TMBRA Fall Series, Rock Springs, Texas

written by: Sean Sindt

Texas mountain bike racers were back in action last weekend with the first round of the fall racing series. In order to avoid dangerously high temperatures in the summer, mountain bike racing in Texas is broken into two separate seasons, Spring and Fall. This weekend's race at Rock Springs represents the first race of the fall season.

Rock Springs, Texas, hosted the Camp Eagle Classic with a very difficult and demanding course. The Camp Eagle race course has a lot of rough, rocky sections and a lot of elevation change. This race was sure to test the riders and determine what kind of shape everyone was in after enduring the hot Texas summer.

In the men’s Cat 1/Pro race 14 racers lined up to take on the challenge. Off the start, Tristan Uhl (San Jose Hotel) took up the lead with a furious pace on the first climb. Because of the fast early pace, the pack separated quickly. In the lead was Uhl, matched only by Scott Henry (Trek/VW). Forming a three rider group behind them was Matthew Davis (Mad Duck), Sean Sindt (Bicycle Sport Shop), and Rick Wetherald (Solar Eclipse). At the midway point of the race, Henry and Davis had fallen off the pace while Wetherald bridged up to the leaders and took control. Over the second half of the race, Weatherald built his lead up to two and a half minutes over Uhl and Sindt, trailing in 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Wetherald won easily, with Uhl about two minutes back, and Sindt two and a half minutes behind the leader. Wetherald is new to the TMBRA series, having just moved to Austin, TX a few months ago from Durango, CO.

“I felt bad off the start and thought the pace was too fast at first,” said Wetherald. “I waited until the pace settled in and then made my move to the front. Once I got there I felt good and I was riding smooth. I’m happy to win my first race in the TMBRA series.”

The next round of the fall racing series sends riders to Huntsville, Texas on the weekend of September 20-21st.

The women’s Cat 1 race saw the usual scenario play out. Christina Smith (Lonestarworks/Austin Bikes) won the race easily, covering the course a full 12 minutes faster than her closest competitor. Christina was recently crowned the spring 2008 TMBRA series champion and appears to be going for the fall series championship as well.

TMBRA #1
Camp Eagle Classic Results
Rock Springs, TX
8/31/08

Men’s Cat 1/Pro

1 Rick Wetherald (Solar Eclipse) 2:08:24
2 Tristan Uhl (Hotel San Jose) 2:10:06
3 Sean Sindt (Bicycle Sport Shop) 2:10:53
4 Nick Cirincione (NRC Pedalmasher) 2:12:34
5 Wallace Groda (Bike Barn) 2:14:44
6 Scott Henry (Trek/VW) 2:18:17
7 Craig Kunz (Bicycle Sport Shop) 2:18:35
8 Freddy Moore (NRC Pedalmasher) 2:21:18


Women’s Cat 1/Pro

1 Christina Smith (Lonestarworks) 1:46:38
2 Sara Krause (Trek/VW) 1:58:18
3 Melanie Etherton 2:00:45

Hi Kathy,

I am looking into getting a new pair of mountain biking shoes but I am thinking about doing some cross too this year. Do you wear different shoes for the cross season?

Thanks,

Joe

Hi Joe,

This is a great time of year to consider getting a new pair of cycling shoes. The off season is always a good time to change things up and sample new things too. That way when the time comes to race in the spring you have everything already dialed in and are comfortable with your new product choices.

I do wear different shoes for cross season than I would for mountain bike season. I do that for two reasons. One, is that my mountain bike shoe has a mesh top which is great for summer, but is not so good when the fowl weather of cross enters the picture. A mesh top can be too cold for cyclocross and allows far too much mud and rain to enter the shoe which can cause all kinds of difficulties in a race. The second reason I wear different shoes for cross is that those shoes are going to get destroyed by the end of the season. And, I donʼt want to destroy my mountain bike shoes when I may be doing some mountain bike rides during that time as well. So instead I choose to have shoes that are made for fowl weather and that I already know ahead of time are my cross shoes and nothing more.

The cross shoes that I currently use are the Sidi Dominator 5 for Women. They are nice because they are narrow in the heel (for women), they donʼt have mesh on the top and they are durable, soft, and breathable in addition to being warm. They are also not only secured into place by Velcro straps which can come undone in muddy races and instead have both Velcro straps and a buckle. Additionally they have a spot for toe spikes which you will need for those muddy cyclocross conditions.

Best of luck to you!

Kathy Sherwin
SoBe/Cannondale Mountain Bike Team

Now that Cyclocross season is coming up do you start incorporating running into your daily routine? What do you do for it?

Thanks,

Kary

Hi Kary,

Yes, I do start running during this time of the year, but not daily. We all know that cyclocross incorporates running at full speed after dismounting your bike for a run up and/or barriers. And although you may not win a race with superior running skills, it is possible to lose the race without them. That is why it is best to get some running miles in before your first cyclocross race of the season.

For most cyclists who donʼt have too much running under their belt, I recommend starting very easily and slowly. That can be a hard concept to grab for most of us but you need to go easy on yourself while your body adapts to the new routine and new stresses of a completely different sport.

To get started I would recommend a very easy 15-20 minute run on the flats twice a week. Start with walking for 10 minutes as a warm up first and then doing your run following that. Do this until you are no longer getting sore a day or two later which may take some time. As you get stronger you can start finding hills to run up for 15-20 minutes (after warming up). Once you are comfortable with doing that, you can increase your intensity by doing 15-30 second running intervals with 3-4 minutes of recovery in between. You can decrease recovery time as your running fitness increases as well to make things even harder. And as always, remember to stretch after you are all done with your running workouts too!

See you out there!

Kathy Sherwin
SoBe/ Cannondale Mountain Bike Team