The Course

The Boulder Racing #2 race was held Saturday out at Xilinx in Longmont Colorado, the home of many past racing events including state championships from years back. The course selected is one many may have been familiar with and one that slightly favored strength over skill but the lack of elevation really made it fast and even the most boring course can get challenging as the speeds increase like was at Xilinx. As a single speeder myself this was a dream course given the lack of climbing, this course really made the riders focus on energy conservation as you prepared to enter a corner and ride on through it will as little brakes as possible. Thanks to Mother Nature the course was also very dusty, at least for the fields racing near the end of the day.

The Fields

While I wasn't around for the start of the SM cat 4 35+ field I heard it was HUGE and according the ACA results the field had 111 FINISHERS that field alone was over 20% of all the racers for the entire day (504 total finishers all day)

The Eye Candy and Results

Click for ACA Results

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by Ainslie MacEachran of Gemini Training Systems

Cyclocross, once considered the red headed stepchild of bike racing, has gained vast popularity in the U.S. in the past five years. It requires some varied talents and it favors hard men/women. While I would never advocate skimping on training, there two key areas that a cyclist should focus their attention to make building fitness for a successful cyclocross season go a little smoother.

The first area that a cyclocross athlete should focus on is running. One of the larger challenges for a cyclist taking up cyclocross is that, generally speaking, cyclists are not runners. Even if a cyclist comes from a running background the type of running encountered in cyclocross races is quite different than an aerobic pace most former runners will be used to. In cross races, the longest runs tend to only be in the neighborhood of 30 seconds to one minute. Towards this end, long sustained runs are not a huge necessity and instead a cross racer should focus more on short, high intensity running efforts.

Jake Wells of Vail, one of the top cyclocross racers in the country, is putting on a two-day cyclocross clinic in Vail on August 5-7 that will introduce beginner and intermediate riders to cyclocross and help refine techniques. Jake took some time to share some information with 303Cycling about his season, his business, and the upcoming clinic.

Photo Credit: Joe Sales

[303cycling] It seems that you are having a good 2011 season. How do you feel this year is shaping up and how are you feeling as the fall cross season rapidly approaches?

Yes, my season has been going well so far. I’ve had a few changes this year with sponsors and I have changed my focus some for the season, which has been successful and ended in some good results.

I am approaching the cross season a little differently than in the past because the first part of the season is looking to be super competitive and nationals has moved back to the first week in January, but so far everything is going as planned. So, I am really looking forward to the start of the season.

[303cycling] What is your big race of the year?

Nationals is the biggest race of the year in the U.S. My goal is always to be on top form for that race. Also, the USGP in Ft. Collins and the Boulder Cup are also high priority for me. Although these are very high priorities, there is some racing that is a notch above Nationals in priority for me in 2011.
This year I am hoping to attend the Eurocross Camp in December. Those races will be the highest priority because of the level of competition and it’s a great opportunity that I want to experience the best I can.

[303cycling] Are you still doing carpentry as your day job?