November 22, 2004 - UCI New England Races

Johs Huseby wrote the following race reports from the UCI cyclocross races in New England. You can also read a great interview with Johs on the Cycle-Smart coaching website here.

Chainbiter 6.0 – Farmington, CT, November 13th

My wife Diane and I made the trip on Friday night to upstate NY to stay with my father as the weather was forecasting 3-6 inches of snow. It was a sleet ridden drive west and slow. My mechanic, Todd Downs, called me on Saturday morning to make sure the race was still on as he had gotten 5 + inches of snow south of Boston. No matter what it was sure to be wet down in CT.

I arrived with adequate time for a good warm-up and took a few laps of the course – it was very wet and slippery – to my liking. I got a spot on the front row and decided that the hole shot was not what I was looking for – just stay towards the front.

I was able to settle in nicely and then began to slowly pick riders off in front of me. The guys up front were really moving so I do not think I was gaining on them at all. There was a nice run-up on one portion of the course, a good sand pit and a long stretch of pavement. With two laps to go I was sitting in 10th and had a good gap on the next guys – I think I was increasing my lead on them slowly. I approached the sand pit thinking – no problem, “I’ve flown through here every lap,” and next thing I know, I put too much weight on my front wheel and boom – I came to a stop all of the sudden in the middle! I had to get off and run the rest of the section and then jump back on afterwards. Before I knew it the two or three guys that were what seemed a fair distance behind me were then right there – maybe 15 seconds back. Uh oh. I punched it on the pavement section and immediately put some time back into them and gave myself a little room for comfort and was able to stay away the last lap in 10th place.

This was the best “big” result I had this year as I finally felt like I had some power and was able to keep it rolling for the whole race. Not bad timing as Nationals is now only a few weeks away.

Cycle-Smart International – Northampton, MA, November 14th

This was a new course this year with a very European flavor – some in the woods, some field sections, railroad crossings like small table top jumps, a steep run-up, a steep ride up – just about everything. I was feeling good as yesterday had gone well and I was hoping I could better my placing in this higher category event(yesterday was a UCI cat II and today a cat I). The field was the same, and the start was going to be scary.

They only could line up 6 wide on the start line (the rule is 8) therefore I got relegated to the second row – the first time I have had to start there all year. I was on the far right hand side of the road and there was a nice patch of ice at the end of the pavement start stretch just before a hard right hand drop-off turn. I warned the riders in front of me to take caution as I was unsure if I would be able to make it to the front in this start.

I was able to have a great start and stayed towards the front (5th or 6th) and rode steadily in that position for the first half lap. The pace was very fast today at the front and I was having difficulty staying there. I slowly started fading back and then ended up sitting in a group of guys between 15th and 20th. I was clearly not feeling as sprightly as I had the day before and was having difficulty holding onto this group.

Nonetheless I was still having a great time on this well designed course. About half way through the race, I came around a sharp paved corner after just exiting a particularly muddy section and I did a two wheel slide for a few feet…I thought for sure I was going down, but somehow pulled off staying upright – phew. I kept going and battled back and forth with the group I was in and then finally got popped and finished just off the pace in 19th – a bit of a disappointment after yesterday.

In the end I had to be pleased with my weekend as I had come up with one of my better results of the season meaning that my form is starting to develop. I am looking forward to this coming weekend in New Jersey for the last two events of the US Grand Prix of Cyclocross. Hamblen and our fearless leader Curt will be in attendance. Curt is looking to tow Hamblen and I around for the first few laps and then settle in enjoying his favorite spot as Lantern Rouge – ready to make a powerful last lap surge!