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Chocolate, waffles and 'cross ('07) - Viva Las Vegas

By Brandon DwightBoulder Cycle Sport
Published: Oct. 4, 2007
Cyclocrossworld.com's Jeremy Powers raiding the Team Maxxis espresso stash.
Cyclocrossworld.com's Jeremy Powers raiding the Team Maxxis espresso stash.

Three cyclocross races in one week! Sure, temperatures for all events hovered around 80 degrees and even though only one race featured beer chugging, bike junkies throwing money at the racers, it still felt a little bit like Christmas time in Belgium.

The first race of the last week was Cross Vegas, the soon-to-be annual kick off to the U.S. cyclocross season. This spectacular nighttime event took place last Wednesday following day three of the yearly super bike nerd convention known as Interbike.

Bright lights, big city. Boulder Cycle Sport's Colby Pearce makes his way back to Sin City after the race.
Bright lights, big city. Boulder Cycle Sport's Colby Pearce makes his way back to Sin City after the race.

If you’ve never been to Interbike, all I can say is standing on concrete floors underneath fluorescent lights in a climate-controlled convention center for three days is not all it is cracked up to be. However, Interbike is a good chance to meet people face to face and say hello.

Many of my bike shop and sponsorship contacts I know only through e-mails and telephone calls. Lucky for me, I flew in to ‘Vegas on Wednesday afternoon, raced that evening, attended the Oakley party at the Mirage until the wee hours of the morning, hit the Interbike floor on Thursday and flew back to Denver Thursday evening.

The trip was also made relatively easy due to the fact the Team Maxxis manager, Gary Wolf, transported my new Time cross rigs from Boulder to The Strip in his team trailer. Let me say, when you don’t have to pack two bikes and haul them through airports and hotels, and just show up to a race with your bike ready to go, it makes a huge difference. I don’t always have this luxury, but when I can get it, I take full advantage. Thanks Gary. I owe you a sixer of New Castle.

Cross Vegas was a blast and events like these are one of the reasons I keep racing. I thoroughly enjoy competing on new courses, in places I have never raced and I especially enjoy events created to showcase how fun and exciting cyclocross racing can be for spectators.

With his bikes still in Las Vegas, Whitey Debroux does his best rendition of a crazy Belgian super fan.
With his bikes still in Las Vegas, Whitey Debroux does his best rendition of a crazy Belgian super fan.

Just as he did in last year’s Crank Brothers Gran Prix in Boulder, Colorado, race promoter Chris Grealish and his army of tireless helpers worked for close to thirteen hours straight in order to get everything dialed in for the Wednesday evening’s big event. And, dialed in it was. A great course, excellent organization and a huge crowd made for a truly memorable race. Thanks Chris. I owe you sixer of Sierra Nevada.

Back in Colorado, it was time for the kick off of the Boulderracing.com cyclocross series. I knew my chances of a decent result were pretty good considering some of the local hammers were either sick or hadn’t gotten their bikes back from Las Vegas yet. What I wasn’t ready for was battling it out with Clif Bar Development Team riders Brady Kappius and Danny Summerhill.

I ended up coming across the finish line first, but it wasn’t with out some hard work to shake the to youngsters off my tail. Come to think of it, I think I am a good sixteen years older than these two speedsters! Sixteen years! I can only imagine how strong these guys are going to be years to come. It’s going to be fun to watch.

The third race of the week was stop one in the Red Rocks Cyclery Series held at Bear Creek Lake Park in Morrison, Colorado. Once again, I found myself in a Kappius and Summerhill Clif Bar sandwich.

One hour before this photo was taken, Trek's Travis Brown rolled into Boulder, stole a mountain bike from Jere
One hour before this photo was taken, Trek's Travis Brown rolled into Boulder, stole a mountain bike from Jere

I felt like I could have gotten loose again, but an untimely flat dashed any chances of another victory. Regardless of the bad luck, it was great weekend of competitive racing and I was glad to see Brady and Danny take first and second respectively. Thanks Brady and Danny. I owe you a sixer of...hey, wait a second, you’re not even old enough to drink!

Up next in Colorado are back-to-back high altitude races in Frisco, Colorado. This town sits 9042 feet above see level and is nestled close to Breckenridge and Copper Mountain ski areas. It doesn’t look like there is snow in the forecast, but this is the Rocky Mountains and weather can change fast. I’ll be bringing all of my cold and wet weather gear.

Lastly, if you live in or around Boulder, Colorado, please come to the premiere of Sam Smith’s new cyclocross movie, Cyclofile at the Boulder Theater on October 4th. All the information you need can be found at the Boulder Cycle Sport website. This event is a fundraiser for American Cycling Association junior cyclocross development programs. Hope to see you there!

Thanks for reading.

Brandon Dwight lives in Boulder, Colorado and is partowner of Boulder Cycle Sport. He is also the founder of Doperssuck.com. Sponsors include: Time Bicycles, SRAM, Zipp, Crank Brothers, TRP Brakes,Clif Bar, Challenge, Squadra, Sock Guy, JBV Coaching, and if his Time needed an external headset, Chris King.

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