King’s Int’l CX brings World Champion to Cinci

Limited Edition James Billiter Poster Available Here

The Belgians are coming to Cincinnati, and so are the Swiss, Czech and the Danes.  With the Cyclocross World Championships coming to Louisville, many of the World’s best cyclocross racers are choosing to keep their legs fresh by racing at the King’s International Cyclocross race Saturday, January 26th at Kingswood Park off Irwin-Simpson Road in Mason.  We hope to see you there, perhaps eating a Taco, drinking a beer and ringing a cowbell.  With the attention of the world wide cycling media, this is the Ohio Valley's chance to show the world Cincinnati's scene.  

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for cycling fans in Cincinnati to get a photo, an autograph and even race with the best Cyclocross racers in the World.  Elite women start at 2pm Eastern, men at 3:30pm.  The event is free and open to the public.  Fans can enjoy food and drink from area food truck vendors while watching the racing action.  Proceeds benefit the Lionhearts Junior Cycling Program based in Cincinnati, the next generation of area riders.

This is also the only opportunity for fans to see the World Champion Niels Albert race in rainbow stripes, others in National Champion colors and sponsor team kits from around the globe.  In Louisville, racers will wear the colors of their national federation team.  Noted confirmed riders attending include: World Champion Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus), US National Champion Jonathan Page (Engvt), and the 2012 US National Champion Jeremy Powers (Rapha-Focus).  On the women’s side fans will be treated to the USA’s Georgia Gould (LUNA) and Meredith Miller (Cal-Giant) along with former Czech champion Katerina Nash (LUNA), Swiss National Champion Jasmine Achermann (Rapha-Focus), and European Continental Champion Helen Wyman (KONA).

While the professional riders see the race as a tune-up for the World Championships in Louisville, locals see an opportunity to tow the line with the best in the world or simply see stars of the sport compete in their backyard.  The Cincinnati Cyclocross race is presented by Toyota, Reece-Campbell General Contractors, United Dairy Farmers, Magnum Ice Cream, DeFeet and Enzo’s.

Race director Corey Green says, “It is a rare opportunity to witness our US elite up against European elites in a non-Worlds environment.  It is also a rare opportunity to race as an amateur on the same course, on the same day as the reigning World Champion. We may be the first opportunity in the US to say that.”

Kings CX is home to the Lionhearts Junior Racing team, a 53 member juniors only team with kids ranging from 8 to 15 years old.  The event is a fundraiser for the team.  The Lionhearts will be running a chili and waffles stand, as well as selling coffee and hot chocolate.  Food trucks will also be on site.


A full schedule of events will be featured at Kings beginning at 8:30am for beginners, juniors, and masters.  Registration is at BikeReg.

S4: E2: #CCCNYR Pro race review

Chicago Cross Cup New Years Resolution, aka #CCCNYR, is seen by many as a tune up for the National Championship race a week from today in Madison, WI. If the racing seen the past two days is any indication we will have quite a race to watch on Sunday.

Saturday and Sunday were similar and different all at the same time. On Saturday snow fell literally right before the elite race, with the women racing through almost blinding snow at times. The racing was very, very fast with a strong group at the front trading punches. Sunday was without snow and with the sun during the day have become almost tacky. Again the racing was super fast with a large group trading punches. 

J-Pow sighting - somewhat rare in recent weeks.

The field Saturday featured Jeremy Powers, Tim Johnson, Troy Wells, Yannick Eckmann, Brian Matter, Tristan Schouten - and even our own Ryan Knapp. With the course lacking a lot of technical features, tire selection and grip in the corners was key today. Jeremy Powers seemed to struggle with tire pressure as he was in and out of the pits frequently and even admitted on Twitter to have taken a non-standard line a couple times to prevent the tire from bottoming out.

That action was fast all race long with each of the stars in the front six trading punches trying to split others off the back. Eventually J-Pow punched late and went on to victory with Driscoll close by in 2nd place. Eckmann and Johnson battled for third with Eckmann taking the final podium spot. Our own Ryan Knapp fought to 7th place after an initial separation during a dual 180 off camber twist.

First bottleneck proved costly for some - this wreck gave Johnson, Powers, Matter, 

Eckmann and the leaders through the sand.

