MidAtlantic Cross

publised SPOKES Magazine 9.2005

2005 Mid-Atlantic Cyclocross season preview

By Chip Sovek

Imagine this: The ‘Cross season is over!

You’ve just finished your last race for the 2005 Cyclocross season; your bike has seen many courses, many states and a lot of highway miles as you were chasing points in the various cyclocross series’. Maybe you finished first, maybe middle of the pack…but you’ve finished the last race, the last lap, and the last few pedal strokes of the last course of the year, can’t you feel it? Can’t you just smell it, that chill in the air of winter sliding in and pushing out the fallen leaves. The last hints of green in the grass that freezes at night and glistens on those cold morning rides. The last of the tolerable days where shadows are tall and the warmth from the sun is a precious commodity.

Aaahhh! Cross season is here, are you ready?

‘Cause when it starts - it rolls baby; it fly’s and doesn’t touch down ‘till Christmas is breathing down your neck. I don’t know about you but by then if I haven’t shopped and taken care of holiday things I might as well keep on riding my bike because I’ll be in the doghouse – BIGTIME! And this thought parallels the cyclocross season, if you not ready by the time the season starts (September 25-Baltimore) then you are in the doghouse – BIGTIME!

Maryland’s ‘Charm City’ will host the kick-off race for the 2005 season and whether your sites are set on the MAC series, the MABRA series or possibly the US Grandprix of Cyclocross series, which has a west coast tilt, then your plate is made up for you. But you had better be ready.

The Mid-Atlantic Bicycle Racing Association (MABRA) cross series will host an 8 race series spread around the greater Washington DC region with more races in Maryland than there has been for a long time. Always considered the geographic ‘black hole’ of cross, Maryland has stepped up and delivered for 2005. Baltimore, Buckeystown, Eldersburg, Hagerstown and the welcome return of Fairhill are some of the stops in the 3 rd edition of the MABRA series which has been warmly accepted by local crossers. Yellow Breeches Racing will be hosting a series stop in Carlisle, PA. This is a first time event outside the MABRA defined district but a short drive from the DC area. Yellow Breeches Racing are the folks that put promote the ‘Iron Cross’ race a grueling endurance style cross race that’s been dubbed America’s longest cross race and surely lives up to its name. Inspired by the ‘3 peaks race’ in the UK (www.3peakscyclocross.org.uk) the Iron Cross event is not for the weak at heart. The ‘Iron Cross Lite’ (the preceding day) will be the MABRA race so don’t worry you won’t be clocking in any 6 hour lap times. The series then slides down to Virginia for stops in Leesburg and King George before heading back to MD for the series final in Fairhill. The last stop will also double as the MABRA Cyclocross Championship race which will offer an expanded age breakout (compared to the series classes) as well as the series wide addition of the new master’s classes of Masters 55+ and Women 35+. This last race will be one week before the US Cyclocross Nationals in Providence, Rhode Island December 9-11.

Those looking toward the mighty MAC series will not be disappointed. Once again, the prestige, the high profile the crème of the crop series of the Mid-Atlantic will be a UCI tangy flavor, high caliber, white hot, wicked fast series of our greater region. The Capital Cross Classic (www.emiracn.com) will be Washington DC’s only chance to get some UCI experience, this event is a MAC/UCI level race held at the very ‘cross friendly Lake Fairfax park in Reston. Stretching from New Jersey to Virginia the MAC races start October 9 th in Pennsylvania and run clear through until the last weekend before the Nationals in Providence. In fact, anyone heading to Providence might want to plan on racing the double MABRA/MAC weekend just to get in that last chance of racing, fine tune your technique and shine up your courage before you head up north to cross swords with our New England neighbors.

Anyone considering the US Grand prix of Cyclocross will have to do some traveling from the mid-Atlantic. This 6 race series will only have 2 races on the east coast and 4 races on the west coast. The 2 east coast stops will be in Gloucester, MA – a fantastic venue for racing and a great experience if you want to make a weekend of it. I’ll never tell my secret hotel but there are plenty of really good restaurants in this quaint, fishing village that has been the backdrop for many movies. I highly recommend the trip at least once in a lifetime if you have any desire to see cyclocross racing at its highest level. You just might run into some international cross racer who can give you a tip on how to get through those barriers.

Go get a pen and punch in www.midatlanticcross.info, this is the calendar for the mid-Atlantic and has more races listing that you can shake a bottle of lube at.

www.midatlanticcross.info - Mid-Atlantic Cyclocross race info

M i d A t l a n t i c c r o s s . i n f o