Joules Cross

Joules CX was on a new dedicated CX and grass track venue northwest of Lawrence. The course suited me fairly well, lots of elevation change and not too many technical spots. After a fairly moderate start, I was sitting about 8th.

On the first uphill section, I saw Shadd was getting a gap and Brian Jenson was moving to close it. I jumped hard out of the group to chase and we quickly had a sizeable gap. I dangled about 3-5 seconds off of Brian and Shadd for the rest of the lap, finally closing on a long uphill section before the start/finish area. I rode with them for about a half lap before taking myself out on a not-technical corner when I clipped a pedal. I also dropped my
chain.

Top of the climb - my leg is freaking out, apparently.

Brian and Shadd were gone, but I had enough time to get up, put my chain back on, and get going again and still be in 3rd. Bill Stolte was charging hard, but I decided to try and keep my gap as best I could since he was saving time by hopping the barriers. Paul Bonds and Adam Mills were just behind Bill but were battling each other, so they weren't closing the gap too much either.

So I rode the last 7 laps on my own and ended up being able to hold on for third. Unfortunately, my wreck took its toll on my knee, which looked like a grapefruit after the race. By the evening, I realized I shouldn't race on it Sunday. I was very pleased with my form overall on the day. Hopefully some fine tuning will have me ready for Jingle Cross at the end of the month.