Moots rider last year at the Boulder Reservoir

Hope your training went well in August because cyclocross season is officially here. 303Cycling recently caught up with Glen Light to learn about the season's first race, Steamboat Velo Cross, to be held the second weekend of September. We just got word that there will be $1200 cash purse with payout in all non-junior categories

[303Cycling] Tell us about the venue and why cyclocross in Ski Town U.S.A?
[Glen] The property is called Wildhorse Meadows. It is a mult-phase resort community development in its initial stages of build out. The main lodge, Trailhead, has a gondola that drops skiers and guests off right near the ski resort gondola. The course does a horse-shoe around this building, and it's possible to see most of the race from the decks of many of the rooms. It would be an awesome event for the family - the kids could see you racing from the pool! There is a smooth as glass road through the property, and a lot of great cyclocross topography (cambers, berms, hills, etc.) The only challenge for us has been the bumpy nature of the surface from sporadic grass growth and erosion. The bulk of our labor has been spent addressing this.

Cyclocross in Ski Town U.S.A.? Well, Steamboat is an incredibly active community, and cycling is extremely popular with both the Alpine and Nordic skiing crowd. Many of the local mtb series racers are former national and even world caliber skiers, and we would certainly like to capture that interest both as racers and spectators coming to see them race. It really boils down to a few of us in town who have such a passion for the sport we spend 6 hours on the road 10-20 times during the fall to go down to the front range and race. I think between me, Jon Cariveau, Corey Piscopo, and Matty Pronovost, we probably have over 55 years of cross racing between us, and that experience has gone into developing the course. Jon Cariveau and I, who both started racing cross in the early 90's, have talked about having a race in Steamboat for years. When Corey Piscopo made the Steamboat Stage Race happen, and subsequently Steamboat Velo, it created a real opportunity with sponsorship and resources that wasn't there before.

Photo credit: dennis Coughlin

Boulder native rider, Nico Toutenhoofd wins this nation's famous, 38th annual Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb in the White Mountains of New Hampshire today! Nico is no stranger to hill climbs in Colorado having taken his fair share of podium finishes in many climbs through the years. Here is a great write up in WMUR New Hampshire. For those who are unfamiliar with this race, it's course can make Lookout Mountain in Golden seem flat and Flagstaff in Boulder an appetizer, with it's on average 12% grade nearing 22% at the finish.

Velonews did a great write up as well

In this 7.6-mile all-uphill grind to the summit of the highest peak in the Northeast, Toutenhoofd rode the first two miles hidden behind more than two dozen other cyclists, then moved steadily to the front, dropping a struggling group of younger riders who were less familiar with the ultra-steep course. After occasional glances back to make sure his lead was secure, he pumped his fist as he broke the tape at the 6288-foot summit in 57 minutes 26 seconds.

His closest rival was another veteran, former U.S. National Mountain Bike Champion Tinker Juarez, of Whittier, Calif. Juarez, 49, who was encountering the Auto Road for the first time, showed that he still has the strength that took him to the Olympics in 1996. Trying to keep Toutenhoofd in sight, he pedaled side by side with Timothy Ahearn, 35, of Woodstock, Conn., then pulled away after the five-mile point to take second in 58:08 – a new record for men aged 45-49 in this race -- with Ahearn a delighted third in 58:22.

“I really wanted to win,” said Toutenhoofd, who placed second here on his first attempt, in 2008 and then was fourth last year. “Of course how well you place depends on who else shows up, but this year I was better rested. Also, this time I rode with a power-meter.” The new Mt. Washington champion explained that the meter on his bike makes it easier for him to keep his physical effort steady. “My goal was to get from the bottom to the top as fast as possible and ignore everyone else.”