The 1.9-mile course at the DTLA Historic Cyclocross, round two the 2012-13 SoCalCross Prestige Series, consisted of grass, gravel and poker chips. Not literally, but in terms of racing luck, a long, twisty section ribboned throughout a field of insidious wood chips may as well have been the kind you find at a casino. It was as slippery as a back-alley blackjack dealer and tougher on tires than that hilltop hooligan at this year’s Tour de France. Entering this area every lap was like going all-in at the craps table: you roll the dice and hope for the best.
Maybe that’s overstating things a bit, but there’s no denying the inordinate number of flats and elbow/knee strawberries witnessed on this warm day at the Los Angeles State Historic Park. In some cases it had real repercussions on the race results.
And speaking of race results, going through them is like reading “Hoyle’s Rules of Games.” For the second week in a row, rider attendance records were shattered like imported pottery hitting the sidewalk in nearby Chinatown. The Men C class had 108 competitors alone. Add in the extra spectator draw of CicLAvia — a cultural/ecological event that took over the nearby streets at the same time — and there’s no question that this was a big day for the series.
Check out the photos and captions for more. We’ll wager you’ll like and by chance even share them.
The next stop on the SoCalCross schedule is the Pacifica Crossfest in Camarillo on Saturday, October 13, followed the next weekend by the must-do Spooky Cross and Krosstober-Fest, October 20-21. This is part of the inaugural L.A. Bikefest, which will be taking over the Fairplex in Pomona big-time. For details, visit SoCalCross.org.
Report & Photos by By Phil Beckman / PB Creative
Full Cyclocross Schedule on SoCalCycling.com
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