Northstar USA Cycling Pro Grt Recap

The Pro GRT, Boondocks, the glamorous team in white; could you ask for anything more? Didn’t think so. It may go without saying that this was a race of particular excitement for many people due to the size and course that was being run. Boondocks is a crowd favorite and the trail crew at Northstar had some delicious upgrades in store for all. Some general buffing was in order for the trail, but these guys decided to make some major re-routes towards the bottom that completely changed (for the better) the rhythm, flow, and speed of the course. Well played!

 

Practice days were numerous and being the home team we all had plenty of chance to dial in our lines and experiment with some new stuff. The team was back to healthy status (except for Hot Rod Todd still nursing that broken collarbone…) Well, I should say we were healthy until Patrick decided to try a new “braking with your face” technique that left him rendered loopy, so no race for our boy. Brutal!

Once of the most conversed about features of the course was the new finish line ramp. Some riders struggled with judging their speed and found the bottom of the tranny. The Hitman was advised by a rider who shall remain nameless (Sam Redman) to “take a couple pedal strokes into it). I was fortunate enough to be following Jordan into the jump on his first hit and got to watch him send it to the heavens above and the flat below. When in doubt, huck it!

Due to the UCI sanctioning, pro licenses were rather pricey, resulting in some “downgrading” and stacked Cat 1 fields. This is a relative statute as we all know it is your race time that matters. This isn’t 4th grade soccer, not everyone will get a participation ribbon. That said, the entire team had runs we were happy with. Gassed at the end, no crashes, and clean lines. You can’t ask for too much more really.

Justin Swett Photo

After our runs we had our glamour shots by Deb, err, I mean team manager Justin Swett. The new Fox Racing (http://www.foxhead.com/us/) had shown up and we were looking mighty bright in our tidy whites. After the race some of us reconvened at my place for some grub and brews, aka “real” team bonding. All in all, a killer weekend.

Full Pro GRT race results can be found at: http://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2012-2374