Nice to be back in the more-or-less present, reporting on part of the Cincy3 (or Cincy-ish) cyclocross races this past weekend. Grass looked moist and healthy, though we’re still lacking a properly muddy race so far this season; with some notoriously greasy venues coming up, that may not be a problem for long.
News Archive
I really shouldn’t need to spell this one out for you
How The Race Was Won x BTB TV — Cross Vegas
Halloween Horror Story: you compete in this sport with lots of mud, sharp inclines, technical descents, and surfaces so unreliable you occasionally have to run them…but then you get asked to compete at it on a manicured grass soccer field, in the middle of the desert, on the other side of the world, half-a-year before…
How the Race Was Won x BTB TV – Colorado Cross Classic
Let’s stick around Colorado for a little bit—no need to rush the transition out of the high-and-dry. Instead, feast your eyes on the dusty, slick, and sandy saga of the Colorado Cross Classic, which proves rider reputations (for crashing in technical conditions, for dominating certain surfaces, etc) are no guarantee of future performance.
How The Race Was Won x BTB TV – Boulder Cup
Kinda wanted to make fun of Boulder a little more, but they’ve had a tough couple weeks. Choose instead to highlight the massive contingent of riders for whom this was the hometown race. Can we call it “Rocky Mountain Worlds” yet? Anyway, cool to see the purpose-built course, but hoping for a little more snow/muck…
How The Race Was Won x BTB TV – Providence Cyclocross Festival
Some big names came out to play at the Providence Cyclocross (I don’t hyphenate) Festival last weekend. Double points going fifteen deep at this UCI C1, a tight and surprisingly hard-racing course that brought out the selections early—though not so early that the always-important start proved decisive. While I’m not sure the podium would have…
How The Race Was Won x BTB TV – Gran Prix of Gloucester
It was tough to resist the temptation to voice-over this one in my finest North Shore accent. GP Gloucester is a New England staple—though super-dry conditions, while appeasing some unhappy locals, made the event almost unrecognizable in parts. Perhaps it wasn’t surprising, then, to a see a California-based New England transplant come to the front…
How the Race Was Won x BTB TV – Trek Cyclocross Collective Cup 2013
This week’s Behind the Barriers feature is the Trek CX Collective Cup—it’s the first-ever running of the event, so you can understand some of my confusion on the exact details. Despite the seemingly ad-hoc venue (Trek HQ!) and firm conditions, the sharp elevation changes and thoughtful tape routing made for a selective and hard-fought event….
How The Race Was Won x BTB TV – Rapha Starcrossed CX 2013
Yes, the rumors are true—I’ll be teaming up with BehindtheBarriers.tv this ‘cross season to produce “How The Race Was Won” episodes of the CX races they film. Pretty nifty stuff if I do say so myself. The first collab is from Rapha Starcrossed CX, this past weekend’s season opener. Fast, flat, and a little dusty,…
Can We Please Stop Ruining Bike Races With Electronic Shifting?
I’m not going to claim impartiality here—if nothing else, I think electronic shifting is massively over-priced. I’ve never ridden it—I hear it shifts well and smoothly and precisely and is super-cool, and I have no reason to dispute that. But similarly, I think there’s no counter-argument to the fact that when it doesn’t shift, you…
How The Race Was Won – Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2013
Opening the season right: by putting entirely too much effort into a video for a not-especially-interesting bike race. That said, who isn’t glad for some serious news relating to actually racing bikes instead of throwing lawyers around? And a good fight from some names a few steps below the marquee is always nice to see….