ELEMENT: Heat
This time of year we still experience hot racing conditions and heat is always a challenging factor for the riders. When people think of heat they may think of those dry dusty conditions or beaming sunlight with strong harsh shadows, however heat can also manifest into wet, thick conditions. Mixing those warm colours with wet dripping paint and creating a hazy muggy feel. Riders are not always transitioning from simple dark to light patches but navigating through a chaotic thick, damp and hot climate.
Acrylic on canvas
Artist: Kenza Barton Schlee
Katie Clouse at the finish of Rochester Day 2 - the effect of racing to her fullest in the heat.
“Heat is an element that requires a measured and calculated approach to sport. Internally, power output and elevated heart rate results in generating heat. Externally, heat creates a challenging environment to maximize your power and heart rate. It’s a condition that requires us athletes to truly know our body, to understand our limits, and to properly gauge our effort.” - Curtis White
ROCHESTER CX DAY 1
After our weekend in Roanoke - Curtis and the mechanics all went their separate ways home, while Katie, Raylyn and our team photographer Kenza drove up to Washington D.C. to spend most of the week as they wiggled their way to upstate New York for the next round the USCX series. During the week, Raylyn and Katie would ride around catching some sights of the nation’s capital in the rain while also getting some much needed rest and relax time in.
Rochester Day 1 - as Katie and Raylyn donned the start line the light rain would begin to fall. cooling it off a bit as the heat & humidity would cover the course like blanket. The rain was not much and only made the fly-over a tad slick for the first few laps. Katie would race hard fighting to stay in the mix at the front of the race (ending the day in 6th) as Raylyn continued to battle some gut issues (pushing through to end the day in 8th). Curtis would blast out of the start grid for the first few laps taking charge of the race and pushing the pace with the front men before fading as he also works to get back to peak performance (finishing the day in 10th).
ROCHESTER CX DAY 2
On Sunday we woke to a beautiful day - most would call it perfect weather, but for a 50-60 minute all out effort 80F degrees and high humidity calls for our team cooler filled with ice socks, and the hydration to be on point. (Shoutout to our rockstar mechanics who not only keep our bikes and tires perfectly prepped, but fill panty hose with ice for us, and make sure we have cold water at our disposal.)
The technical half the race track would reverse for day 2 - giving the riders a bit of a change up. The Day 2 race would yield a bit more group racing from Day 1. We love coming to race the Rochester course because of the technical features in the woods with logs and rocks to hop over as well as a few steep run-ups and several bridge embankments to ride up and down - surfing through the trees as the riders would work to find the right lines to keep good flow.
For the ladies, Katie would again make the front selection of the race battling it out in a group of 6 riders fighting for the podium. Moving her way up to 5th place on the day! Raylyn again has been working on her gut issues as a limiter to making the front selection but fighting it out to again finish the day in 8th place. Curtis would again place himself in a good position in the front of the race, but planned to keep the day more steady as he ended the day in 9th. Rochester CX is a special place for Curtis as he always has his home crowd and fans scattered all over the course, and despite not having his best race weekend, he always puts on a smile and loves to talk to everyone after the race. We love Curtis for this!
We’ve enjoyed getting a few weekends under our belt as we make our way to Baltimore, Maryland for the 3rd round of the USCX series. Enjoy some images from the race weekend below, and see you in next in Charm City!
