We had just about 100 racers (+ more spectators) show up to battle the muddiest of conditions on a challenging course. I'd like to say it was a fair mix of power and bike driving skills, although I unfortunately (luckily?) couldn't ride it. When we setup last night and this morning, I was quite worried we would have a bike carrying/running race on our hands. I saw the frustration at the USGP Mercer Cup last year...and I figured a day like that would end any potential for future editions of Red Cross. However, our local (and non-local) mudders prevailed and it looked like everyone had a great time!
The warmer weather definitely helped our cause, and the ample hoses left everyone (and their bikes) relatively clean afterwards. Perhaps next year everyone will get to see it on a dry day and really fly around those loops. That said, who wouldn't want to do that again!!?!?
We got A LOT of overwhelmingly positive feedback, but if you have any comments/criticisms (aside from "I hate mud!") let me know so we can make it bigger/better/friendlier the next time around. Tentatively, we'd like to join the NYcross series, perhaps feature a double race weekend with different courses, and offer more prizes/payouts to more of our racers.
A BIG THANK YOU to all the Red Cross volunteers who helped out yesterday and today! Course setup was a relative breeze, breakdown was incredibly fast, and our results staff was excellent. There's no way we do that all without you!
I would especially like to thank Tom Hurd and the staff at Broome-Tioga Sports Center-- they were amazing hosts and it DEFINITELY could not have happened without them! They made our little operation so damn legit.
Also on the list of big thank you's is to Gimme! Coffee for the brewed coffee and the prize beans! I know the delicious coffee made the mud just a little easier to bear. And man did everyone suck it down. Both the coffee AND the mud.
Lastly, Cyclocross Magazine donated subscriptions and print-mags to our podium finishers and many of our racers. Many thanks to them, and check out their website at http://cxmagazine.com for everything cyclocross (including co-promoter Jake's brainchild, fantasy CX).
We'll have pictures sometime in the near future and I'll be sure to point everyone in that direction. We had some great professional photographers on-site, and I'm anxious to see it all documented. In the meantime, here's a couple pics taken by Juan-
I know I personally can't wait to do it all next year...but I'm also relieved it's a year away! Maybe I'll figure out how to relax by then...and be able to mix it up in our own race. It was a good deal of work, but it was worth it!
If you raced, you can cancel that trip to Portland to join in their mud baths. Support local cyclocross!
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