Colorado CX State Championships, Day 2
Colorado State Cyclocross Championships, day 2
(December 18, 2011) CASTLE ROCK, Colo.—Race promoters Alpha Bicycle Company and the Frites En Mayo Velo Club pulled through to deliver a quality venue worthy of the Colorado State Championships. Promoters made great use of the Ryholite Bike Parks hilly terrain to keep racers on their toes from start to finish on a course that was noticeably different than previous races held at the location. It also helped to have perfect sunny weather, and a very muddy and partially snow covered course for prime cyclocross racing conditions.
The highlight feature of the course was a steep 20 foot tall fly-over that required a full head of steam to ride up and over without dabbing or falling. "It's pretty sweet, you have to come at it with a lot of speed. If you don't have a lot of speed you won't make it." said the new Colorado Men's Elite State Champion Yannick Eckmann.
A couple of greasy run-ups and a barrier section also ensured racers would be dismounting on multiple occasions with every lap. If the racers weren't pegged with keeping it upright in the mud, they were pegging their heart rates on the very vertical course.
The new Colorado Women's Elite State Champion Nicole Duke (Cycocrossworld / Cannondale) spoke highly of the course, and ranked it up with national caliber races such as those from the USGP series. "I think it was once of the hardest courses I've done this year. This one was brutal, there was no rest, mud the whole time, if it wasn't muddy it was an uphill, and if it wasn't an uphill it was a really technical downhill and you had to focus. It was a really good course."
Rebecca Gross (Tough Girls) took the lead going into first muddy descent by winning the drag race from the start line up a 1/8 mile paved climb that served to sort out the pecking order. Duke quickly grabbed her wheel with a fierce sprint from nearly the last starting position to keep from being held back once the racing got technical.
By the first laps end Duke was in the lead, and a battle ensued for second and third place just seconds behind. Flora Duffy (The Service Course) gave early chase to Duke, but only held onto second place briefly. With two to go Amanda Carey (Kenda / Felt), who previously won the last Elite Women's race at this venue just one month ago, was still riding strong to firmly take second place, and keep Duke in check from opening up a comfortable lead.
"I had to keep the gas on, and it hurt so bad because I just wanted to relax, but she (Carey) was right there so I couldn't let up", recalled Duke of the effort which earned her the win by 21 seconds.
In the Men's Elite race, Saturday's Singlespeed Champion Brady Kappius (Clif Bar) took the uphill drag race, and kept the lead going into the fly-over on the first lap. Behind, Boulder Cycle Sports' Allen Krughoff and Peter Weber were chasing furiously along just seconds behind coming into the fly-over.
Just behind them, Yannick Eckmann (Pearl Izumi, Trek, Shimano) was having fun in the mud and it showed with the speed that he applied to pass Weber, Krughoff and then Kappius before the end of the first lap.
"When I previewed the course I saw it was muddy, and I just like the mud this year. So I kept it easy, don't over-do it at the beginning, just keep going at a nice fast pace. I didn't have a great start but I kept going up (through the field) right away in the mud sections." said Eckmann after his skillfully ridden race that netted him a one minute winning margin along with the Colorado State Cyclocross Championship.
At more than twice Eckmann's age, elder Weber still rode a darn solid race to take a deserving second place. With one to go, Tim Allen's (Feedback Sports) barrier bunny-hopping skills brought him within seconds of third place, but Krughoff managed an excellent effort to keep his pace high, and claim the third spot on the podium.
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