Huele pips Trebon at the line

As usual I had a great time at this year’s Starcrossed. Steve Westover, Starcrossed PR guy, said there were 2,000 spectators lining the velodrome and 500 racers taking part. Yes, that many people came out and paid to watch a cross race! And it was a very strategic race. Barry Wicks, Ryan Trebon and Swiss rider Christian Huele, who is the 5^th ranked ‘crosser on the planet. Those three rode away from the field and never looked back. In the last two laps Trebon attacked several times, but it only dislodged his teammate Wicks. With one lap to go it was Heule and Trebon sprinting for the line. However it came 10 meters too soon for Trebon and Heule took a narrow win.

My race was not so strategic. I literally started third from last in the very back row of 90 riders. I took Powers’ advice and with 30 seconds to go before the start I clipped both my feet in and leaned against my fellow rider, Busto from Raleigh. I was able to hustle my way to 46^th place by the time I crossed the line. More importantly I didn’t crash or get lapped! My Raleigh ‘cross bike handled like a champ and had no issues with it at all. So a big thanks to Ric at FSA for helping pimp out the bike as well as Shimano, Mavic and TRP brakes. And another big shout out to Reed Pike who became my coach for the day making sure I had water, a wind trainer to warm-up on and a post-race beverage. Yep it was good time last night. As I type this my calves are still throbbing and I have a bit of a tickle in my throat. That’s all I need just before Interbike!

Me and Raleigh’s ‘Busto’ getting ready for staging. We lined up at the very back. My Raleigh jersey is a one-off designed for the Jamaican national champion, hence the green, yellow, black bands around the sleeve and collar

Showing off my ‘cross skillz

Enjoying my annual post-race beverage

My Raleigh still in one piece.