Tripods were very common.

Former teammates converging in the sand.

Sunday the lineup was similarly star studded, but without snow. This lead to an even larger front group and extremely fast action. I believe the racers did 10 laps of the course which is a blistering pace to keep. Similar to Saturday a large group of stars formed at the front with Page, Johnson, Driscoll, Matter, Eckmann, Wells, Werner, and Marion. Marion? Yeah, Robert Marion - a relative unknown - was hanging in this crowd.

As the race progressed road race tactics started to play out on the course. Without a lot of technical features it was attack/counter-attack lap after lap with no one getting away. All the attack/counter-attack action had Robert Marion (Carpediem Racing) on the ropes about halfway through the race. But, the lead group of seven checked up through the start-finish and started trading quiche recipes, giving Marion a chance to catch on.

He thought catching on meant counter-attack (classic road strategy) and almost as soon as he caught the sleepy group of riders he punched it. Cannondale had two riders in the group and road strategy played with Johnson letting Driscoll attack and chase Marion. Page was following Johnson everywhere and given that Johnson stayed in the larger group Page was content to hang out. This left Wells, Eckmann, Werner, and Matter to do the chase making with Johnson disrupting when given the chance. In short order Driscoll had caught and passed Marion and had built a 10 second gap on Marion with another 12 seconds to the group.

Having seized the day Marion was now in no-mans land riding his guts out, snot frozen to his scraggly beard, laying everything out trying to nail a podium spot in the race. With a lap and a half to go the gap remained the same, but the tension was mounting. The CCCNYR was cheering Marion at every turn, knowing at some point Page and Johnson were going to try to nail him back.

With a lap to go Marion still have 12 seconds, but then Johnson started to drill it. Everyone watched the suspense as Johnson reeled Marion down to 5 seconds, then finally passed through the sand section with only a four turns left to the race. Now the attention turned to Page and his chase of both Marion and Johnson. Relief spread through the crowd as Marion was able to hold off Page to score a podium position with Driscoll and Johnson.

If the racing of the last two days is any indication of the horsepower that will be in Madison, then Sunday this week will be a special treat - don't leave Madison early...you can be late to work on Monday, just tell them The Best Bike Blog Ever said it was OK.

Great elite field with Page making a rare US appearance.

Page leading the initial line through the sand.

Drisoll getting some air out of the sand dunes.

Drisoll leading Marion after splitting the group.

All eyes on Page as the chase continues.

Robert Marion - clearly the man of the day.

#CXnats Elite Podiums Won in the Pits

Everyday I'm Pamperin'

While you may have watched the live streaming video or followed #cxnats on Twitter, you missed a few things at the Elite Cyclocross National Championship Races in Madison, WI on Sunday.  For one, you missed this dude in the diaper with a cooler full of cold ones and a RoadID on his wrist.  You also missed the details that made the difference for Antonneau and Powers.


The CX Nats pit was small, crowded, inadequately spaced and tough on entry/exit.  While pits are usually crowded during top level races, the pit at CX Nats was one tough mooglie for riders and mechanics.  For wrenches, it was hard to get to the race lane.  Many places were 3 people/bikes deep as mechanics tried to get out to the race lane. Coming from a background setting up pits for UCI events in Cincinnati, they needed more width and more depth.  For riders, the entrances, exits, and race lanes were bumpy and rutted.  Add in the technical turn preceeding Pit #1 and it was a mix that rewarded perfection from crew and rider and spelled disaster for those that bobbled.  

Women's Race-Antonneau's Recovery

Antonneau running her bike after early mishap

While Meredith Miller took the hole shot, Compton stomped on the pedals and built a gap of almost 5 seconds within 4 turns of the start. With the sketchy descents and rutted mud that was still half frozen, you could see on her face that she wasn't willing to take any risks today and simply wanted to run in clean air.  Game over.  The race was on for 2nd.  While the cameras followed Compton, there was a huge battle behind. Antonneau, Duke, Miller, Butler, Stetson-Lee, Bruno Roy, and Rivera were all in place and chasing each other down back and forth the whole day. By now we all know that Antonneau was 2nd on the day for the Elites after winning the U23 race.  What you don't know is the pits played a pivotal role in her podium.

