CrossVegas

Well it was no StarCrossed. When my dad and I got to the venue all that we could see was a 500 meter grass loop. He got me pretty worried when he told me he thought that the race was only going to be going around the loop like a Nascar race for an hour. Luckily, I guess, the course made its way up and down and all around a couple of different fields in the heaviest grass I've ever ridden in. The grass had recently received a good bit of rain and as a result made for a very thick ride, with thick mud like resistance. Everyone's tires sunk a good two or so inches into the grass and it made my bike feel like I had over tightened my headset. Not only was the grass heavy but so was the start list at Vegas. The Interbike trade show brought out a very elite group of cross racers which will be very rarely duplicated even at the biggest races to come on the U.S. national calendar. With all of the "special" call-ups for guys like Jonathan Page, Adam Craig (who wheelied to the start grid), Todd Wells, and probably 20-25 other rediculously fast dudes I ended up starting in the fourth row despite having bid number 21. Anyway, it was a pretty hectic start with a fare bit of contact in the corners with the highlight being the first run-up that most of us could only walk up due to the bottle necked traffic jam. Unfortunately I ended up losing places instead of gaining ground on the front group(s) and from there on it was a constant battle to move up. In an early attempt to bridge up to a large group of about eight guys I red lined a bit too much and blew my self up for what seemed like a lap and an half or two before I could regain my momentum and any consistant power output. Once I finally got rolling I started to make my way through riders and small groups but was mainly riding solo which was some what of a disadvantage with the wind blowing through the fields. Adding to this was some super bad stomach cramps which were so painfull at one point that I thought I was going to have to call it a night. The cramping hit quick and without any warning but eventually faded and I managed to latch onto a small group that had slowly realed me in, led by Adam Craig of Giant. Adam was kind of goofing around, drinking some beer and picking up money from the spectators, but he still would hammer in every other part of the course. He and I pretty much rode the other guys that were in the group off our wheels, and then with a lap and a half to go I managed to gain a bit of a gap over Adam on the run-up. From that point on I caught a few riders like Troy Wells that were going backwards and then put the hurt upon myself to keep Adam and the then trailing Wells from overtaking me on the last lap. I got in ahead of those guys in some unknown spot but I was just glad to get that race over with cause it was hard. To top off a not so great performance someone stole my long sleeve jersey, along with about eight other riders' warm-up gear sometime during the race. We searched the infield near the start finish and asked the race promoter and officials if they had seen anybody walk off with a bunch of jerseys, coats, and leg warmers... nothing, all of it gone. Some poor guy from Colorado had his wallet with driver's liscence, credit cards and everything else, in his jersey pocket. If you see a '07 long sleeve Hagens-Berman jersey on eBay or some other website let me know cause it may be mine and I wouldn't mind having it back, especially when it's sub 30 degrees in New England.