Four events on the 2009/2010 USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Racing Calendar were held last weekend: the Blue Sky Velo Cup and Beacon Cross on October 31 and the Boulder Cup and HPCX on November 1.

Katie Compton (Colorado Springs, Colo./Planet Bike) and Timothy Johnson (Middleton, Mass./ Cyclocrossworld.com/Cannondale) picked up the elite wins at the Blue Sky Velo Cup in Longmont, Colo. on Oct. 1. The pair then repeated their victories a day later at the Boulder Cup in Boulder, Colo. Click here for complete results from the Boulder Cup.

On the east coast, Mary McConneloug (Chilmark, Mass./Seven) and Nicholas Weighall (Milcreek, Mich.) won the elite contests at Beacon Cross in Bridgeton, N.J. Valentin Scherz (Pro Cycles-Scott-Newwork) and Maureen Bruno-Roy (Arlington, Mass./MM Racing p/b Seven Cycles) then won the elite races at the HPCX in Jamesburg, N.J. Click here for complete HPCX results.

Read the rest of this entry �

Lazer Helmets announced today that it will support Amy Dombroski with helmets for the balance of the 2009/2010 cyclocross season.

“We have worked with Amy previously as a member of the Webcor Builders Women’s Professional Team. She is a great rider, gets results and is a fantastic representative of the sport and our products,” stated Christopher Smith of Lazer Helmets. “We are really happy to be able to continue with Amy into 2010!”

“As a member of Webcor last season, we were lucky to ride Lazer Helmets, and that is when I realized that a helmet is more than just a brain cap,” stated Amy. “Other helmets were a chore to wear; looking like a mushroom, feeling like a brick with a chin strap, and giving me headaches because the fit was off! Lazer has revolutionized the helmet into one that feels like your favorite tuque. The best part, for luscious locks, is there is a cut-out on the back of the helmet for your ponytail. To add to that, it is wicked light and the Rollsys® retention system is the easiest to use and really fine-tunes the fit. I am stoked to be able to use a helmet I trust, and one that I enjoy to wear for the remainder of the cyclocross season!”

Amy’s racing results have been impressive. She is the current USA Espoir National Champion in every discipline of endurance cycling - Cyclocross, MTB, and road. Cyclocross results this year so far include a 2nd and 3rd place finish at the last stop of the USGP series in Louisville, KY and a 2nd place yesterday at the Boulder Cup.

Lazer Helmets wishes Amy good luck for a successful cyclocross racing season!

For more information on Amy Dombroski please visit her website:
http://www.amydombroski.net

Redline 2009 Conquest Pro Full Review - By Steve Cooper

• Frame: R6 Double Butted Alloy
• Fork: Carbon Fiber With Alloy Steerer.
• Sram Rival shifters and derailleurs
• FSA Gossamer 46×36t crankset
• Ritchey Pro wheel set with Hutchinson Bulldog tires
• Available in 7 sizes

Admit it. You’ve watched crazed cyclocross riders with drop bars and skinny tires plowing through puddles, scrambling up muddy hill sides and shouldering their dirt caked bikes over logo clad white barriers. Likely you’ve pondered what it would take to get out in the muck, all with a hunch that the filthier you got, the funner the time you’d have.

The obvious door into that day dream is to break down and buy a cross bike; but your frugal side smacks you upside the head and halts that dream dead in its tracks. Reality check. You talk yourself down, rationalizing that a decent cross bike is too expensive. And an affordable one is bound to be a string of disappointing compromises that you’ll outgrow as soon as CCX skills kick in.

Turns out, Redline has your wake up call. They’ve assembled a sophisticated spec that retires that rationale. The Pro doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to straddle, and if you truly outgrow it, it’s time to line up sponsors. The 2009 Conquest Pro is a solid cyclocross offering that gets you onto the dirt, helping dial in your skinny tire trail chops; and when you finally decide to take it to the races, just get a number and go.

