Grrreat!
After riding the course on Friday with Tim Johnson knowing for sure that he was soft pedaling the whole thing it was awesome to see him going all out.
It was nice to see Adam Craig there. He is an approachable guy who isn't as stuck up like you might think a pro would be. He is from Maine like me so instantly he is my favorite rider. I saw Adam fall in a muddy corner and he just got up sort of slowly and laughed it off. Nice to see that these guys are human too.
I heard some guys talking in the first lap and it was cool to see that they are more friendly to each other and they they were indeed having a super time.
I was very impressed with the professionalism at all levels at this race. These guys are amazing athletes at all levels.
I was in the pits for a while where I was inches from these guys. It was insane to note that Ryan Trebon and Tim Johnson seemed to make no audible breathing noise. As the pack went by the breathing got louder after the top 10 went by. It seemed like the guys in the top 10 were at SO much of higher level that they were only slowed down by the wet condition and not their fitness.
Trebon in particular is insanely fit. He seemed as efficient as an electric motor. Crazy to watch up close. He sort of sat in for the first lap and then just reeled in the bunch. It didn't look like he was even trying. In my mind he belongs in Europe racing with the big guns of cross. I was glad to see him though.
There was a pretty big crash early on and Barry Wicks got knocked down in the placing quite a bit. We rode with Barry at Pedro's fest this summer so to see a guy you sorta know out there was cool.
The course was spectator friendly and challenging even though the elevation change was limited.
It was a bummer to see the limited spectator turnout though. It seems that the cycling public in NJ does not know about cross. To be fair the weather was shitty. This was the first pro cross race I had seen in person. I am sure it won't be my last.
peas
j-
