Behind the scenes with Rebecca Gross

This week, we’re psyched to share this guest post from Masters National and World Cyclocross Champ Rebecca Gross. Here’s a glimpse into the first half of her racing season.

Pre-Season

Five home races with four wins and the purchase of a Ford Transit Van for traveling and living in while I scour the country for UCI points.  

Granite Lake CX – 1^st

Dropped a chain due to rough dirt and spent the rest of the race reeling in opponent. Just as I was prepping for the final attack, the lead gal double flatted and was out. 

Cyclo X - Rueter Hess – 1st 

Dry, sandy conditions on a mowed field made it tough to power hard. Instead, I kept a high cadence and I put little efforts into gain gaps until they stuck. 

Trek Day 1 – 13th 

My lack of familiarity with the course and the low elevation sent my heart rate went through the roof. And my sleep, hydration, food, etc. were a bit off. This “bad” day was still pretty good – no crashes and no mechanicals.

Trek Day 2 – 12th 

I settled in quite nicely as the field spread out. I stayed within sight of the front end of the race. I could tell that I was feeling better throughout the race and was stoked to finish strong!
 

Jingle Cross Day 1 – 9th 
 
I had a money start, but then in anticipation of the mud, I slowed and got surged on. Huge error! I pitted every lap because of the mud. This worked great – I never had a major bike issue. 

 
Jingle Day 3 – 27^th

The race start featured deep mud trench. A girl in front of me hooked her bike onto my handle bar and it took her dragging me a bit before we untangled.  I motored through the field, but then just faded.  I guess you can’t be strong every day but I was disappointed.

KMC Day 1 – 20th 

It was raining steady before the race. The course was a mess. I heard rumors of new sections but figured I would see them on the pre-ride. This assumption got me into trouble and I completely missed even looking at the most technical portions of the course before the race.
 

KMC CX Fest Day 2 – 13th
 
An eat-you-alive giant puddle at the first entrance to the pit cost me a place, and a wack to my ankle with my pedal made my foot go numb, but I held on for a solid finish.

Night Weasels – 3rd
 

Combining lapped riders with the dark I had no idea where I ranked, but eventually I caught up to third.  She hung on for a bit but made a few key mistakes that let me slide by. I was chasing second but ran out of real estate.

Charm City CX Day 1 – 12^th

I started super clean and stayed relaxed. There was so much yo-yoing going, I had zero clue where I was in the lineup. When I learned I was in the top fifteen, I felt a bit disappointed that I didn’t lay down more of an effort at the end of the race. Lesson learned.  

 
Charm City CX Day 2 – 10th!
 
The last lap there was a group of four or so battling it out behind me. It was a big group that was making up time and I was happy to hold them off.  A group of hecklers dubbed me “blueberry” mid race which gave me an internal giggle. This is my best C1 finish to date and I’m thoroughly stoked about that. 

Here is a lineup for the complete fall racing schedule:

17-18 Sep – Trek CXC Cup  – Waterloo, WI
23-25 Sep – Jingle Cross – Iowa City, Iowa
1-2 Oct – KMC Cyclo-Cross Festival – Thompson, CT
8-9 Oct – Charm City Cross – Baltimore, MD
15-16 Oct – Gran Prix of Gloucester – Gloucester, MA
22-23 Oct– DCCX 1 – Washington DC
29-30 Oct– HPCX 1 – Jamesburg, New Jersey
5-6 Nov – The Derby City Cup – Louisville, KY
12-13 Nov – Cycle-Smart International - Northampton, MA
19-20 Nov – Supercross Cup - Suffern, NY
3-4 Dec – Ruts N Guts – Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
10-11 Dec – Resolution 'Cross Cup – Garland, TX
17-18 Dec – Highlander 'Cross Cup – Waco, TX
8 Jan – USA National Championships – Hartford, CT