Well, I had heard for a long time that Cyclocross (CX) racing was awesome. Every year, Sorella race team member, Trish Albert would put on a CX clinic for Sorella Cycling team and club members. I never participated. I would see posts of race and club members racing and would think, I should try CX. I don’t own a CX bike, so I kept saying to myself, I can’t participate without the correct bike.
One year, Trish Albert and Katie Pothier suggested I race the Halloween race at East Point on my mountain bike. Many of the participants ride in costumes, and I thought that would be cool. That year, the course was wet and muddy which gave me an excuse to not participate.
Two years ago, I purchased a gravel bike. I was informed by my teammates that gravel would work well for CX. I was skeptical and my schedule was full between training for Worlds and coaching Lumpkin County high/middle school mountain bike. I had so many reasons not to try CX despite seeing team mates challenge themselves racing CX.
Finally, last weekend, all of the excuses went away. Worlds and coaching was behind me for the season. The weather was magnificent, and there was no mud to worry about. The course was at Serenbe which is the least technical of all of the courses. Trish said, who’s in? I decided now was the time. I showed up at Serenbe early enough to get registered and test ride the course and Katie and Trish were there to calm me down and provide tips on this unique style of bike racing.
I first raced in the women’s 4/5 and later in the 40+ women’s masters. My major concern was tipping over while making sharp turns in the taped off technical turning sections. I was also concerned with the possibility of aggressive passing by male racers in our race. Also, the idea, jumping off and on my bike to go over barriers was daunting. I survived with out tipping over or overshooting the turns with the coaching tips I received. All of the passes were safe and everyone was very supportive. Trish continued to coach me regarding form on going over the barriers which helped. Katie said to race against myself and try to improve each time. Great advice! I was able to improve my pace on the second race of the day. I found that satisfying.
I definitely would recommend racing/riding CX. It will improve your bike handling skills (road, gravel or gravel) I even think it will improve my sharp turnarounds required for most time trials. I would also recommend attending Trish Albert’s CX class next year before the 2026 season. I plan on doing that too. The final Georgia CX race of the season is called Almost Athens. It’s scheduled after the Thanksgiving weekend, December 6 and 7. There are no excuses for not giving it a go. Here a link to registration for your convenience:
Almost Athens CX registration