On the second time through the technical turn immediately preceding Pit 1, Antonneau was in 3rd place behind Duke and Compton. She was looking pretty comfy, but navigating the tight technical turn she slipped and fell. The crowd heard a very distinct SNAP!  The sound that makes your heart sink.  She snapped a spoke on her Zipp.

Kaitie got up, tried to remount and quickly realized the damage.  She immediately ran the few steps into the pits and retrieved a new bike. If the spoke had snapped a bit later, as happens a lot, it would have been day over for Antonneau. Running after the pits back around to the pits again would have been disaster, a feat Olympian Usain Bolt couldn't pull off.  Luck was on her side and a good crew always at the ready with a fresh ride.  

Dylan McNicholas drills the hole shot

Men's Race-Powers Attack

Watching the men's race was edge of your pit-bucket excitement for the whole hour.  From the coverage you didn't see that it was Pit 1 that made the difference in the men's elite race as well. It played out like this.  Page would pit every time through Pit 1 and take a clean bike. Powers and/or Trebon would punch it past the pits, choosing to not take a clean bike and put some distance on Page.  Page would power out of the pits and catch back on before the stairs.  Powers attacks here proved to be the difference.  

Page on the bumpy exit from Pit 2

If you remember from the Women's race, the technical turn preceding Pit 1was incredibly difficult.  There was almost always a shuffling of racers in this particular spot.  Even Tim Johnson choose to run this section several times due to the difficult ruts and awkward lines into and out of this section. If you missed the line exiting this technical turn, getting to the pit lane to change bikes was really hard.

Nearly every lap we'd see Page attack heading into the technical corner, clean the corner and head straight for the pits. He'd swap bikes and by the time he exited the pits he would be almost right on Powers' or Trebon's wheel. 

Leaders hit the climb on Lap 1

The difference came on the next to last lap. Powers knew this was occurring every single lap.  He pushed the pace heading into the technical corner which forced Page to navigate the corner in traffic with Trebon and McDonald. Exiting from the technical corner, Page and McDonald bumped each other, then bumped each other again. Page was stuck on the left side of McDonald (Powers' Rapha-Focus teammate) and the pit entrance was on the right side. Page had to nearly ride through McDonald to get to the pit lane to swap bikes.

Obviously Page was hell bent on getting a fresh bike.  Doing so he was forced to bump and rub McDonald twice, slow down, ride across the rough ruts in front of McDonald and get into the pits. Right there, Powers smelled blood and put 8 seconds on Page as he exited the pits.  

Powers driving the pace with Page following

Whether this was planned team tactics or luck, it worked to perfection for Powers. Once Page was chasing he didn't take a clean bike on the last lap trying to catch back on, but the gap created at the entrance to Pit 1 never changed through the end of the race.  The rest is history.  

Had that exit from the technical turn and the entrance to Pit 1 been less bumpy and more roomy the final two laps of the race might have gone down differently. Kudos to Powers for knowing where and when to attack the race - whether it was his spidey senses or just plain luck, it worked.

…Is Thinking Of A New Facebook Status Update

Aw man!  I gotta think of a good Facebook status update for this monumental photo.  Sad.  But yes, it was my first thought after I let out a big woot and scared the cats into next Tuesday.  So many good ones went through my head.  I weighed 159 this morning.  I haven’t sunk below 160 in close to 3 years.  I’ve come close.  Last year, 161 I think.  Two years ago I had a rough CX season.  So, I’m a little excited.  It’s been two hours since the weigh in and two hours 15 minutes since my 2^nd morning poo and I’m still on the fence about what should be the caption.  Fan us on Facebook and you’ll see the chosen one.

Here’s my Facebook status update contenders to go with the photo:  

(what's on your mind?___________________)

Aw F*** how did I gain 490 pounds?  Wait, it’s upside down, my bad.

Clinched the central division.

AYHSMB

Is nude, all up in your grill and frontin’ bitches.

Is testing his newly invented iPad App…iScale.

Do I win free socks for this?

Saw this, jumped up and down shouting like a lunatic and probably wont see his cats for 2 days.

Does weigh 160 wet.

