"This weekend we had 2 races in the Bay Area Super Prestige Series at Sierra Point. Sat. was the traditional night race. This is a fun event and draws by far the largest crowd of spectators - even people who don't race CX!

The course is very compact with tons of turns and multiple trips up and down some berms on the perimeter of the course. There are 2 longish pavement stretches, a fly-over, 2 double barriers and a short hill run-up with steps and lots of bumpy sections. New this year was a large mud puddle (yes mud in CA!) right after the first turn with standing water created by nearby irrigation. The rest of the course is very dry and dusty. It is not my favorite course, but over the years I have gotten better at it.

We had a good-sized field of about 25 elite women, with the category B and masters starting behind us. I knew my main competition would be Caroline Dezendorf from Marin Bikes. I had a decent start and slotted into 2nd behind Caroline. She is a good technical rider and always starts fast, so I decided to follow for a while and gain some draft on the pavement sections.

We soon pulled away from the rest of the field. On the first barrier section, there was a sharp turn going into it and Caroline slid out and so I went around her. She was back on my wheel pretty quickly though. Then after the stair run-up near the end of the lap, I missed my pedals on the immediate bumpy downhill and slowed at the bottom and she passed me back.

She kept going hard, so I let her lead for a while. On the next lap, she nearly missed the turn after a longish straight section that was kind of hard to see, and I went by but she eventually caught up again.

With 3 laps to go, Caroline seemed to be slowing a little, so at the end of the pavement, I attacked hard and kept going. I slowly pulled out a gap of maybe 7-10 sec. by the end of the lap with 2 to go. Then on a short downhill into a sharp, loose turn, my front wheel slid out and I went down. I got up before Caroline caught me, but now she was a lot closer and had some more motivation, I think. Going into the bell lap, we were together again.

I wanted to let her lead the pavement sections and then I attacked again the same place I had earlier. I did not get as much of a gap though. Then, unbelievably, I slid out in the same downhill turn again! This time Caroline went by while I was down, but I was able to catch back up. With about half a lap to go, I decided my best chance to win was to recover as much as possible and try to take the pavement sprint.

There is a longish straightaway and a 180 degree turn onto the pavement that is a bit tricky and Caroline clearly wanted to lead that. I have won that sprint before being 2nd out of the turn, so I though it would be OK, but I underestimated Caroline's sprint and came up a few inches short at the line.

It was a really good race and we both went to our limit and made some mistakes. Caroline is relatively new to racing and has been steadily improving over the past 2 seasons. Several people who were watching said it was the most exciting race of the whole evening! It is nice to provide some entertainment, but it would have been even better to win! Maybe next year!

Sunday was the same course, but in daylight and the reverse direction. All the fields were a bit smaller. It was a late night and relatively early morning wake-up, and the tight glut/hamstring I have been nursing for a while now was pretty sore after the night race, so I did not have very high expectations for my performance.

Caroline did not race Sunday, but instead we had Kerry Bonar with fresh legs. Kerry is a former pro MTB and CX racer who I raced many times a few years ago. She took some time off, but is now back racing this year and getting stronger every weekend! 

Again, I had a decent start and got on the dirt 2nd behind Kristin Drumm. I eventually passed Kristin, but then on the 2nd barrier section, there was a short hill into a tight turn immediately out of the barriers and I missed my pedal and stalled out the hill and had to get off my bike again. Kerry went by and took off at warp speed on the bumpy grass.

Kristin and Colleen Wanty got by me as well as I got going. It took me a while to get by Colleen and then not long after I did, I missed my pedals again on the bumpy downhill after the stair run-up, and then could not get up the short hill immediately after and Colleen got by me again. I passed her for good on the pavement and went after Kristin. I caught and passed Kristin on the 2nd lap, but Kerry had a big lead by that point, which she held to the finish. I ended up 2nd again with Kristin again in 3rd.

This weekend we had 2 races in the Bay Area Super Prestige Series at Sierra Point. Sat. was the traditional night race. This is a fun event and draws by far the largest crowd of spectators - even people who don't race CX!

The course is very compact with tons of turns and multiple trips up and down some berms on the perimeter of the course. There are 2 longish pavement stretches, a fly-over, 2 double barriers and a short hill run-up with steps and lots of bumpy sections. New this year was a large mud puddle (yes mud in CA!) right after the first turn with standing water created by nearby irrigation. The rest of the course is very dry and dusty. It is not my favorite course, but over the years I have gotten better at it. 

We had a good-sized field of about 25 elite women, with the category B and masters starting behind us. I knew my main competition would be Caroline Dezendorf from Marin Bikes. I had a decent start and slotted into 2nd behind Caroline. She is a good technical rider and always starts fast, so I decided to follow for a while and gain some draft on the pavement sections. We soon pulled away from the rest of the field. On the first barrier section, there was a sharp turn going into it and Caroline slid out and so I went around her. She was back on my wheel pretty quickly though. Then after the stair run-up near the end of the lap, I missed my pedals on the immediate bumpy downhill and slowed at the bottom and she passed me back. She kept going hard, so I let her lead for a while. On the next lap, she nearly missed the turn after a longish straight section that was kind of hard to see, and I went by but she eventually caught up again.

With 3 laps to go, Caroline seemed to be slowing a little, so at the end of the pavement, I attacked hard and kept going. I slowly pulled out a gap of maybe 7-10 sec. by the end of the lap with 2 to go. Then on a short downhill into a sharp, loose turn, my front wheel slid out and I went down. I got up before Caroline caught me, but now she was a lot closer and had some more motivation, I think. Going into the bell lap, we were together again.

I wanted to let her lead the pavement sections and then I attacked again the same place I had earlier. I did not get as much of a gap though. Then, unbelievably, I slid out in the same downhill turn again! This time Caroline went by while I was down, but I was able to catch back up. With about half a lap to go, I decided my best chance to win was to recover as much as possible and try to take the pavement sprint. There is a longish straightaway and a 180 degree turn onto the pavement that is a bit tricky and Caroline clearly wanted to lead that. I have won that sprint before being 2nd out of the turn, so I though it would be OK, but I underestimated Caroline's sprint and came up a few inches short at the line.

It was a really good race and we both went to our limit and made some mistakes. Caroline is relatively new to racing and has been steadily improving over the past 2 seasons. Several people who were watching said it was the most exciting race of the whole evening! It is nice to provide some entertainment, but it would have been even better to win! Maybe next year!

Sunday was the same course, but in daylight and the reverse direction. All the fields were a bit smaller. It was a late night and relatively early morning wake-up, and the tight glut/hamstring I have been nursing for a while now was pretty sore after the night race, so I did not have very high expectations for my performance. Caroline did not race Sunday, but instead we had Kerry Bonar with fresh legs. Kerry is a former pro MTB and CX racer who I raced many times a few years ago. She took some time off, but is now back racing this year and getting stronger every weekend!

Again, I had a decent start and got on the dirt 2nd behind Kristin Drumm. I eventually passed Kristin, but then on the 2nd barrier section, there was a short hill into a tight turn immediately out of the barriers and I missed my pedal and stalled out the hill and had to get off my bike again. Kerry went by and took off at warp speed on the bumpy grass.

Kristin and Colleen Wanty got by me as well as I got going. It took me a while to get by Colleen and then not long after I did, I missed my pedals again on the bumpy downhill after the stair run-up, and then could not get up the short hill immediately after and Colleen got by me again. I passed her for good on the pavement and went after Kristin. I caught and passed Kristin on the 2nd lap, but Kerry had a big lead by that point, which she held to the finish. I ended up 2nd again with Kristin again in 3rd."

Karen Brems