Team Riders Compete at Cyclocross World Championships

The team had two current riders, Josh Anthony and Johs Huseby, and one former rider, Jonathan Page, compete on the US team at the Cyclocross World Championships in Monopoli, Italy. Johs and JP were in the Elite race while Josh battled it out in the under 23 category. You can read Josh’s race report below.

Hello again everyone -

Well, here it is... my account of what happened this year at the Cyclocross World's. I'll do a quick recap of the week leading up to the race as well.

After the previous weekend's race, I was fairly happy with the way my legs felt and looking forward to a good performance at the Worlds. The two Italian U-23 riders that beat me that day ended up finishing 1st (yes, World Champion) and 13th at the Worlds. And the next U-23 behind me that day was 20th at the Worlds. Anyway, back to the story. That week, I dutifully did my training exactly as Mark had written it out for me, and I made sure to do all the things that one is supposed to do leading up to an important race. I drank lots of water, ate (fairly) healthy foods, took naps, stayed off my legs as much as possible, and got good sleep at night. My legs felt strong when I rode, and I began to think maybe this would be the year that I had a good race at Worlds. I was rooming with Alan Obye, my friend who has been with me to all 4 World Championships that I have attended. Both he and I thought it was high time that we had good luck and good legs at the Worlds, and we were both psyched! On Wednesday, the US team moved into the Porto Giordano, a hotel about 500 meters from the racecourse. This was the first time that I had seen the course in person, and it was quite different from what all of us had expected. Instead of a super-fast, dry track, it was twisty, with plenty of sharp corners and a few tricky sections. Also, it was composed mostly of soft grass, which we knew could turn into mud at the very first hint of rain.

The rest of the week passed by smoothly, and soon it was time for the big race. We each did our own routine the morning of the race, and then all rode over to the course together at 12:30. It was extremely overcast, and looked as if it could rain any minute. Also, it had rained a bit overnight, and the report we got from the juniors, who raced that morning, was that the course was quite slick. I did a few laps of reconnaissance, and had to agree. The rain had turned the top layer of dirt and grass into a slimy, very European-like mud. (I don't really know how to describe the difference between our mud and Euro mud, but it is totally different.) This didn't phase me though - I just lowered my tire pressure a bit for better traction, and went back to the team tent to change to dry race clothes. Adam Craig was even excited at the conditions, because he is best when the traction is worst. We all knew he had a very good chance at being on the podium, especially since he had a front-row start - the first ever for an American U-23 rider!

Speaking of the start, let me devote a few sentences to that part of the event. In cyclocross, the start is, if not everything, very important. Since the races are so short and fast, making up places that are lost due to a poor start is quite hard, and obviously requires that you go faster than everyone else in the race. Since the level of these riders is so high, this is often nearly impossible to do, and many a racer's dream has ended less than 10 seconds into a cross race. Americans have never been dominant in the sport of cyclocross, but in recent years certain US racers have managed to break the trend and reach the podium. Tim Johnson (3rd U-23 1999), Walker Ferguson (2nd Junior 2000), and Matt Kelly (1st Junior 1999) are to date the only ones to do so. This has given the rest of us hope, and combined with other high finishes has also allowed us to secure somewhat better starting positions.

About 10 minutes before 2:00, the starting call-ups began. Adam was called up to the first row, Alan was somewhere around the second or third, and Ryan, Barry, and myself were between the 4th and 6th rows. We all did our best to wiggle up to better positions, but there is only so far you can go before you encounter a veritable wall of tough, experienced European racers who aren't about to move aside to let you take their slots.

After wedging ourselves somewhere in the middle of this pack of sardines, we awaited the starting whistle, which seemed to take forever. Someone apparently got tired of waiting, and surged forward a bit. Everyone else, not wanting to be left behind, followed, and so the race started, with or without the official's permission. Adam was off to a good start, and Alan was right behind him, while the other three of us were in the midst of the tangle of pedals, wheels, arms, and handlebars that is the back half of a World Cyclocross Championship start. Suddenly Adam's chain broke, leaving him to run with his bike to the first pit. I, of course, was too busy trying not to end up entwined in someone else's bike, and didn't even know this until later.

Barry, Ryan, and I were all together on the first lap, and soon we were joined by Alan, who was momentarily held up by Adam's misfortune. The four of us did our best to slide in between gaps and dodge the crashes that always happen on the first lap. I felt decent, and thought to myself, "Wow, I didn't crash, and I think I passed a bunch of guys... I must be in the top 30 by now!" Then I looked behind me around one of the turns to see how many riders were behind me, and saw a vast expanse of... empty course! My thoughts then changed to, "Oh no, I'm dead last!!" Looking at the video later that afternoon, I could see that right away all four of us were between 40th and 50th, even though it seemed like we were moving up. The start is just that important. Barry seemed to have the best legs of all of us, and was able to move forward to a 30th place finish. The other 3 of us were close throughout the whole race, in a small group comprising 45th-50th places. Then I flatted my rear tire right after one of the pits, which meant that I had to ride it like that another half-lap to the next one. Not only does a flat make it harder to pedal, but in the corners, it flops around and severely limits your handling ability. This tailed me off the back of the group, and by the time I got my other bike I was left to race with a Slovakian rider for about 50th place.

Nonetheless, I tried to still give my all, and had left this rider behind with about 1.5 laps to go when I came around a slippery hairpin a bit too fast. My handlebars caught on one of the wooden stakes that line the course, my bike stopped dead, and I kept going, landing directly on the next stake. Let me just say that the part of me that landed on the stake was not the best place to land. I balanced on the stake for a few seconds before falling to the ground. As I rolled around in pain in the mud, some spectators came over to help me. Bruce Fina, the US elite team manager, was nearby and ran over as well. After a few minutes I was able to walk around somewhat upright and talk normally, but by this time the leading racer had come around and I couldn't really continue, and I was still quite sore as well, so I just rode my bike very slowly around to the pit, where the officials took my shoulder numbers off and told me I could leave the course. This was the first time I had been unable to finish a Worlds, and I was rather disappointed, but I wasn't that upset. I had raced as fast as I could, and the others were simply faster. Yes, a better start would have helped a ton, and yes, not getting a flat would have been nice, but that's racing. I could do nothing but come away shaking my head at the level at which these guys race.

On the other hand, no one can help but feel bad for Adam Craig. After using his bike as a scooter for the first half-lap, he got his new bike in the pit and set about limiting his losses. He came from several minutes behind everyone to finally finish 37th. His lap times were faster than everyone's but the winner's, and that was with no one to pace him and without the excitement and extra energy that comes from being at the front of a race. One can only speculate what might have been....

Alan and I still have one more chance next year in the U-23 category, and we plan on making the most out of it. I think a trip to Europe earlier in the year would help immensely. But for now I'm just looking ahead to the next year of racing on the road and hoping to make something good happen. This trip was another great experience of being in Europe and seeing yet another part of the world, and I'm glad that I was able to go. I want to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers, and encouragement while I was away.

Until next time,

- Josh =)