Cyclocross Nationals

Cross nats went very well for me this year. I felt like I was on pretty good form leading up to the race. With snow that had melted on the course, everything started to get very muddy which for me, the muddier the better. I felt really good the morning of the race while warming up and was very happy and surprised to see Clarice and Brandon (girlfriend and good friend) at the race. My third row starting spot for the race was a good position to be in. The race started and it was a very fast start with everyone trying to stay upright after hitting the first muddy turn. It was a very fun race however very difficult to ride some of the offcamber turns. I had several people working the pit for me so I was able to get a new clean bike every lap. I finished the race to find Brian Harrdy waiting just after the finish line with my jacket, an awesome thing to see after finishing the race. I ended up 20th place which I was very thrilled about because the field this year was incredibly fast. Chris Wallace got 5th place so that was a great ride for him especialy because he left Friday for Europe. With Nationals over it is very nice to have a few weeks to rest before starting all over again next spring.

Thanks to everybody that helped me out at Nationals,

Alex

Crunch Time

With cyclo-cross nationals this weekend and finals next Thursday and Friday it is going to be a very busy two weeks fortunately, after that there will be a nice break. It snowed about 1 inch yesterday so I am hoping for a muddy cross course on Friday.

Hopefully all will go well on Friday,

Alex

Finally Updating

Its been a while since I updated last so I will cover several events.

I attended the National Journalism Convention with the school Yearbook and Newspaper. It was a lot of fun and we were able to miss two days of school. The first day we stopped by the zoo, and checked into our hotel. I roomed with Peter Krause and we had an awesome view of the football stadium. On Friday we went to our first classes which most of the classes were very boring. That afternoon we went and ate at Union Station. That evening we took part in competitions where both Peter and Emily received honorable mentions. On Saturday we finished up going to three more classes and I was picked up early for a team cycling camp.

I raced two weekends ago with Chris Wallace and Garrick Valverde in Lincoln NE where Chris won the Cat 1/2/3 race, Garrick got seventh in the 3/4s and I got fourth in the 3/4s. On the way back we had a great meal at Chipotle.

Last week I heard that Chris Wallace is going to Belgium to race with some of the best cross racers in the world. Chris should have some good races and hopefully make the worlds team.

Thanksgiving weekend was a lot of fun with Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins traveling to Atchison KS for dinner at my Grandparents house. I went out and took pictures with my Uncle at the Abbey and got a few cool shots. My mom and I headed up to Iowa City IA at 5:30 am for a the UCI Jingle Cross Rock. I raced the men's 2/3 race with Chris Wallace and Logan Van Bokel. The first day's course was mostly dry with a very long run up. Chris won the race, unfortunately Logan broke his chain, and I finished 27th out of 58. Sundays race was VERY muddy and cold which I really liked. I had a fairly good start and was able to stay upright for the large majority of the race. Chris got second and I was able to get 18th out of 45ish. It was a very good weekend and my mom and I headed back home after a long weekend.

I hope to update more often.

Alex

Vet Cross and good mexican food

A cold day at Leavenworth High School. It's finally starting to feel like cross season! I really enjoyed the course today, there were lots of straight aways but not very technical. The course had two dismount sections and one steep uphill but it was rideable. Not very much running on the course which I liked. The 3/4 race started with 36 people and I had a front row spot. There were a few crashes on the first lap but thankfully I was able to avoid them and make it up to the front group of 6. From there our group would split up and come back together the entire race until a Freestate rider attacked (sorry i don't know your name). At the time I was not able to go with the move and he ended up riding away from the group finishing with a pretty large gap on the rest of the group. On the last lap of the race I was able to get around a lapped rider in a tight section of the course and because of the lapped rider I was able to get a gap on the other guys and I ended up holding them off for second place.

After my race was over I was able to walk around the course with Clarice and take pictures of the 1/2/3 race where I got some pretty decent pictures.

After the race my family, along with Clarice and the Wallace's, ate at the new Mexican resturant in Parkville called Agave. It's a really great place and plus it's smoke free.

All and all it was a great day.

WWBMD

Welcome...

Raced the Vet. Cross in Leavenworth KS. Will write more later.