Canton Cup or the Rainpocalypse

By Devo

So after arriving at Canton at 8:30am and watching some CX races in perfect weather for 5 hours, it started to rain. This rain, unlike the rain during the 3/4 race, was ungodly cold. By the time the 3/4s were finished I completely regretted my decision to do the 1/2/3s with CMJ. After the 3/4s Cory and I headed out and did 2 laps to get a feel for the course. As you all know, Canton is generally a very firm, fast course. Even after 2 hours of steady rain, the course could be described the same, only now there was the addition of the slickest, wettest mud possible to deal with. After the pre-ride, I spent the remaining time (as did all the other guys) sitting in a parked car, watching the 1/2/3 women miserably finish, and warming up via car heaters, rather than trainers.

I chose to dress as such: long sleeve base layer, skinsuit, vest, light long finger gloves, leg warmers, helmet. What a drastically deficient choice of apparel. Most of the ~30 guys on the line were dressed in a similar fashion. A few smart ones were wearing jackets. Too late to change. Without much ceremony, the whistle blew and we were off. I’ve never done a 1/2/3 race in CX, but as expected, it was full gas off the line. The first 1/2 lap was furious blindness. I recall seeing Cory ebb and flow around me as we jockeyed for “not last.” After a half lap, I was unable to feel my hands in such a way that it made shifting near impossible. Awesome. 55 minutes to go.

After a complete lap I realized that despite all the mud, it was still very much a big ring course. With my hand stumps, I forced it into the big ring . . . and started passing people. In the next 2 laps my core warmed up and I found a good rhythm on the course. As such I moved from ~20th to 12th and held it. Yes, there were still 11 guys out of range ahead of me, but I was still gapping the guys behind me. With a lap to go I was able to see the next 3 guys ahead of me at the end of the hole shot straightaway. Though they were a little too far away to catch in one lap, it was certainly a morale booster to know that I was (slowly) reeling them in.

Also in the last lap, I had McKittrick come up on me pretty hard. After getting around me in the field section, I maintained contact with him and attacked on the pavement, he stayed with me and tried to get around me on the twisty section after the short barriers, I heard him swear and then fall. That was that.

I ended up placing 12th out of 21 finishers. A lot of dudes dropped out or had mechanicals. I was only a handful of seconds behind Mike Wissell. Pretty pumped.