Race morning found the Kingdom of Kross blanketed in a thick fog. The course sorcerers descended on their sections of the course to add its unique features and become the longest course we’ve had yet. Something for all from fast wide open to technical sections a touch of mud and slippery grass in the first race.
As the riders grooved in the course and the sun began to shine. Sixty four degrees? This is Kross weather? The Belgians sought out the sunscreen, while others shed layers.
Twenty nine masters toed the line for the start. Fresh off the red-eye Greg Drumm took the holeshot as they wound their way through the first chicanes. When it opened up the “King” hit the gas in the mower section and took the lead holding it through the first lap and opening a gap after the spiral. The “Train of talent” formed behind him. Glenn, Ernie, AJ, Greg, Ad and Andy. The King tried to force his hand in technical sections as the Train would draw him back on the horsepower sections for the first three laps. Drumm and Swan fired the first attacks as the King latched onto the fast moving train. As crashes would split the group it would regroup with a new leader. Then a split happened. Glenn towed me back up to retake the lead in the spiral only to be outgunned by the tough accelerations of Drumm on the straights. The battle waged right till the finish where Drumm and AJ were neck and neck. Then disaster struck for AJ. A washout and dropped chain forced him to run to the finish. Drumm scores another win and Swan’s late race aggression nets him second. Ernie Bayles scores third. He later emailed me and told me he was worried I was going to ride away with it. Trust me I was trying. It was a great race. The hour was a good thing. Let’s see more races come back to that. All in all a good show of the colors for the Ommegangsters with a 1st and 6th.
Open Men now had the stage; Josh “West Coast” Miner has been progresing rapidly this season. Always near the front and aggressive. A 5th, 4th, 3rd and a second had him focused for a win at the DPM. We saved number one for him. A fast start saw Ramon, Josh and Felix breakaway early. Another seesaw battle followed till Ramon hit the afterburners and was gone. Josh fought valiantly and hung onto second. The rest of the field strung and were all over the course having their own private hell in the one hour plus one lap.
Beer hand ups were seen. The hecklers turned nice and offered encouragement as the laps wound down. Ramon took a convincing win with Ommegangsters Cory P back at it after a long layoff and Mike (Huggies) K fisnishing strong in 5th.
Next up was the first annual Kross Relay dash for cash. The riders were assembled and drew their team mates. They then went to their respective sides for the LeMans start. Only to find while their backs were turned. Their bikes were switched around. The pack all got off sort of together. Dave Yacobelli lead out of mower and was gone. Have missed the earlier races with a mechanical. He had the freshest legs in the bunch. Dave gave a display of his power in that lap and tagged the King for the relay. The King downed the beer and was harassed about “How did those two end up together? Rigged? Pay offs? No just a random draw. The King extended the gap and rounding the third to last lap was facing a wall of the other team riders who grabbed him and held him while Ruth closed the gap. They even let the air out of his front tire. Ruth cut the course and they let him go. He dove back into the fray almost crashing on the flat tire in the last turn, hung on for the win.
Many stayed for chili and the awards. Where prizes and Ommegang flowed freely.
Thanks to all who picked up the course while I handed out prizes and tried to get it all together.
In all it was an incredible day in the Kingdom of Kross. Blue skies, warm temps, great riders, fans, and delicious food.
See you next year. The King
Results: http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2009/11/15-Dave-Panella-CX.asp
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