Sure you’ll want to tweak it some. But the Conquest Pro is a great foundation, and since you’re not into it for deep coin, adding those few pieces along the way is as painless as upgrading can be.

Series Expands North of the Border to Canada

Coming off of a strong first year that saw series champions Ryan Trebon and Georgia Gould capture the individual titles, as well as the coveted “NACT champions belts,” the North American Cyclocross Trophy announced its 2009 schedule with expansion to Canada.

The 2009 season will include 10 events:

• Star Crossed on September 19 (Seattle. WA)
• RAD Racing Gran Prix on September 20 (Seattle, WA)
• The Erdinger Gran Prix of Gloucester on October 3-4 (Gloucester, MA)
• Toronto International Cyclocross on October 17-18 (Toronto, ON)
• Blue Sky Velo Cup on October 31 (Longmont, CO)
• The Boulder Cup on November 1 (Boulder, CO)
• Whitmore’s Landscaping Super Cross Cup on November 21-22 (Southampton, NY)

The addition of Canada’s most prestigious cyclocross race to the NACT schedule makes it a truly North American series. Toronto International Technical Director Scott Doel commented, “Our race has experienced tremendous growth in the last 5 years, and that’s evident by the depth and talent of the competitors involved. We’re honored to a part of this exciting North American series.”

Read the rest of this entry �

KANSAS CITY - The USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships opened on Thursday with just over 50 master-aged riders tackling the demanding course at Kansas City’s Tiffany Springs Park. Gary Thacker (Louisville, Colo./Chipotle-Titus), Phil Bannister (Putney, Vt./Putney-West Hill), Rob Lea (Taneytown, Md./Team Fuji), and Walt Axthelm (Durango, Colo./Durango Wheel Club) won the first of 34 stars-and-stripes jerseys to be awarded at this year’s competition.

With sunny skies and temperatures comfortably in the 30’s the first national championship contest went off at 1:00 p.m. After the early week snow and the morning’s B races, the well-broken-in course made for a slow start to the master men’s 55-59 contest. The slick corners were however no problem for Louisville, Colorado’s Thacker who moved to the front on the first lap and never looked back. The 55-year old veteran mountain biker took up cyclo-cross only three years ago, but has quickly taken to America’s fastest growing cycling discipline.

Read the rest of this entry �

Sidi Dragon 2 SRS Carbon Shoes Pro Review - By Russell Clark

• Carbon Sole Replacement System (SRS), a pure carbon insert reaching from the heel to the toe
• Patented Techno II buckle system and Caliper buckle
• Sizes - 39 to 48
• MSRP - $429

My name is Russell Clark. I’m an avid cyclist who dabbles a bit in competitive road cycling and cyclocross racing. Road cycling is a pretty big sport in Europe, and has really gained notoriety in the last decade with stellar performances by a handful of American riders. Cyclocross, on the other hand, is not as popular. I’d say it’s followed by more of what I call ‘the sub-culture of cycling. Cyclocross is a sport which transcended from more of an off-season training regime for professional road cyclists to stay in ‘cycling shape’ during the fall and winter months. In modern-day cyclocross racing, individuals are often challenged by the cold and wet elements of fall & winter. Additionally, courses are designed to challenge the riders’ skill level, often requiring them to dismount, run over/jump obstacles, and remount the machine to carry forward.

The demands of a competitive cyclocross racer are such that his or her shoe must be one that is stable, be compliant enough for the running/jumping bit, offer good traction, and be stiff enough to efficiently transfer the pedal power to forward motion. In my experience, Sidi has been one of the leaders and most highly sought-after shoes for this sport: Cyclocross.

