ‘In The Crosshairs’ to do its first ever clip show. So pretend we have just accidentally locked ourselves in the cellar and are spending the time reminiscing about last season until somebody realizes we are missing. We are going to start the flashback sequence with some advice for the newbies. A standard interview question asked on this site concerns missteps of the new cyclocross racer. Here’s a look back at the knowledge handed down from podium finishers.
What is something you saw a newbie do that made you think “I really need to have a friendly word with that guy.” This could have been in a race or in the parking lot or waiting in line to register, etc.
URBAN CROSS.
STEVE FIFE: I see people roll to the start line cold all the time, and think it would really be helpful for them to know the benefit of a good warm up.
Technique. Tire Pressure. Layering. All are important in CX.
JULIE KULIECZA: I think I am still a newbie so if someone sees me doing something dumb please tell me. Pumping tires up to more than 50 psi. I did say something and they thanked me.
LINDSAY BAYER: I AM that newbie. People are always kindly pointing things out like, “Your number is on backwards,” or “You’re on the wrong type of bicycle” or “You should lay off the brakes in those turns.”
NOAH BELL: A guy ran through a ridable sand pit every lap and on the last lap a guy rode past him and he lost a podium spot.
Funnel cake, the midway, 4-H competitions, deep-fried Twinkies on a stick and cyclocross. All staples of the state fair. At least they will be if Ken Getchell, promoter of SpectaCross, has his way. The SpectaCross cyclocross races took place July 31 and August 1 at the New Jersey State Fair. Although fields were smaller than expected, the event was professionally run and featured a fun, tight course. We caught up with five participants to get their thoughts on the weekend.Continue reading “SpectaCross: The One With The Midway”