Does not walk around naked with a camera….really.

Is on the top step of the podium!

Suddenly realized he saved $3000 in potential bike upgrades.

Is headed to the DMV to make a revision on his drivers license.

Is above the Yellow line…saying “Suck It!”

Might be able to fit into his college skinsuit.

Can I exhale now?

Oh great, you’re saying, he’s in the 150’s and braggin’ about his slate bathroom floor, what a dick!

Cut off his lower legs and weighed them or has the “Far Side” comic coffee table book.

Wezembeek-oppem Belgium Hello!

It’s slightly 12-year-oldish to celebrate a one month anniversary, but after the switch from Joe Biker on AOL on October 8th, this blog has been up and running on blogger for just about a month and I am absolutely blown away over the numbers of new readers and returning readers. Moreover, it's pretty cool to have an insight into who and where you are. From the one person in Wezembeek-oppem Belgium to a handful in Dayton, Ohio USA, thanks for reading and thanks for moving with me. Happy Anniversary, I hope you enjoy your cake! (Video above) Cycling and writing certainly makes me a happy person and I hope reading this blog makes you happy to be a cyclist too. Thank you.

When I first set up this blog, I signed up for a service that tracks readership. It’s that little counter at the bottom. No, I can’t tell your name or if you lube your chamois, but I do know the country/state/city where you have your computer hooked up. I can tell if you came over from the link on Two Johns Podcast, a cycling forum, Google, or in a round about way just have it bookmarked as a favorite. I know what you're wondering. This may seem unbelievable, but no click thrus have come from or went to naked websites. Bike porn on the other hand, well that's what you're all about. Since the internet is usually a very personal thing, I thought you might like to know who else is reading The Best Bike Blog Ever with you. Below are some stats and trends I’ve pulled from the data for roughly the first month of this blog, from October 8th through November 5th, 2008.

The Basics:
Page Views (number of times viewed by anybody or anything): 1481
Unique Views (actual people page views, including returns) 971
First Time Visitors (Real people) 685
Returning Visitors (People that actually came back for more) 286

What's the Big Deal?
Monday’s are the biggest days, followed by the days with new posts. Thanks for subscribing, becoming a “follower,” and making it a favorite in your browser. Like coming back to work from a weekend of “Fight Club,” you obviously have an appetite for race news, stories, pictures and videos the Monday after race weekends. October 13th was the day after the big Cincinnati UCI3 weekend and there were 162 page views and 97 unique views. Pretty cool!

Where Did You Come From?
Big thanks to the websites and blogs who have added a link. The Two Johns Podcast has provided the most click-thrus. I have it on my I-tunes and you should too. Thanks to those involved in the OVCX series. The biggest days have been the two Monday’s after the UCI race weekends where the race reports lived on The Best Bike Blog Ever with a click through from Cycling News, Daily Peloton, Velo News, Cyclocross World, CX Magazine, the OVCX main site and the Cincinnati UCI 3 blog.

Where Did You Go?
Most readers checked out the race photos at Jeff Jakucyk’s site. After that it’s the Two John’s Podcast, CX Magazine, Steve Tilford and Molly Cameron’s Blog, BioWheels website, Belgium Knee Warmers, and of course one of my favorites, Fat Cyclist. Links on the right.

Where Are You?
72% of readers are from Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, which I reckon, means 28% of readers, roughly 300ish, ain’t from these parts.

From These Parts:
Cincinnati leads the pack, followed by Florence KY, Louisville KY, Newport KY, Mainville OH, Lawrenceburg IN, and Dayton OH

Readers Abroad:
Canada, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Greece

Larger Cities:
Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Boston, Montreal, Portland, Nashville, Pittsburg, Lexington, Madrid, Indianapolis, San Antonio, Milwaukee, Austin, Kansas City, Athens, Oakland, St. Paul

Places That Sound Like I Should Visit With A Bike:
Mountain Lake MN, Sandy UT, Grand Junction CO, Wezembeek-oppem Belgium

I Know Where Some of You Work:
I can tell if you used your work computer based on the IP address. Don’t sweat it. Your secret’s safe with me. Thanks for taking your coffee break with The Best Bike Blog Ever.