Red Nose Run

In the off season most cyclists recover from the long hard racing season. Hardwick on the other hand, laces up the running shoes, and heads back outside. Recently, Jan. 9th, Hardwick competed in the Red Nose Run finishing 1st Grand Master (50+). To add a degree of difficulty to the run, the temperatures were abnormally cold, 18, with a wind chill hovering around, ZERO! Nice way to start the season off Hardwick!

Turn out the lights when you leave.......

The team arrived in Cullman with high hopes and the possibility of taking home some heavy hardware for 2009 Bama Cross season. The theme for the season was unchanged. Though it would not rain today, it had rained enough all year to guarantee mud and lots of it. The temperature the week leading up to the race took a nose dive so that by the time race day arrived it was below freezing. In some of the shady spots, some that probably have not seen sun in the 50 years the trees have been there, a light dusting of snow clung on for dear life. I am beginning to think that this team thrives on the muddiest, nastiest conditions, because today they were spectacular.

Hardwick Gregg joined the team early in the season and did not disappointment. Honestly, he should have to re-tread his shoes with as many times as he was up and down the podium. Hardwick battled a cold all week, so he skipped the 45+ race to focus his efforts on the Men's "B" race. Hardwick won the "B"race, and then won the overall in the 45+ and the "B's".

Lisa Trainor also joined the team midway through the season. Accompanied by her trusty side kick Sophie(seen in the picture) she went on to win races, and lead points. Lisa, a Maine native, was dreading the weeks race because of the amount of water to cross and the freezing temperatures. Her inner polar bear shone through for the race as she went on to not only win her race, but also sealing the deal to win the Women's 4 overall.

Stacey Davis moved up this year to the Women's 1-2-3 category and never missed a beat. Riding focused, Stacey won the finale of the Women's 1-2-3 race, and finished second overall.

Larry came into the season with lofty goals, and nailed pretty much everyone of them. Larry finished 2nd in the 35+ race, and 3rd in the series overall. Keep in mind that he was also doubling up racing the Men's 3/4 races as well. Awesome effort.

Zach moved up this year from Junior's and let it be known that he will be a force in the 4/5's, and probably the 3/4's in the near future. Zach finished 4th in the 4/5 race and 4th overall in the series.

Mike Herring just missed the bottom step of the 45+ podium finishing 4th in the series, and 5th on the day. Mike also doubled up throughout the season racing in the Men's 3/4 category.

Josh, after taking a year long break from cross came out and raced like he never was off the bike. Josh finished 7th in the race and 5th overall. We at CCR are glad that the endurance running he did in place of cross did not work out.

Chris Leven made his come back appearance with the team. As you can tell, it did not end like he wanted. I am glad to have a good friend back with the CCR family.

What can I say. I raced hard, had a lot of fun, and have a ton of stories. A series worth of mechanicals had me just wanting to finish. As director sportif for Team CCR, I filled the void of my sub par season by watching the team just crush it. It really was an awesome sight.

As a team, 3rd overall in the men's and 2nd in the women's!

Pictures

Fain Pain=Rain

Every true cyclocross racer dreams of racing in the nastiest of conditions. I guess we here in the states are drawn to those conditions because of what we see over in Europe. It snows and we want snow, it rains and we want rain, it blows sideways and we want it to knock us down. I guess deep down in our souls we realize that in order to call yourself a true cross racer, you will be required to race in conditions that make the mere mortal cyclist stay inside on the trainer.

Montgomery continued the tough racing conditions that we have experienced pretty much all season long in Alabama. It was like racing on a peanut butter covered sponge. They actually re-routed the course before the Master Men's race because the water crossings were too deep. No matter how hard you pushed, you still went the same speed. Changes in air pressure seemed to work the best, but irregardless of wet tire or dry tire, it all came down to how you managed your power to get the tires to hook up.

Team CCR had 7 top 5 finishes on the day. Hardwick doubled up and won both the Master Men 45+ and the Men's B races. Lisa continued her dominance with a victory in the Women's 4 race. Stacey showed how quick she is regardless of the conditions with a victory in the Women's 1-2-3 race. Larry Stanely had a strong showing and finished 3rd in the Master Men 35+ race. Mike Herring finished just off the bottom step with a 4th place in the Master Men 45+ race. Zach went out strong and managed to secure a top 5 finish in the Men's 4/5 race. Garner struggled, it's just one of those years.

The team going into the last race at Cullman has the the potential for a podium finish in the overall team competition, and the potential to snag 5 spots in the overall competition. Another solid outing by the team.