During the past 3 months, I have been testing a pair of “mountain” shoes made by Sidi. This shoe, the Dragon 2 SRS Carbon was the shoe provided by Sidi for me to test. Mountain bike shoes are, for the most part, synonymous with cyclocross shoes. The shoe need for both sports are in parallel, with the added need for running & jumping of barriers, in cyclocross. Now, 3 months might seem like a long time to acquire data, but all weather & terrain conditions were considered…and only recently came to my disposal. My first few rides with the Dragon 2’s were short ones. Once the cleat position was dialed and the 2nd foot bed added, I was ready to venture further than the local trails. I think it took about 4-5 rides for the Dragon 2’s to break-in for me. As I have a low instep, it was necessary for me to add a 2nd foot bed to the shoe for proper fit. Once this was done, the shoe fit perfectly.

Read the rest of this entry �

By Steve Cooper

• Frame: R6 Double Butted Alloy
• Fork: Carbon Fiber With Alloy Steerer.
• Sram Rival shifters and derailleurs
• FSA Gossamer 46×36t crankset
• Ritchey Pro wheel set with Hutchinson Bulldog tires
• Available in 7 sizes

The call came in Friday afternoon. “The Redline has arrived”, I repeat “the Redline has arrived”. Mostly set-up, the Conquest Pro didn’t take much time to finish building and match positions to my CCX race bike. I did a test ride in Nisene Marks Saturday morning, and then raced today. Whew, that’s fast. Maybe too fast to work all the kinks out – that’s okay, cause this is going to be a great review ride throughout the hectic CCX race season we’re in the middle of.

In the meantime, here are my first impressions.

Spec: 95% Brilliant. It’s all built around a Redline R6 aluminum frame and a Redline carbon fork. Rival derailleurs front and rear with 09’ Rival shifters make me smile. An FSA Gossamer crank in 46/36 with the SRAM 1070 12-25 rear cassette is my gearing of choice. Avid shorty cantis do the trick, unless the front straddle cable slips loose on lap three (totally attributable to the short set-up window). Other FSA goodness includes a carbon wrap seat post, shallow drop OS bars and stem. Tektro top mounted levers are a new treat for me; I think I’m going to warm up to the option of braking from the flats. The Ritchey DS Pro wheelset looks good and tough. And the rubber? It’s a set of Hutchinson Bulldogs, one of the fattest (but not fastest) set of knobbies you can find these days.

At the midpoint of the U.S. cyclocross season, the North American Cyclocross Trophy has clear leaders in both the Men and Women’s categories following The Erdinger Gran Prix of Gloucester held October 11 & 12th.in Gloucester Mass. Ryan Trebon (Kona) and Amy Dombroski (Velo Bella-Kona) jumped to the top of the leader board for the national series and will start the next round wearing the NACT Leader’s Jersey

Trebon moved from second spot in the NACT standings to first with a wins on both days in Gloucester. Trebon leap-frogged U.S. national champion Tim Johnson (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com) who finished second both days in Gloucester as well as Jeremy Powers (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com) who did not race Gloucester. Trebon now holds 200 points in the series to Johnson’s 170 points. Powers rests in third spot with 90 points.

Under-23 National Champ, Dombroski was also victorious both days in Gloucester and captured maximum points to gain the series lead and the Leader’s Jersey with 158 points. Wendy Simms (Kona) and Sue Butler (Monaviecannondale.com) are tied for second spot with 100 points though neither competed in Gloucester. The Canadian National Cyclocross Championships unfortunately conflicted with Gloucester were Simms defended her women’s title. Dombroski’s two wins will make an interesting battle of Generation Y versus Generation X as the over thirty five paring of Simms and Butler try to take back the lead in the final four races.

Read the rest of this entry �

In the women’s race, Katie Compton (Spike Shooter ), Katerina  Nash (Luna Chix Racing Team) and Georgia Gould (Luna Chix Racing Team ) broke away from the field early. Compton stayed in control and took advantage of Gould’s mid-race mishap to keep the Luna riders separate. Compton then powered away from the Nash in the final sprint.

