For weeks the men’s squad had been planning for the 4/5 race, fielding 11 riders in a field of around 70. On the first lap Francis Atkinson rode away on the climb and stayed away for almost three laps. On the third lap a field of 6 rider bridged up and joined Francis giving him some well deserved rest. Back in the main field the rest of the team played perfect tactics, not working to bridge the gap and disrupting any chance of a catch. On the final sprint the field jumped too early and Francis caught a wheel to launch him around former team rider Thorsten Askervold and rode away at the line to give Francis his first win of the season. Jeff Reed took second on the field sprint to finish 9th.

The Women’s cat 1,2,3 field was small today and Sarah Carroll took advantage of being combined with the men’s cat 3 field to burn a few fast laps and wear down her competition. From that point on Sarah rode away from the other women and a few men to easily win.

The women’s cat 4 field was also small but managed to garner enough riders to run the race. Laura Dodd and Kem Valliant-Saunders captured a 1-2 finish in the late afternoon race, marking their territory at the front of the pack.

Overall a very successful first race of 2012. On to Mason and Sequim.

Paul Camera
President, Liquid Velo, Inc.
SCCA/Starbucks Cycling

The Cat 4 mens team showed courageous performances on Saturday, but bad luck kept Justin Calvo from achieving 2nd place in the series as he had a spoke blown out when another rider hit his wheel on the first lap.  Jeff Dunn assisted in pacing Justin back but he was unable to make up the distance.  Mike Foster freaked out the entire team by riding from something like 1 millionth place at the start to a fourth place finish in his 2nd ever cross race.  Hmmm, watch for him next year.

Other excellent performances were put in by team riders across other cateogories, then it was all followed up by a birthday party for Tina Wang, featuring a very nice keg and bbq out in a cold Seattle winter day.  Next we’re on to the Seattle Cyclocross series next week south of Tacoma.  Looks like snow!

- Paul Camera

At last count 790 riders showed up for this race, in which a portion of the entry fees will be donated to Seattle Cancer Care Alliance cancer programs.  As one of our primary sponsors, the team was very excited and grateful to see so many riders coming out to this venue.  The weather cooperated very nicely for a Northwest October day and stayed generally dry with some light showers.  The course was slick in the morning for the early races, but quickly dried out and established a nice track for racers to follow.

The team had great participation and posted solid results winning two categories and two second places.  The entire teams showed strong results with finishes throughout the categories.

The total participant count is a new series record and one of the highest is Northwest Cyclocross, going from about 100 riders the first year up to an 800% increase for this year.  We’ve already requested for keep this venue for next year and are making plans already to make this a great spectator course.

A huge thanks to the entire team for coming out, volunteering, and supporting the race.  Led by coordinator Charles Caswell, the race ran smoothly and with very few hiccups.  We look forward to seeing you all out next year.

Cyclocross Magazine writeup at: http://www.cxmagazine.con