U.S. CX Nats

Went to U.S. Cyclocross Nationals In Kansas City Missouri on Sunday. I am just now thawed out enough to write about it. Yes, it was very cold. No, I did not see the alleged fight between a drunk heckler of Jonathan Page and his brother in law that ended in a heap on top of some Richard Sachs bikes. Andy and Nick went with me, and it was a long drive (10 hours total) to see a couple of hours of racing. The women's elite race was completely dominated by Katie Compton. I had never seen her race before, but it was impressive. She continued to put time on her rivals the entire race. Very smooth, controlled, and powerful. That must be why she is the five time national champion. On the mens side, Ryan Trebon was the ultimate victor, although it was well contested for most of the race. I had a lot of fun watching such a great race, in spite of the low temperature. During the womens' race, I received a PBR from some guy who told me "compliments of mafia racing" I didn't know the guy, but who am I to turn down free beer? Anyway, big props to "mafia racing" and all you are doing for the sport. I hope the free beer never runs out. Brad Huff was there, and he and a friend were stripped down to their underwear and entertaining the crowd and the racers alike for the entirety of both elite races. I was wearing my warmest coat, and was still freezing, but they were running around like it was the beach or something. Other noteworthy sights included: a guy wearing a suit and tie and knee socks, several guys wearing jumpsuits, Sacha White and his helper wearing $75 boots, many people under dressed for the weather, a group of people sitting on a couch and grilling food in the middle of the course, Jeff Williams sitting in a ditch to keep warm while telling me "this is the place to be man", and a guy with a tuba, wearing what can only be described as a "utility kilt". I don't know if the guy didn't know how to play more than one note on the tuba, or if the keys were frozen on it, but I think that only one note emanated from the instrument the entire time. It was signed by many notable people, including Ned Overend, who won the mens 50+ race a day earlier. After the race was over, we all headed to the car get out the cold and decided to just call it a day. I only left with a few pictures, most of them poor quality due to my lack of ability to use the camera well with gloves on. Oh well, I'm sure VeloNews has some good ones to look at.