Happy New Year to All! We’ve got one final race report coming at you with the end of year wrap up. Thanks for reading all season long and stay tuned for what MM Racing will be up to next heading through winter into spring training.

The end of the 2008 cyclocross season was a whirlwind of travel, racing and adventure. Our original plan for the end of the season was to participate in the final two races of the Verge New England Cyclocross Series in Rhode Island and then head to Kansas City for the National Championships.

However, after two top five finishes at the Mercer Cup USGP races in New Jersey, I found myself ranked #4 in the overall standings for the USGP Series. It had long been a goal of mine to place top 5 in the UGSP Series and this year was my chance to make it happen.

So, we altered our plans and headed out to Portland OR for the final two races of the USGP Series. The travel itinerary would have us in Portland, OR for the races and then back to Boston for 2 days to work before heading off to Kansas City. After careful consideration, we again altered the plan and decided to stay in Portland for an extra day before heading directly to Kansas City.

We arrived in Portland and settled into the hotel for a bit before heading out to check out the racecourse. Portland is notorious for its rain and I was hoping for some messy races. However, Portland had been having a very unusual dry season and the sun was shining brightly with very little rain in the weekend forecast.

It was dry, warm and mostly sunny and the course was relatively flat with one section of the course set up on a motocross venue. The motocross section was the most fun with bumps and burms and some leftover mud puddles. The remainder of the course was very fast and smooth and would require a lot of power.

After a bit of a poor start, I had moved my way up into the top 10 and began to move up a few spots as the race progressed. It was pretty much one speed the whole time and lots of hard pedaling to chase the leaders. I spent most of the race with 2 other riders as we swapped places back and forth depending on where each of us was strongest. In the end I was 8th for the day, feeling pretty satisfied on such a fast course.

The skies had opened up with pouring rains all morning and stopped just on time for my race start. It was enough to create some mud and slippery corners, but not enough to slow the course down very much. The race played out almost the same as the day before, but I had a better start and spent the race riding a few spots ahead of the day before. I finished in 7th place and in 5th place overall in the USGP Series!

We were able to spend a little time in Portland with college friends of Matt’s having some great dinners, checking out a few local spots, and playing with Addie and Dan’s pets. Then we packed up everything and headed off to Kansas City for Nationals.

We arrived in Kansas City and quickly located our hotel. The roads were snowy and it was cold so I had high hopes for another messy Nationals (like last year).

The racecourse set up was not complete when we arrived to check it out, so we were unable to ride on it, but were allowed to walk the course. It was set up on a hillside park with several long climbs that looked really challenging and fun. The grass was wet with snow and would surely turn to mud when the tires chewed things up the next day.

The weather in Kansas City proved to be some of the most bizarre weather I have ever experienced as the weekend wore on.

Thursday it was sunny and warm and the course was a muddy, slippery mess.
Friday morning when I warmed up for the Master’s race, it was still muddy, but by 2pm had all but completely dried out and it was windy.

By Sunday when the Elite race cam along, the course was as dry as pavement and the temperature had gone from 60 to 20 in about 30 min!

Masters 30-34 Race

I had contemplated not doing the Masters race this season after last year when I lost the title due to an ineligibility rule and just focus on the Elite race. However, this was the last year I could compete in this age group before I would have to move up to the next age bracket and I thought it would be fitting to earn back what I had lost the year before.

The starting grid was set up according to the order that the athletes registered in and because I had waited until the last minute to decide to do the race, I was lined up in the last row. It’s a terrible staring position and the straightaway was pretty short before heading onto the grass, so I knew I would need to make some savvy maneuvers to get to the front.

My start was terrible because I was unable to get one of my feet into the pedal so I ended up having to really dig in once I got my self sorted out and catch back onto the leaders. Fortunately, I was able to work my way around several riders and get to the top 2 at the first hill. I took the lead and tried to push the pace up the climbs. For the first 2 laps, I was pursued by 2nd place pretty closely and had to keep the gas on to make up some time. By the end I was able to pull away with a comfortable lead and take the win for the Masters National Championship. It felt great to earn the title back and be able to wrap up the 30-34 year old category successfully.

Elite Women's Race

Strangest weather ever! We left the hotel with the temperature around 60 degrees and headed to the course. We arrived about 10 minutes later and the temp had dropped to 42 degrees! The weather channels had warned about this weather change, but they also said it would happen late in the afternoon, not in the morning!
As I warmed up for my race the wind picked up and the temps continued to drop. By the time we were getting lined up for the start, it was 20 degrees with a wind chill around 15.

After all these years, I have learned a few things about my self;

1. I really dislike being cold and wet in general, but I don’t mind wet, muddy or snowy races because it’s only 40 min and it’s usually above 30 degrees and slippery technical races are fun!
2. I REALLY dislike being so cold that I can’t feel my hands or feet and racing in temps that cold make 40 min feel like hours and there’s nothing fun about that.

So, with teeth chattering on the start line, we all lined up in the miserable cold and proceeded to race. I had a decent start and six of us pulled away from the rest of the field on the first climb. My hands were completely numb and my feet felt like bricks on the pedals. The top 3 riders pulled away and I was in 6th place closing in on 4th and 5th. I was able to catch them and we spent the remainder of the race riding a steady pace but I felt as if I was unable to really move any faster. By the last lap I could feel my fingers again but my legs were moving like a robot. Unfortunately, I think I could have been able to get 4th place, had my body and brain not been clouded with cold. I took 6th place and was satisfied to be in the top group with such an elite group of riders.

That about wraps up the 2008 season for MM Racing. We’d like to thank all of the friends, family and sponsors who supported, helped and cheered us on this season. A special thank you to all of our new and continued sponsors for the amazing support and friendships. There’s no way we could do this without you!

Thanks to: Seven Cycles, Wheelworks, SRAM, Mavic, Cyclocrossworld, General Catalyst, Champion Systems, Alpha Q, Fizik, Franson Chiropractic, Thule, Pedal Power Coaching, Uvex, Michelin, “Peep”, Chinook, Healthworks, Pedros, Atomic Café, DeFeet and Isis.

Cyclingnews - Day2 - Portland

Cyclingnews - Elite Women's Race - National Championships

Cyclingnews - Women's Masters Race - National Championships

Velonews - Elite Women's Race - National Championships

Matt Roy's Photos - Women's Masters Race - National Championships

Thanks again for your support,
The team at MM Racing

Photo by Matt Roy