Katie Compton (Spike Shooter)

“Katie is definitely the strongest rider in the field,” commented Nash. ”I decided to stay on her wheel. She is a true cross racer. My team just finished mountain biking. We need a couple of weeks to get into cross racing. I just kept on her wheel and tried to attack her. I couldn’t get away. We did try to put some pressure on each other. We were pretty equally matched today so neither of us could open a big gap.  I had a great time racing today.”

Katerina  Nash (Luna Chix Racing Team)

“It was really hard because Katerina rode really well,” stated Compton.  “It was a challenging race and the course was really tough. I tried everything I could to go fast. We were trying to attack each other and we also tried to have a pace that we both could sustain. It’s pretty hard to get in front on this course. We are just naturally fast starters so we just kept the pace on and we really got a good start. It feels really good to win.”

Compton and Nash keep it close.

Compton, who won a UCI World Cup event last season and finished second at the world cyclocross championship in 2007, said she would be focusing her 2008-09 efforts on European racing.

Elite Women
 
1 Katerine Compton (USA) Spike Shooter                                41.58
2 Katerina Nash (Cze) Luna Chix Racing Team                            0.03
3 Georgia Gould (USA) Luna Chix Racing Team                            0.07
4 Kelli Emmett (USA) Giant Bicycles                                    0.18
5 Rachel Lloyd (USA) California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized          0.19
6 Susan Butler (USA) Monaviecannondale.co                              1.26
7 Wendy Simms (Can) Kona                                               2.12
8 Deidre Winfield (USA) Velo Bella - Kona                              2.25
9 Meredith Miller (USA) Aaron’s Pro Cycling Team                       2.26
10 Kari Studley (USA) Velo Bella - Kona                                3.31
11 Laura Van Gilder (USA) C-3 Sollay (Cross Team) Cheerwine            3.52
12 Kathy Sherwin (USA) Velo Bella - Kona                               4.09
13 Shannon Gibson (USA) Velobella                                      4.16
14 Barbara Howe (USA) Velo Bella                                       4.26
15 Natasha Elliott (Can) Emd Serono/Stevens                            4.29
16 Sarah Maile (USA) Ventana Mountain Bikes                            4.36
17 Josie Jacques-Maynes (USA) Specialized/KMC Pb Cal Giant             5.00
18 Tiffany Pezzulo (USA) Park City Iron Man                            5.18
19 Eszter Horanyi (USA) Waltworks/Fuentes Design                       5.25
20 Melodie Metzger (USA) California Giant / Specialized                5.48
21 Kate Scheider (USA) Bikes Belong-Mafia Racing                       5.55
22 Kendall Ryan (USA) Team Cicle Presented By Voler                    6.10
23 Kelli Jones (Can) Sugoi                                             6.22
24 Jennifer Tilley (USA) Velo Bella                                    6.39
25 Kris Walker (USA) Krieg Cycling                                     6.47
26 Lana Atchley (USA) Bailey Bikes                                     7.52
27 Marian Jamison (USA) Velo Bella                                     8.47
28 Dorothy Wong (USA) Team Cicle Presented By Voler                    1 lap
29 Deb Sweeney Whitmore (USA) BMW-Bianchi
30 Heidi Kanayan (USA) Team Cicle
31 Christy Blakely (USA) BMW-Bianchi

All phots copyright Stephanie Gutowski

By Eric Kenney

Cyclocross is huge. Once participated in as training in the fall and winter months for fun it is now a huge international spectacle. Athletes are now focusing their whole year on cyclocross. Even for us Tri geeks and hard core all road all the time people cyclocorss is luring.

The question is coming up more and more; will racing cyclocross be a good option for training in the fall and early winter training?

First lets take a look at your year ahead and behind to answer a few questions.

• Have you had enough time TOTALLY off after your last race/ training block? (I prescribe 2-6 weeks)
• Will you have enough time to rest after your cross season and the start of Base training? (2 weeks)
• How taxing was your summer season of racing and training?
• How much other stressors will you encounter? ($$ for bike, race entry, travel, specific training, etc)

Read the rest of this entry �