The unofficial CX season closer is upon us. The AirBnB reservations we anxiously made back in August are finally here. We have a big crew heading out to race Northampton this weekend and there’s rumors of freshly brewed coffee at our tent. We are ready to roll into one of our favorite and long-standing race weekends in the Northeast.

Weather

Whether the weather be fine,

Or whether the weather be not,

Whether the weather be cold,

Or whether the weather be hot,

We'll weather the weather

Whatever the weather,

Whether we like it or not

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In all seriousness, after what felt like an interminable number of wet weekends in the Northeast, we can finally look forward to a dry weekend, yeehaw! The weather is forecasted to be sunny with a high of 50 degrees on Saturday — appropriately chilly given the time of year. There is a catch (there’s always a catch). There is a modest amount of rain forecasted for the two days leading up to race weekend. This, combined with the historic rainfall in the Northeast this year, might make the ground a little tacky — I’m thinking about the trail sections which were a touch muddy in 2022.

Course

If you liked it before, you’ll like it again. The course looks to be identical to last years race. As with most two-day CX races, the course layout is the same but will run in different directions each day (e.g., what was a run-up on day 1 will be a descent on day 2). A la Missy Elliot the organizers “put there thang down flip it and reverse it.”

Diane wrote about the course a bit last year which you can check out here. A few of my key takeaways on the course: 

• The course can be broken up into two sections, a lower grassy part and an upper woodsy part. 

• The grass section is about putting down power and nailing a few sweeping corners. Don’t let “road racer brain” get the better of you here, drafting is not going to be as helpful as it is on the road.

• In the grass corners by the baseball field, there’s a ton of room which is tricky and interesting. It allows for space to pass, but also really requires you to focus and choose your optimal line.

• The trail sections have the run-ups and technical descents. Day 1 has the more technical / longer rooted run up which is the technical descent on Day 2. 

• There’s a short sand pit that was not a huge factor last year because it was well packed down due to the wet conditions. With the dryer conditions (compared to last year) it may be something to keep an eye on.

• The barriers are set up near a 180 degree turn. On Day 1 you dismount right after you make the turn making it a slow pass over the barriers. On Day 2, you hit the barriers before the turn making it a quicker dismount and a slower remount.

GEAR

Bring warm gear and extra gear. You’ll get sweaty while you’re racing but chilly standing around. Post-pre-ride but pre-race, you’ll be thankful for that extra set of kit you packed.

HANGS

The course is really well organized for spectators (in addition to racers), which encourages folks to stick around. The course crossings are well thought out which makes it easy to navigate around and heckle watch your friends as they race. Additionally, there are always a few food trucks stationed on course. Make sure to grab a beverage, burger, and enjoy.

Important to note is that this year NoHo pulled themselves from the UCI CX calendar in response to the exclusion of trans women from participating in women’s races. My hat tips to the race organizers for standing by trans athletes, prioritizing inclusion, and standing up to the UCI. Per NoHo’s inclusion statement (full statement here):

“We recognize that participation in sport is a human right. We strive to create an enjoyable event for those currently active in cyclocross in all the different ways they participate, and an inviting one for those who have not joined us yet. It is our obligation as race organizers and athletes to create a safe and welcoming space for athletes, staff, and spectators from different backgrounds, identities, and abilities, and this event is part of our work to foster such spaces.”

Below are a few pictures from the 2019 edition of the race to hold you over till the weekend. Hope to see you there!