HPCX 2022 - it was the best of times, it was... a whole lot of sand
The squad was pretty excited for our outing at HPCX. Unlike our Charm outing, which was memorable, amazing, and very muddy, the forecast for Sunday was for perfect cross weather. High temperatures in the mid to high 60’s, a light breeze, and no precipitation.
We finished the day with multiple top 10 performances, and many amusing moments watching our pals try to ride thru a very long, loose sand section, strategically placed three turns from the start as if to maximize spectator entertainment.
The HPCX course has changed a bit over the years, sometimes using the sand feature and sometimes not - in fact, it used to be a two race weekend with at least one UCI race. The course is fun, interesting and challenging enough to support a UCI race, and with great logistics such as easy parking, and excellent organizing by the Rutgers team, it’s easy to see why it’s been a higher level race in the past. Fields this weekend were large including an over 40 starter W3/4/5 field. This was really outstanding to watch, and Lucia ended up fourth in a very competitive field, so the team was extremely pumped!
We also saw a truly beastly performance by our new-to-cross rider, Baker, who finished fourth in the M3/4 field in spite of crowdsurfing the night before following an exciting win by his alma mater’s football team. As he put it to the team Slack afterward: “Most cyclists would consider my decisions Saturday night sub optimal for a cross race on Sunday. I like to think I was still riding the high and carried that energy into HPCX.”
What did we learn from this race? A few lessons were recounted on Slack on this Monday morning when our cross hangovers were in full force…
In a long, squirrelly sand section, speed is your friend; carry as much as possible into the sand and when you can’t pedal any farther, bail fast and run
Don’t instead plan to run the chaotic first lap sand section only to decide last minute you have the confidence and a good lane; you will probably not have enough speed or the right mindset for actually unclipping and will end up OTB faceplanted in the sand. Nobody except maybe the photographers want to see that. However, if you are going to do the wrong thing, at least make sure your friends get the shot.
Meter out your effort in a long race - I raced the Women’s Elite field which ended up being slightly over an hour, and 8 laps of racing. When I came thru the finish and saw 4 to go after I’d been thru the sand 4 times, I died 1,000 deaths inside. But I also tapped out a solid tempo, got stronger in the later laps, and passed someone in lap 6.
Keep learning throughout the race - it took me until lap 8 to ride the sand correctly, but I kept trying to get better.
in pre-ride, consider strategizing about where your efforts will be rewarded vs where they’ll be wasted, and put that into practice during the race; its not worth wasting efforts on a short straightaway if you are going to end up needing to brake in the following corner or for a set of barriers and don’t brake into corners & off-cambers where you can get free speed!
Do not - I repeat, do not - take a Milano cookie handup. It will be incredibly dry and you will not enjoy that.
Next year when you feel a touch of mid-season burnout, remember that HPCX is only an hour from Manhattan, and is a terrific event. Let the FOMO get to you, and show up. Bring some dogs, some snacks, and some friends to spectate. You won’t regret it.
Photo Gallery by Matt
Barb is the team manager for TBD-Colorado. She loves cyclocross, gravel and mountain biking and doesn’t mind a road race every now and again. She also enjoys adventures with her Golden Retriever, the Colorado branch mascot.
