Dirtwire.tv Features Junior Spencer Petrov #cxnats

S4: E5: Juniors Day at #cxnats

Boys 13-14 Start

A few weeks ago during the Christmas to New Years week I found myself glued to streaming video from Europe watching the Christmas week races astounded at how fast the Belgians rode and how utterly ridiculous they make the rest of the world look, sans a select few. As I watched sketchy descents, slimy mud riddled uphills, and wicked off camber I came to the realization that if we want to be as fast as the Belgians we have to ride in those conditions - cold, wet, muddy, crazy disgusting days where it is way easier to pull up a Family Guy repeat on Netflix than it is to get on our bike and trash it riding laps at Kings in mud puddles. I even downloaded a preview of the Dutch Rosetta Stone thinking maybe I should dig in and listen to the announcers - that they would hold some secret to understanding how they do it.

Ed Fritzinger on his way to 3rd place

Today our juniors competed in arguably the toughest conditions I have personally witnessed on a cross course - and in recent years we have witnessed some crazy stuff. From 10 degrees and a foot of snow in Bend, mud puddles as big as a lake the following year in Bend, and mud to your ankles last year in Madison seemed really harsh - until this year.

We awoke to a hazy fog - that cool, damp, misty fog you get when the temperature warms up and the 12 foot piles of plowed snow start to evaporate. It had rained about 3/4" in the past 12 hours, putting more water on a frozen substrate, combined with the snow and black ice that was already on the course and basically turned the course into three courses. You could ride in slushy snow, black ice, or slushy half frozen mud - you had your choice. The only issue was that you didn't know where or when either of those existed.

This is the experience we need in America.

Boys 15-16 before pit #1

The trick to the course was knowing when to go fast. This is what I believe the Belgians know way better than America knows, and I am only beginning to understand. To ride the course this week you had to have a patience that surpassed your emotion. Time after time you would see guys power up big to go fast, only to end up on their backside kicking the bike back off them. The Belgians understand this - they understand that smooth is fast and that smooth is a matter of interpretation. And they have ridden that instance enough to know how to ride it again and again.

Spencer Petrov being interviewed

Practicing in these elements and repeating this for 11 days of insanely difficult races around Christmas has become their secret ingredient. For the US this is the second year of racing Nationals after the New Year and in line with the European Nationals calendar. For the sake of the future of our juniors we have to remain on this date. The experience they got today gives them a taste of what Christmas Week means in Belgium - our own little one-day EuroCrossCamp if you will. Each of the last two years it has been these elements.

It pains me to say that. I liked having it over before Christmas and being able to move on to road season. But the Belgians aren't going to change their ways - Christmas Week will live on, and we will continue to send our juniors and seniors over to compete against them. To compete on that stage we have to continue to build this skill, build this ability to ride on days when we don't want to ride - the days that take hours to clean up kits and bikes.

It is the only way.

West Bound and Down Non-Stop to CX Nationals

"PigPen this here's the Rubber Duck and I'm about to put the Hammerdown!"  The Best Bike Blog Ever has a Bear in the air.  Follow the road to nationals with a Cincinnati spin from correspondent Corey Green.  


As a special and exclusive feature, a group of parents, coaches, and Lionhearts junior cyclocrossers will be making the trip to Bend, OR to partake, participate, and soak in USA Cycling's 2010 Cyclocross nationals.  You're invited to mount up and come along for the ride.  Woot!


Cincinnati to Louisville, Indy to Columbus, you're no stranger to road trips.  But this 4500 mile round trip road trip might be more of a mission.  Can they survive life in a Toyota Sequoia?  Can they survive the Super 8?  Can they survive the cornfields?  It reminds me a bit of a movie.  Convoy?  Naw.  This is serious.  Definitely, Smokey and the Bandit.  The original, not a cash grab sequel either.  Before we get it in gear, meet the cast of characters.


I'm Corey Green, Cyclocross National Correspondent for The Best Bike Blog Ever.  There are three of us heading out to Bend via I-80 in a Toyota Sequoia (shameless sponsor plug).  The journey starts in less than a week and will commence promptly after the Zipp wheels from the OVCX raffle are won by a Lionheart and placed in the trailer.  I have 2250 miles, at 70mph that's plenty of time to glue them while riding shotgun. Conveniently Smokey and the Bandit has three main characters providing us with a perfect parallel.


As you remember, The Bandit set out for Texarkana to purchase Coors for some Georgia wheeler/dealers. This anthem and the first official reference to the phrase "boogity boogity boogity" should help you remember the plot.  



Since The Best Bike Blog Ever's budget was only enough to restore a 1987 Yamaha Jog scooter and not a 1977 Pontiac Trans Am, we won't have a diversionary vehicle. But we will have a Toyota Sequoia with a 5.7L V8 engine pulling a trailer set up for bikes graciously donated for our use by the Team Turner/ProChain Cycling Team. It also means that Bandit, Snowman, and Frog will have to inhabit the same Sequoia for a non-stop 2250 mile trip from Indianapolis to Bend.  (Joe Biker Note: read that twice...it does say non-stop doesn't it?)


Cast:

The Bandit will be played by John Petrov. John is the father to a sort of well known cyclist named Spencer Petrov. For those of you racking your brains, yes, he is one of the 12 year olds riding next to you for about 2 minutes at the beginning of your Cat 4 race. John, like Bandit, has organized the drive to and from the west. Reports also have him as the best looking of the three of us as well as being the ladies man. There will probably be some debate on this as we drive.

Snowman will be yours truly, Corey Green. I have two girls racing in Bend at Nationals, Kenzie will be racing for the second time at Nationals and Madeleine will see the big stage for the first time. I will also be racing in three races out west, mostly for recon of courses to share with the kids. My dog won't be coming, and hopefully I won't start talking like Jerry Reed while I am on this trip.

Frog will be played by Gregg Shanefelt. I can already visualize Gregg arguing with me about not being a female and that Sallie Field looks nothing like him, but Gregg was a last minute acquisition to the trip, which means he plays Frog. However, if Gregg shows up this weekend with feathered hair, his participation might come under review. Gregg will be racing in the Elite race on Sunday, which means...Snowman gets to watch the Elite race at Nationals from the pit lane. 10-4 to that.  Hopefully I will remember to help Gregg if he decides to stop in the pits.


In true Smokey and the Bandit spirit we might or might not be taking orders for Deschutes growlers. We have a trailer, we may as well top it off with something. Hopefully we won't be interviewing anyone for the part of Buford T Justice on the way to or fro.


Look for updates as the trip and the racing week progresses. Last year there were a lot of sights and we didn't even stay for the Elites on Sunday. This year we have the entire last day of events to partake.


Joe Biker Note: Sincere thanks to Corey, Gregg and John.  Access passwords will be changed the day after Nat's!  Seriously, have fun, be safe and be funny!