Over the Mountains and Back

This past weekend two teammates, Matt, Gabe, and I left SF before dawn on Saturday to drive up to Reno for the first race of a cyclocross double-header weekend. The weather was cloudy and a little threatening, but the views driving over the Sierras were awesome !



The Reno course was a fun mix of sand trap, grass switch backs, fast dirt, and brutal 40' foot runup that started with a 2' high barrier !

Matt started off the day with an excellent effort in the Bs race to finish just off the podium in 4th. This was his best race to date of the season, but more excitement was to follow the next day.

Gabe and Mark started 45 seconds apart in the As and Master As respectively. Gabe had it going well where as Mark succumbed to the altitude (5200') and was gasping for air by 1/2 through the full 60 minute race. Gabe held on for a top twenty finish while Mark was happy to flat with 5 laps to go ! With one race down we packed up as the rain and wind rolled in and headed up to Truckee to stay w/ Mark's good friend Steve P.

After a hot tub and fine pasta meal we settled in/passed out ready to start it all again on Sunday.






We started off Sunday morning pouring hot water over the iced bike rakes and happy we had brought in our bike shoes to keep warm ! By the time we got to Sacramento the temp was up to a comfortable and sunny 60 degress, perfect cross weather.

Gabe started off the day in the A's and was joined another teammate Aaron who came up from the Bay Area that morning for his first cross race of the season. They were both joined on the line by none other than the legend himself Ned Overend. Both Aaron and Gabe had great races with Aaron pulling of a stunning 10th and Gabe holding on for 21st in a fast and deep field.

I was up next and eager to bounce back for a flat race the day before. The Masters A were stacked w/ all the local talent and predictably got off to a fast start. Today the legs came through and I had my best race of the season to finish 15th, sprinting away from a group on the last lap.

The story of the day was to come next in Matt's race as he followed up Saturdays break out performance w/ a 2nd place finish as he attacked his group on the last lap to finish ahead in the clear.



A fantastic weekend of racing, with a special thanks to Steve Poncelet for his excellent hospitality that set us all up for our strong performances on Sunday.