Gateway Cross Cup

Yesterday was the Gateway Cross Cup in STL Heman Park. Incredible event and a pretty cool venue which made the most of a pretty compact community park. Wednesday racing is a rarity, but no way were we going to miss racing and later catching the Pro's.

Ira, Peter Krause, and I loaded up the Durango early Wednesday morning and made the trek to STL in time to catch Dale in the Cat 4 race. Dale rode great and nabbed 7th and later Ira got 9th in the single speed. Had fun watching Jeff Yielding lay it down in Masters for a 2nd (later 8th in the Open - man on fire!).

Got in three laps a couple hours before our race and man that was a fast fun course with four dismounts (2 - short stairs, 1 - flyover, 1 - double barrier) and just about as flat of a course as I've raced. Lots of turning, but none very tight or technical and the Grifo's hooked up great. It was almost the anti-Hermann course; I was in trouble as there were a ton of great crit racers in my field...

Early registration for the USAC Open got me a front row on the start grid, got a solid jump (thanks Jim Davis for the photo) and almost got the hole shot coming off the asphalt, but I lost my nerve right before turning off and dropped into third or so into the grass. First lap was pretty quick and was feeling OK (but not great) and the second lap was disastrous; couldn't get my legs to do anything and had little zip which caused an immediate drop of way too many places. My mid-race I got a new breathe of life and felt really good, but the damage was done with all the spots lost earlier. I raced and felt much better the 2nd half of the hour and was able to reel in several in the last laps to finish 20th (of 63 starters). I was OK with that and had a lot of fun. *Side action shot from Dan Singer - http://www.dansingerphotography.com/*

After a quick change up it was off hitting various parts of the course as the Pro men shredded it up. Incredible how simple and effortless they make the barriers and cornering look. J-Pow for the win!

The best part of the evening was having my brother drive up to watch me in action; it was his first 'cross race and I think he enjoyed it.

Packed up and made the 3.5 hr drive (that's right JY, we stayed, watched, AND drove back home; hope your 1.5 drive didn't keep you up too late - HA!) back home. Super tired this morning, but still wearing the smile from the event.

Not sure about Manion's this weekend (Sat and Sun races in KC) as I could use a couple days to regroup as Boss Cross 1 and 2 (the following weekend) have priority. Will make the decision after I catch up on some sleep and have a clear head.