Epic Racing around the World

Bart Gillespie is tearing up the planet with the first CX race report of the year…off the plane from Puerto Rico, no less!

The Utah cyclocross season got off to an early start on August 25th with the Worlds Collide CX Race and Clam Bake in Heber City, Ut. With temperatures soaring into the 90’s and a strong South wind kicking up dust it was a challenging early season test.

Fortunately, I had returned from Puerto Rico the day before the race where my internal thermostat had been reset to tolerate oppressive heat. I built my new Cannondale cyclocross bike the night before the race and outfitted it with sweet new Reynolds carbon handle bar, fork, seatpost, and off course world famous wheels. The bike was light and solid but without any time in the saddle I felt a little awkward.

The race started with Ali G taking the holeshot and pushing for the 1^st lap prime, I settled in and mercilessly passed him just before the last corner into the start finish, that’s racing. Unfortunately, Ali had a mechanical sprinting out of the corner and I was left alone to punch out another 50 minutes of bumpy trails and dismounts. By the finish I had built a solid lead and was happy not to have to sprint it out. The new bike worked flawlessly but I hope to get the position dialed in before the next race. I think the clam bake following the race was the highlight of the event and I particularly enjoyed the crab bisque.

Cyclocross racing is now on my mind and an early season race like this is perfect for working out equipment and fitness issues before the season really hits. I felt pretty good considering the recent travel and new bike, with a little luck and a steady diet of Mona Vie I hope to put together a stellar season of cross!