Cyclocross Opener - Shermancross

I built up my CX bike this past week which happened to be my first complete bike build.  With the help of Quick Stop Bike on a few things I did everything else including build a wheel.  A bike has a lot of moving parts and it's nice to know a bit about them since I ride them everyday.

My CX bike is a Felt F15X.  It is a aluminum frame with a carbon seat stay.  Here is what makes up my bike this year:

• Fork: Easton EC70X
• Wheel: Felt RXR2
• Tires: F: Maxxis Mud Wrastler R: Maxxis Raze
• Bars: Deda Newton
• Stem: Bontrager RXL
• Shifters/Levers: Shimano Dura Ace
• Crank: Sram Force
• Seat: Bontrager Evoke 3

The bike comes in at 18 lbs.  Not the lightest of CX bikes but I love the setup and feel.  

Since I built it up I figured I better race it.  I was excited for the start of the CX season and this year it was starting with a new race in Houghton called Shermancross.  It was under the lights and one of the best CX courses I have ever done.  It was set up as a traditional cross course with open sections all the time, grass, pavement, off camber, dirt, run ups, barriers, 180's, and required a full on pedaling all the time.  Better yet, under the lights of Sherman Field.  

This was a different year but same story.  What do I mean by that.  It was the Tyler two punch.  Last year Tyler Jenema (Mafia Racing) and I had some good battles up front in the UPCross series.  He's an awesome CX rider and has amazing barrier skill and has the ability to stay hard on the pedals all the time.  This ability makes for a hard cross race and I can always expect it to be a true race.  It's one thing I really enjoy about CX, the constant battle of competition.

Tyler J. got the hole shot and created a line instantly.  This was good enough to stretch 4 of us on on the first lap.  I noticed Tyler J. and I had a small gap up the back side so I added an attack to lengthen it.  This repeated for 3 laps.  Tyler J. would pull on the flats and I attacked the up hill.  3 laps in we had our break.  There on forward we shared the work and always kept the pressure on with exception to the pavement track section where we would recover a bit with a lead.  The course had a run up section and I noticed Tyler J. was riding it every time whereas I had run it and would create small gap afterwards.  He then created another small gap over the next barrier.  I took note of this and made sure I was positioned well in the last laps.  2 laps to go after the run up I was attempting to close and I washed out on rocks.  He noticed and took advantage.  I worked hard to bridge and finally closed it going up the back side.  I sat in on the track trying to recover for the last lap which I knew was going to turn into a sprint.  We slowed up on the last lap waiting for each other to make a move.  Just after the back side hill I attacked before a 180 and barrier.  This allowed me to come into the last 100m on front and I was able to hold him off with a sprint.  An perfect way to start out the season, a good battle and a win.  

This is a race that deserves big attendance.  I hope the word spreads for next year and this becomes a traditional start to the UP CX season.

The first CX race is always a shock to the body.  I took a rest week prior to the race and it felt good to open it up again except for these damn Hip Flexors that took a beating on he dismounts.  I feel rested and ready to finish out the season.