Cheshire Cycle Racing: Hopbrook Cyclocross

The Hopbrook race played host to the state championships this year and it was a barnburner. The course itself was a fast one that covered a lot of ground each lap. It had a little of everything.... A long sandy section, slippery mud, uphill pavement, 50 meters of straight off camber, a steep ride-up, 2 barrier sections and minimal tight corners made for a varied course that favored the rider with raw power. The wind also played a factor.

Masters 35+

Joe K takes Gold in the 35+ division!
Joe finished 2nd place overall in the Masters race today, despite sliding out early on and messing up his chain. A skipping drivetrain didn't stop Joe from placing 2nd and taking the Gold medal as the race winner, Dave Hildebrand was in the next age category up. Great job Joe on another in a long line of State medals.

Joe K hopping the Barriers!? Awesome!

Cat 1,2,3

Tim, Hunter, Larry, Cosmo, and Dave all lined up for the premiere event. Larry and Cosmo raced on Saturday but were ready to go for the medals. Hunter, feeling tired from working at Cheshire CX the last 2 days, in addition to the hour long race there was unsure about doing Sundays race. At the last minute he decided to give it a go ( thanks to the Hopbrook staff for slipping him in past registration cut-off ). Tim was also not at 100%, coming off of 2 races at Cheshire Cross the day before. The rest of the field was thinner and less stacked compared to what the team was up against at Cheshire Cross.

Larry ( after nearly missing the race start along with Tim ) grabbed the holeshot only to get tripped up on the barriers shortly into the race. Hunter hit the ride-up second wheel as a rider along side him dabbed, which sent the rest of the field stacking. So it was Richard Bardwell from CycleSmart and Hunter off the front early with a 15 second gap. Hunter sat on the wheel for a while to see who would be coming up. Tim was leading a large group of chasers. Larry and Cosmo where there as well. Hunter put in some attacks but Bardwell stayed with him. By lap 3 Tim had brought the group up, but it was a small group, so it left Cosmo, Tim, Hunter, Bardwell, and James Harmon in the lead. Going thru the start section, Tim went straight where the course wasn't marked off the greatest and got gapped. Hunter spent the next couple of minutes staying in front of the group as Bardwell was trying to take advantage and ride Tim off. Tim got back on half a lap later, just in time for the long road section. Cosmo lit up the front on the uphill, forcing Harmon and Bardwell to chase. The effort put Cosmo in the red but it also gapped Bardwell. Cosmo would get hit with a flat soon after that, knocking him well out of the hunt. In the lead it was down to Tim, Hunter and James. That trio would stay together for the next 2 laps as riders were taking turns hitting each other. Harmon had the road section into the barriers down pat. Hunter would punch it on the long off-camber section into the ride-up and Tim was sewing it back up pretty much everywhere else. With 2 to go, Harmon punched it at the very top of the road section going into the barriers, gapping Hunter. Tim worked hard to keep him close but James had too much left was able to ride away from the 2 on 1. Good job to him. Tim hung in there as Hunter worked to close the gap down to a few seconds. In the process though Hunter cracked spectacularly in the last half lap. This let the rider in 4th work past him and bump him from the podium. Tim 2nd with Hunter 4th, but Hunter ends up with Silver for 30-34's.