Red Barn and Crossniac CX course review
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009Red Barn was my favorite course last year. It was pretty close to the same course this year but with a few small changes.
Positive: The start – Plenty of room and distance to get going and get things sorted out before the course narrowed and well before any barriers.
Positive: The road – This was a nice wide and fast section of the course and it was easy to pass riders in this section. However, it was also open to the wind which created a drafting benefit and this is pretty rare in cyclocross races.
Negative: First barrier section – This barrier section was at the only real 180 degree section of the course. The barriers were right next to each other with the course directing riders over the first barrier, immediately into the 180 turn and then back over the second barrier. As I have stated before, I believe barriers should be used to give those riders who can get over the barriers quickly an advantage. Due to the arrangement of this barrier section it required everyone to take it slowly, negating any advantage to the barrier section. I would have rather seen the barriers in another section of the course where they could have been taken at speed.
Positive: Second barrier section and run/ride up – These barriers could be taken at speed and, if the rider was good enough, they could get back on the bike and ride up the hill next to the barn. This was a real advantage to those who could handle their bikes.
Positive: Technical section before the finish – Steep downhill and run up followed by a slow speed section with lots of turns. Broke up the rhythm of what was otherwise a pretty fast course which I think is fine as it’s good to always have a section of the course where bike driving is important.
All in all I think Red Barn was a great race and I really enjoyed it again this year.
The Crossniac course in Fridley was new for this year.
Positive: The start – On a cinder running track. Wide open, plenty of room to get going and advance before any technical stuff.
Negative: Too many technical sections – This is just my personal preference, but I really did not care for the pinwheel feature. It was too slow and allowed too much time to recover following the tough track section. It’s kind of a spectacle so I understand why promoters like to use it but after exiting the pinwheel and following a short and fast section there was another slow technical section, followed by another short and fast section and then another slow technical section. While bike driving is not my forte I feel that too much effort was made to create too many technical sections in what could have otherwise been a real physically demanding race.
Positive: Fast back section – Open and windy and really allowed those with fitness to take advantage of it. If it was up to me I would have made this section double back on itself once or twice to really make this part of the course tough.
Negative: 5 pack barrier section – 5 barriers in a row, ok. But they were too close together and they were different heights. I would have rather seen this section be a triple and then put a double section on the track after the start lap.
Negative: Barrier at the bottom of the hill – I understand the goal was to make this hill a runup. It seemed steep enough that it might have been a runup even without the barrier. But this barrier was a bit awkward as it immediately followed the 5 pack barrier section.
Positive: The hill – This was a real tough section of the course and I looked forward to it each lap. The promoters fully utilized the hill forcing us up it 3 times in very short succession. I never tried to ride up the final climb as others did, but I wish I would have tried it out during warm up as it may have been faster. My only regret is that the laps were too long to go up the hill more often. This was the krux area of the course and I think it was well implemented.
Positive: The track – While I mentioned it previously at the start I think it was great that it was incorporated into the circuit for each lap. It forced riders to continue to keep the power on following the hill.
I think Fridley was a great new venue and I hope to see it on the calendar again next year. I would do this race again for sure. I just hope that the promoters take better advantage of the space with longer fast sections and not try and do too much with slow technical sections.
