Cross, Cross, Cross

No we are not mad, but we are crazy for cyclocross and October was an exemplary month for cyclocross competition both regionally and nationally for the BMW-Bianchi team.

At the start of the month the Mud, Sweat and Gears series promoters held a training race in Newport, TN in conjunction with a skills clinic organized by renowned coach Andy Applegate from VeloSports Performance Center.  Cara Applegate, Christy Blakely and Deb Whitmore represented the team at this event.

The following weekend, October 10th, 11th & 12th, Applegate and Whitmore traveled to Ohio for the Cincinnati International Cyclo-cross Festival, part of the Ohio Valley Cyclocross series. These UCI races brought out riders of the highest level including the reigning national champion, Katie Compton who set a ballistic race pace right from the gun. The weather was unseasonably warm and the temperature reached a scorching 88 degrees for the final race of the weekend, hampering a number of riders that day. Both Applegate and Whitmore attained top twenty results on all three days of racing.

October 18th and 19th saw the beginning of the North Carolina Cyclocross series with two back to back races in Raleigh and Cary, NC. Again the team had excellent representation with the core cyclo-cross team of Applegate, Blakely, Whitmore and Evie Boswell-Vilt. Both days saw a large field take the line, and BMW-Bianchi took top ten results with Applegate 3rd,  Whitmore 5th, Blakely 8th, and Boswell-Vilt 9th in Raleigh. In Cary Applegate moved up a spot to take 2nd while Whitmore remained consistent with another f5th. 

October 25th and 26th the team sent contingents to the USGP of Cyclo-cross UCI races in Louisville, Kentucky as well as the NC Cyclocross Series race in Boone, NC. Blakely and Whitmore raced in Kentucky with some heavy hitters including Olympian Georgia Gould. A field of more than thirty national level women took the line, making for some exciting racing through the multiple sand pits and over the "green monster, a man-made bridge with high steps and a steep descent. 

Applegate and Boswell-Vilt competed in the third race of the NC Cyclo-cross series in Boone, where a showering of snow and chilly temperatures greeted participants who raced on an abandoned golf course. The team had another good showing with Applegate placing 2nd and Boswell-Vilt taking 6th.

That wraps up the month of October of cyclocross racing.  November will be just as busy with regional racing in the Mud, Sweat and Gears series and the North Carolina Cyclocross series. Watch out for upcoming news as the BMW-Bianchi team competes in our local UCI race held in Hendersonville, NC on November 22nd-23rd.