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Greetings!
The heart of Cross. El Corazon las Cruces.
(please forgive my marginal Spanish)
Fall is officially here. Cross is officially fantastic.
With falling leaves and 3" of rain in September, we have had a great mix of dust, mud, sun and clouds for our first month of the 2012 cyclo-cross season. October has traditionally been the month with the highest number of cross racers - it's hard to believe that we'll go up from September!
There are so many opportunities to insert yourself into the incredible world of cx! Join the 1,000 racers per week who are shredding cross courses in Colorado. With mid-week races in Golden and 2 races a weekend until Christmas (is a win on your wish-list?) get out there to enjoy this perfect season to get a little dirty.
http://www.coloradocycling.org/calendar
http://www.facebook.com/AmericanCyclingAssociation?ref=ts
Enjoy the dirt and the special atmostphere of cross racing!
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Dean Crandall's Kick-It Cyclo-Cross Festival & Time Trial
On September 15, the ACA hosted the 1st ever Kick-It Cyclo-Cross Festival and Time Trial to celebrate Colorado cross and generate call-ups for the first big race of the season (Boulder Racing #1 at Valmont). 300 racers tested themselves with a cross time trial on a course that featured the Tunnel of Love, the Big Green Monster Flyover, two mean run-ups and wicked good off-camber sections. Kick-It is named for Dean Crandall, one of the true luminaries of cycling in the United States.
Velo magazine Tech Editor Lennard Zinn had this to say about the event, "That was a cool race and a fun new twist on cyclocross. It also allowed racing over features that would be hard to have in a mass-start race.
It was also cool to have all of the categories mixed up with start times. I was passed by a fast young guy, passed another old guy, and also passed a girl who must have been maybe 12 or so during my ride. I suppose it could have been intimidating for her being passed by so many people, but it was awesome seeing her getting up the hills.
And a bunch of the juniors from Boulder talked to us after the race, and I was standing there in amazement trying to figure out how they, one in particular with a mountain bike and a purple argyle kit who was soooo tiny, had gone so fast. I was left wondering how a kid that size had managed to haul that mountain bike up the run-up with the steep steps chopped into the side of the finish hill. Very inspiring!"
Juniors got to rock the flyover! Great ride Ellie!
Photo by Ellie's mom.
A HUGE ACA Thank you to Dan Schmatz, THF Realty, Frites & Mayo, Alpha Bicycle Co, Peter Ismert, Great Divide Brewing, Clint Bickmore, Larry LG Grossman, Zach Lee, Dean Crandall, and our great officials for this full-size extra-fun race day!
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Masters National Road Championships
Greg Berlind, Barry Messmer, Heather Mierzejewski, Anne Donley, Anne Lannan, and Julia Wieck. Photo by Len Pettyjohn.
This year's Masters Championship was the usual suffer-fest (paired with that beautiful Bend, Oregon scenery). Colorado teams and athletes shown brightly in the Oregon desert, with Boulder Orthopedics Cycling Team earning the coveted title of "Best Masters Road Team in the USA!"
10 medals, 3 Golds, and a whole lot more.
http://www.coloradocycling.org/articles/colorado-racers-2012-masters-nationals-bend-or-congrats-all
"We just returned from the Master Road Championships in Bend, OR with some good news," said Len Pettyjohn. "The Boulder Orthopedics Team earned the Best All Around Road Team Championship Trophy. For the Boulder Orthopedics team members who participated, it was an overall impressive event with the team winning the Best Team Award to match the Best Team Award for the National Track Championships. I don't think there has ever been a Masters team win both overall road and track championships in the same year."
Boulder Orthopedics is a highly decorated racing team. They boast world, national and district champions across a broad range of cycling disciplines, including road races, criteriums, time trials, track events and cyclo-cross. Congrats to everyone on the team who went out, raced hard, and maintained the high standards the team embodies, "Strong Results, Strong Relationships."
