Blog

  By Cynthia Brennan Photos by 20 Pound Skull    The second day of the 22nd Cycle-Smart International unfolded under clear blue skies on a fantastic New England autumn day. The dry, fast course offered racers plenty of wide, sweeping turns, some power sections and a long run-up. The trademark course layout, with its lower fields and more technical upper deck, allowed spectators a view of most of the race action from one central vantage point - and the large crowds appreciated watching their favorite pro racers from around the co...

      McConneloug and Powers win Day 1 of the  Prestigious Cycle-Smart International By Cynthia Brennan Photos by 20 Pound Skull  More photos HERE.  The prestigious Cycle-Smart International, the longest-running UCI sanctioned cyclocross race in the United States, began its 22nd year today at the world-class venue of Look Park in Northampton, Massachusetts. Boasting its biggest year to date in race registrants, sponsors, and vendors in the expo area, the CSI promises to continue growing for many years to come...

All photos by Todd Prekaski The sun shone on the second day of the Downeast Cyclocross Weekend, changing the nature of the course for the Elite racers during the fourth Verge New England Cyclocross Series race of 2012. While the racers earlier in the day faced slik mud at every turn, the course had dried significantly by the afternoon. Spectators enjoyed the sunshine, basking in its glow at Pineland Farms in New Gloucester, Maine as they enjoyed beverages in the beer garden and treats from the food vendors on site. None other than Crystal Anth...

Photos by Todd Prekaski By Cindy Brennan The second weekend of racing in the 2012 Verge New England Pro Cyclocross Series started today in New Gloucester, Maine, where racers faced an exceptionally challenging course. The rain fell hard the night before the racers took to the course at Pineland Farms, ensuring Downeast Cyclocross would live up to its muddy reputation. On redesigned trail sections, racers spent half of their lap in the woods on this foggy autumn day in New England, the remainder of their lap shared between long but muddy power ...

On November 17th Justin "The Honey Badger" Lindine and I will be heading down to Long Island, New York to race the Six Hours of Cathedral Pines. I have raced my bike twice this year and neither race went incredibly well. Then I broke my ribs...again and had to take another six weeks off the bike. During that time I reached my peak winter weight and lost any semblance of fitness. Oh, and Justin is doing it on a four person team, I am doing it SOLO. It's not going to be fun, but it might be entertaining. We'll have full coverage here on the BigB...

Gallery of Russ Campbell photos HERE.  SKI WARD SKI AREA, SHREWSBURY, MA - New England's Holy Week of Cyclocross continued Wednesday night with The Night Weasels Cometh, the dirty little cousin of the C1 race weekends at Gloucester and Providence.  Now in it's third year, the race continued its streak of muddy conditions, which combined with sometimes-questionable lighting and a sadistic number of off-cambers to provide non-stop "entertainment" for spectators and racers alike. The elite women's race was headlined by Mo Bruno Roy (Bob...

Gallery of 20 Pound Skull photos HERE.  By Cynthia Brennan; cynthiakbrennan@gmail.com  Rain began to hit the course early on Day 2 of the Gran Prix of Gloucester, creating a thick mud which would be a defining feature of this race and shape the day's events, as most of the day’s races averaged about 11-minute laps. A race that attracts the superstars of cyclocross, in attendance were also all ranges of cycling enthusiasts and cyclocross racers with families in tow. Stage Fort Park in Gloucester, MA offers spectators a chan...

By Cynthia Brennan Gallery of gorgeous 20 Pound Skull photos HERE.  The first day of the Gran Prix of Gloucester in Gloucester, MA drew top-tier racers from all over the world, lured by today's UCI Category 1 race on the opening day of the Shimano New England Professional Cyclocross Series. World-class competitors are drawn to New England for the Holy Week of Cyclocross, featuring two of North America's best races, both including UCI Category 1 races: the Gran Prix of Gloucester and the Providence Cyclocross Festival, only about 70 m...

Men's Under 40 1 Kerry Werner Banner Elk NC 335 22 M 3:40:19.1 3:40:21.5 2 Brian Rogers Loganville GA 324 33 M 3:55:44.4 3:55:46.4 3 Nathan Pfeifer   347 32 M 3:57:38.2 3:57:41.5 4 Ezra Mullen Nottingham NH 320 19 M 4:01:46.2 4:01:49.3 5 David Wood Hendersonville NC 338 31 M 4:02:16.3 4:02:17.4 6 Brian Patton Mont Alto PA 321 34 M 4:02:21.1 4:02:26.2 7 Michael Vanderberg Morgantown WV 333 34 M 4:03:18.4 4:03:22.6 8 Patrick Beeson Winston-Salem NC 301 32 M 4:07:55.6 4:07:56.9 9 Chris Larsen Asheville NC 316 34 M 4:08:32.0 4:08:33.5 10 Devin...

So here's another one of those open letter things where I come off as really nice and a total jerk simultaneously.  I was messaging with a friend and she was like "If I read one more post about jpow I might puke. He's just a dude! why do people get their panties in such a bunch?" As an "industry insider" I get to bump elbows with "untouchable superstars" like Jeremy Powers. I meet a lot of riders and very infrequently have I walked away going "What a D-bag." Generally people in mountain biking and cyclocross are cool. They're just no...