Anniston After Dark

When the Bamacross series calendar comes out towards the end of summer, everyone looks for the (brackets) after the race venue. It means one of 2 things, either the state championships or a night race. Since the 2009 state championships have come and gone, it could mean only 1 thing going into this week. For some riders it really messes with their flow. They are used to a routine for the Sunday morning races. Eating, packing, travel, are a mastered science. Now their world is turned upside down for that one night race of the season. They spend the day discombobulated. For the rest of us, we greet the night race with the anticipation of school kids knowing that we have a day off. We are so excited that we show up 2 hours before the course even opens to get a good spot for the tent, put out the chairs and coolers, set up the bikes, and then we nervously wait. We seemed to be the giddy school kids that day. With no organized caravan to Anniston, Zach, Garner, and Powell managed to all run into each other at Chick-Fil-A, while Larry was there 30 minutes before we even got there. We still had over an hour before the first race!

We had an awesome night of racing. CCR put 3 riders on the podium. Lisa Trainor won the the Women's 4 race, while Hardwick Gregg and Mike Herring got 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in the Master Men's 45+ race. Top 10's were earned by Zach, 5th, and Josh, 7th, in the Mens CX4 race. Larry fought his way to a 5th in the Master Men's 35+ race. Hardwick, doubling up, just missed the podium finishing 4th in the Mens CX 3/4 race. Garner raced hard, but never could catch back on after a first lap incident with several riders. The team put in a solid effort and is setting themselves up for a top 3 finish in the overall team standings with efforts like this. Check out some photos from the racing.

Sloss Cross

One of the coolest parts about racing in a grass roots racing series like BamaCross is that you get the opportunity to race your bike in some really cool venues. We had the unique opportunity to race at the national historically registered Sloss Furnace in Birmingham last weekend. With the city of Birmingham and crystal clear blue skies as the back drop, the course weaved it's way around what at one time in it's life was a bustle of industrial activity. The course was flat, dry, and fast, while the racing was as hot as the furnaces used to be.

The riders took note of the unique venue and came out in droves. The "C" race had over 60 riders that took the starting line. After a kind of sluggish start to the year, CCR has found their legs and the results are pouring in.

Stacey drilled the "A" women's race again, making this the third victory in a row.

Hardwick continued the march of CCR riders onto the podium with a 2nd in the Masters 45+ race, and a victory in the "B" race. Larry took his first steps onto the podium during a cross race with a 3rd in the Masters 35+ race. Herring finished just off the bottom step with a hard earned 4th place in the Masters 45+ race.

The large field in the "C" race made the riding fast and intense. Zach and Josh stood fast bringing home a 6th and 9th place finishes respectively, but most importantly they protected their positions in the overall series classification. Garner finally found his legs and his luck securing a 13th place finish. Justin Poland, taking a break from marathon training, even caught the Bamacross bug, hung up his sneakers for the clipless shoes, and came out and raced.

Our home on race days "Camp Cahaba" was packed with friends, family, and other racers. The team had an awesome day placing 7 riders in the top 15 in their respective races. With the sun ablaze, great temperatures, and a great vibe we all left the race with a lot of great images from the day.

Spooktacular in Tuscaloosa

It's the day after Halloween and we are racing cross bikes, and guess what? It rained. For the most part the course was dry, but the stuff that was wet really made you work. Larry fresh off the anniversary weekend took one more step closer to his goal of getting on the podium finishing 5th in the Masters 35+ race. Mike Herring not wanting to miss out on any of the fun also got a top 5 with a 4th place finish in the Masters 45+ race. Hardwick, who is making an instant impact, took the extra step on the podium this week to the top winning the 45+ race!

The "C" race field was again jam packed, but Josh and Zach charged to the front and fought hard to bring home top 5 finishes. Josh finished 5th while Zach took a step onto the podium in 3rd. Garners run of bad luck continued, but he still fought to get home in the top 25.

Stacey fresh of her State Championship victory, went back to back, winning her second race in a row.

In the "B" race Hardick took the 3 steps back up to the top of the podium winning his second race of the day! Larry scored a top 15 with an 11th place finish, and Mike Herring put in a solid effort for his second race of the day finishing 18th.

Check out some pictures of the weekend, we will see you at historic Sloss Furnace in Birmingham!

Dead Dog IX

Congratulations go out to both Larry and Hardwick for their podium efforts at this years edition of Dead Dog. Hardwick finished 2nd in the Singlespeed classification, and Larry finished second in the Sport Men's 40-49 classification. Way to go guys!