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2012 Collegiate Track Nationals
The Rocky Mountain Collegiate Cycling Conferece (RMCCC) found sweet success at Collegiate Track Nats in September, with medals earned by Colorado Mesa University, CU, Fort Lewis, and Air Force. Congrats on all your efforts! The RMCCC is directed by Topher Hurley from the School of Mines, and we are proud to work with and support collegiate clubs and athletes.
Photo by CMU Cycling.
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2012 Ragin' Roadies Road Cup Awards Party
240 bike racers-slash-partiers attended the 2012 Ragin' Roadies Road Cup Party on September 22. The event featured a silent auction of cycling goods and memorabilia, drinks from Great Divide, mix1 and Naked Juice, pizza from Basil Docs, and fruits and veggies to fuel those racing the next day.
Thank you Pat Nichols Perrin, Team Evergreen Racing, and Rachel Scott and Naked Women's Racing pb Tribella for making this event a rousing success!
SW P-1-2 Road Cup Podium. Photo by Pat Nichols Perrin.
http://www.coloradocycling.org/articles/2012-ragin-roadies-road-cup-awards-party-thank-you-and-trophies-pick
As we lay a great road racing season to rest, let's take a final look at a very pleasing statistic: Road season numbers - more than 20,000 racer days (up from 15,500). That's a ton of riding, sweating, laughing and winning.
The Bear Creek Time Trial Series and Tour of Vail were the final road events of 2012. Thank you athletes, officials, race directors, teams, ACA Board of Directors, Technical Committee, and staff for making this possible!
The 2013 road racing season starts on March 2 - anybody else already looking forward to it?!?!
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Member Benefits
Did you know that being an ACA member has its benefits...we mean the ones on TOP of being awe-inspiring and serving as role models for your non-racing friends, that is.
A few of the many gems:
Please see this Link for the full listing of benefits.
Thank you ACA Sponsors for supporting our Members!
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Shopping for a Team?
Are you looking to join a team? There are many teams out there who are taking applications NOW. Most teams are built on the twin principles of competition and fun. Here is the link to the ACA's Club Page.
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2012 Junior Cross Camp
Please follow this link for all the info on the Cross Camp this weekend in Loveland.
Let's get 100+ kids at cross camp just like last year!
2011 Cross Camp. Photo by Clint Bickmore.
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ACA Profile of the Month
Official Extraordinaire Tim Madden
Photo by Mrs. Madden
Most of us get on our bikes and try to ride them fast. This month's profile focuses on one of the many individuals who attempt to control the chaos that often ensues when racers race.
Tim Madden is one of the best USAC Officials in the country and a leader in the ACA. His officiating is world-class, and Tim works UCI races and served as a Judge for the USA Pro Challenge.
Here's Tim's Bio in four bullets - read it and you'll see why he is the man he is:
- Born: New Jersey (yep. Just like Bon Jovi).
- Education: Fairview High in Boulder (Go Knights!) followed by a BS from CSU.
- Tim is married with one child (who has a strong sense of right and wrong and casually officiates any and all middle-school sporting events).
- Favorite book: Lord of the Rings
Here's what Tim had to say on 303Cycling about officiating back in February:
"It is not just giving back, it is also a lot of fun. Sure the days can be long, and can be stressful in dealing with lots of people. Despite those things there is not a group of people that I would rather spend most of my weekends with then those who make up the race community."
*Thanks to Tim and all the other wonderful officials we have that are great assets to Colorado racing!
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Thank You
Volunteers, officials, race directors, host communities, athletes, club leaders, Yvonne, Keith, Lane, Doug, ACA Board and Tech Committee - it takes many, many dedicated people for our cycling to thrive. And we are thriving, thanks to you All!
Please watch the ACA website, Facebook, twitter, and our weekly updates for the latest in ACA happenings, and as always, you can find all the race details on the ACA event calendar. Thanks for sharing this e-newsletter with your friends and family.
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