RHC 1 2014 RACE REPORT FROM WALTON BRUSH

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In 2009, I crashed a couple times in the rain on a notorious descent in the Bay Area. To this day I have a mental block about cornering in wet conditions. This January, at Cyclocross Nationals, Evan Murphy (NYC Velo p/b The Cannibal) gave me a breakdown of how to keep racing positive. Evan explained that even when dropped from a road race he’s still pumped to be riding the course, or even though we’re in Colorado racing CX Nationals semi-serious, we’re still having a blast shredding the course.

Anyway, Mike of MASH SF flew our team to the entire RHC series last year. We’ve had awesome support for an awesome team. But, while we were proud to podium every race in Brooklyn, we’ve never won. Having never won has personally pressured me. Along with the growing level of media coverage that surrounds the event. Weather predictions—cold, wind, rain—a week before the event really made it hard to think positively. Furthermore, add brakeless track bikes, an overly aggressive field, and a course with tough corners and I was really fearing injury and the possibility of ruining this entire race season. Frankly, I didn’t really want to start but felt immense pressure not only to do so, but to perform.

250 racers were attempting to qualify for 80 positions in the main race with their fastest timed lap, which also sets the start grid. With no warm up, I went with a large group on the first lap of our group’s qualifying heat. I stayed at the back and went about 50%. This effort put me eighth on the grid. This was quickly bumped down to 22nd. A couple laps later, four of us went all-out on another lap. We had it dialed and I went so hard I expected to be top five, but the wind had picked up so much that the new lap times didn’t even match my first effort. At this point I was taxed, fighting off vomit and the cold, so I packed it in to go warm up inside before the main race.

Because of the inclement weather, the men’s race was moved ahead a few hours and shortened to under 30 minutes, while the women’s race was neutralized due to an ambulance on course after a serious crash. I was disappointed that I was starting third row, because if something happened in the beginning of the race (a crash, field split, missed break, or a mental freakout while navigating the crazed wet pack) I would have let the team down. Luckily, I quickly made it up to the top eight. Kyle and I put in some attacks in the middle of the race, but no one came across, so they were chased back. I was stoked to win the mid-race prime and then we were in the last few laps of the race.

Two riders were in a breakaway and Neil Bezdek was sitting second wheel in the chase. He didn’t let anyone rotate through or rotate off. The breakaway didn’t have much of a gap, though it was all they needed. Going into the bell lap, Kyle got on the front and drilled it. I was sitting third wheel and, as we planned, I attacked into a sheltered straight to get a gap before heading into the final “windy” straight-hairpin-straight. Our team didn’t want to sprint against Neil, Evan, or Mario, so we wanted to go early. Coming into the windy section, I realized that the wind had died down. I kept going 100% but got swarmed at the hairpin, effectively leading out the sprint. On my way to the line, I got passed by four and, with two racers off the front, I took seventh. Far from the podium and far from first.

At “team brunch,” which my sister hosted the following morning, I realized that this RHC weekend was the best yet. It is easy to get distracted by stressing over performance and results, overlooking the original goal of the Red Hook series. It is a blast to go out there and crush it with teammates and local and international racers that this series has provided me the opportunity to meet.

Walton Brush