Well, better late than sorry, as they say. It’s time for our cyclocross nationals recap! After a great season of grass, mud, and lots of flair (especially bananas), Seb ‘22, Wells ‘24, and Nolan ‘25 ventured into the home of bad drivers and “a number of seasonal farmer’s markets” (Hardford, Connecticut Wikipedia) for cross nats. Seb and Wells arrived at the venue on Wednesday in time to ride the course and greeted Nolan with tales of axel-deep mud caused by the previous days of torrential rain. After a quick stop at the grocery store to pick up garbanzo beans, black beans, and crunchy cinnamon squares it was back to the hotel to rest up for the next day’s collegiate nationals race.
After a leisurely morning, the trio gave thanks for a 1:55pm race start time and made their way over to the venue. Nolan got his first taste (quite literally) of the Hartford mud and scrambled up the embankment for the first time. He was surprised to learn that Seb and Wells had not been exaggerating that much about the mud. I know Nolan was surprised because I am Nolan. After washing bikes and eating, it was time for call ups. As the race got underway, Seb used his fox-like intellect and cat-like agility to move up through the field. Wells took a different approach, instead using watts to move past his competitors. Nolan used neither and had a great time! (Wells 13th, Seb 16th, Nolan 19th)
But the racing was not over yet! Single speed was still to come and the DCT had a trick up its peel. The mission for the day between collegiate and single speed races was dedicated to turning their bikes into legal single speeds by USA Cycling standards. Acting on the advice of the Shimano mechanics, our protagonists traveled to the Home Depot for supplies. Now armed with a 10’ section of 1 ¼” PVC pipe they returned to the hotel room for final assembly. Small sections of pipe were used as spacers to keep a single cog positioned correctly on the freehub body.
The morning of the single speed race dawned with sunny skies and the racers made sure to head to the venue with time to iron out the kinks in their shoddy single speed assemblies and don their race banana suits. The racing was fast and humorous as spectators encouraged, heckled, and cheered our bananas around the course. The costumes even earned the DCT some TV time! After the race, it was a mad dash for warmer and dryer clothes as the temperatures fell.
Hartford was a blast and we are eternally grateful to the donors and sponsors who made it happen! We are eagerly looking forward to the next cross season, but first we have a very exciting road season just around the corner!