The second round of Victoria's most dubious cyclocross series, the Semiprestige, went down yesterday. With it came the crowning of new victors, a healthy dose of fun, and the most technical CX time trial every attempted, all amidst spilt blood, beer and lots of course-side camaraderie.
This past Sunday, somewhere north of 25 people gathered in an undisclosed location deep in the woods of the South Island.
At hand was a beautiful ribbon of single track, punctuated by rock rolls and a pea gravel pit, being repurposed for a cyclocross time trial.
After a bit of course recon, riders congregated at one end of the trail, and set off in minute intervals, chasing a clean run on the very technical course.
Flat tires, snapped derailleurs, bruised skin, and some minor abrasions all belied the good times had by all. An almost equal number of spectators' raucous cheering and heckles, however, offered some insight into how much fun everyone was having.
A mid-race intermission, ale consumption, and riders were off again, riding the course in the opposite direction. The accumulated time of both trips down the trail provided finishing positions, and some dubious structure into an otherwise freeform afternoon.
In the end, Raph Auclair smashed the course record on a borrowed SSCX bike, with Mr. Smooth/ Halldor Gunnarsson sitting in the hot seat for most of the day, and still edging 2nd on both laps. Parker in third, Clay fourth, etc.
The immensely talented Geoff Robson and Nick Kupiak were both on hand, documenting the event. Lief 'Number OneVideographer' was doing his day drunk duty, and recording footage of racers as they crossed the finish line.
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