So last Sunday was the first race of the
Kansai Cyclocross season taking place on the shores of
Lake Biwa in Shiga prefecture. It would be
Fixed in Nara's first CX race too. A 5:30AM departure from Nara with
Mike driving got us to the race venue just as the course was being set up...
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| A beautiful setting for a cross race. |
There were already some serious cross machines on site as we arrived...
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| CX Porn. |
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| Testach x Van. |
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| Beach ready. |
What these photos don't quite show is how very, very windy the course was. And with wind on a beach comes sandstorms. Conditions for the races would be "difficult" to say the least...
It was good to catch up with
Toshio-san, sadly due to a work injury he wouldn't be racing today...
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| Toshio-san, still smiling! |
A chance to walk the long, technical course...
More riders, teams and spectators arriving...
Once the course was set up it was a chance for the riders to test it out...
And a chance for Mike to do his thing and capture some superb photographs. Check out some on his work over on his
Instagram ...
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| Switchbacks on sand be evil. |
Then it was race time...
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| They're off! |
Yep, that sand was a bitch...
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| Pick a line. |
To run or to ride?...
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| Loneliness of the long distance cyclocross rider. |
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| Careful on those corners. |
The most technical part of the course seemed to be the turn onto the main beach run, a sharp left turn, in thick sand. With a headwind. Into the sunshine...
Some riders were making it look easy...
While the first race was finishing up, the riders for the second race were taking their places...
That included a certain
Mr Brad, better known as
Fixed in Nara...
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| Either he's aiming for second place or it means go away in olde English sign language. |
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| Bikes ready. |
A quick pep talk from
Toshio-san...
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| Riders ready. |
F-i-N took the course, as they say, like a boss...
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| Cornering like a pro. |
So fast he was hard to photograph, smiling like a madman. On a
Mudman...
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| Say cheese. |
Staying upright on the evil sand turn. Like a boss...
Basically owning the beach...
The rest of the riders seemed to be enjoying themselves too...
A brilliant way to start the season. Big thanks to
Mike,
Toshio and, of course
Brad. We have stacks more photos from the day that we'll milk out here for the forthcoming months.
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| Dogs at cross. |
