Valmont Cyclo-X Series #1 Report from Christa: Introduction to the front group, and a swift exit

Christa Ghent, hot off a successful summer road season racing with the LA Sweat team, reports in from her first race of the CX season at Valmont Bike Park in Boulder, CO. She would finish 4th behind teammate Melissa Barker-Tamplin's 2nd place sprint finish. 

 Lining up on the front row was a surprise. Kristen Weber and Melissa Barker have been at this game a lot longer than I, and it’s still unnerving to be on the grid with them. At the end of last cross season, I nabbed a few top five results in Colorado and a top 10 at Ruts and Guts UCI C2 race. But a full season of crit racing starting in April made me a little unsure of the state my cross legs would be in.

The gun went and everything clicked into gear. That feeling of powering away from the start line never gets old. I settled into 4^th wheel. That anxiety before the start faded and a little surge of confidence flowed through me. Perhaps prematurely. My plan was to hang on to the front group as long as I could, and I’d given myself the best shot of that with a clean start. The girls in the front group are clean racers, and there was no chaos to be had. We got on with the job at hand. Katie Clouse, Kristin Weber, Melisa Barker and myself made the selection.

This was the first time I was decisively in the lead group, and that little burst of confidence came back to bite me quickly. I washed out my front wheel, and picked my bike up in time to see the leaders sailing away. I dusted myself off and hammered up the climb to the 5280 steps. Another fumble at the bottom of the steps solidified my place 10 secs off the front group.

From here I engaged suffer mode. Deidre York was dangerously close behind, and the front three were gone. It was my own personal battle to stay smooth and keep it together for the next two laps. The change in mindset worked well and my smoothness returned. I crossed the line in fourth, really relieved that my first race of the season wasn’t a total disaster.

The Boulder Cycle Sport tent had ice cold Cokes, so that’s where I headed after the race. Decompressing after the race with teammate Melissa Barker, I mentioned my front wheel was all over the place during the race. A quick tire pressure check revealed that I was about 10 psi too high. I’m still learning from these girls, and it’s the small details that will make a difference as I look to solidify my place in the lead group.

Lots of lessoned were learned at Valmont this weekend: the main one is that the form is in the right place, and the skills aren’t too rusty either. Some fine tuning of the race day routine, and I’ll be looking for a podium soon! So lesson learned, check your tire pressure YOURSELF and then maybe you can compete in the lead group.