MFG SCCA/Starbucks Grand Prix

Leave a Comment / Bicycle culture, Community, Cyclocross, Photography / By /

Sunday’s SCCA/Starbucks Gran Prix was the fifth of six events in this year’s MFG Cyclocross series.

Team tents were set up outside the northwest corner of the velodrome.
Team tents were set up outside the northwest corner of the velodrome.

The course zigged and zagged and wound in and around the Marymoor Velodrome. A beer garden was positioned outside the southern end of the Velodrome, where there was a tricky sideslope crossing leading to a log-jam obstacle that required a dismount. For many competitors the short strenuous run up the log jam was augmented with a barrage of cheering and heckling from the revelers in the beer garden.

Some of the fields were huge: At the start of the 1:40 race competitors stretched back about 200 meters.
Some of the fields were huge: At the start of the 1:40 race competitors stretched back about 200 meters.

I snapped images from the start of the 1:40 race until about 4:30, by which time the weather had “progressed” (cyclocross aficionados would refrain from using the term “deteriorated”) from drippy to downpour. Racers in the later events reported “epic” conditions as the downpour continued and the race surface became muddier and slicker.

Best friends: Mick and Martha Walsh gaze upon the muddy madness.
Best friends: Mick and Martha Walsh gaze upon the muddy madness.
Two randonneurs in the cyclocross scrum: Jan Heine (foreground in blue wool), and Adam Morley (red stripe in background) can't seem to find the control checkpoint.
Two randonneurs in the cyclocross scrum: Jan Heine (foreground in blue wool), and Adam Morley (red stripe in background) can’t seem to find the control checkpoint.

Results Web Site

1:40 Flickr Gallery

1:40 Race Race Warmup Flickr Gallery

Jeffrey Miller (Cheasty Boys) rounds the corner at the top of the log jam.
Jeffrey Miller (Cheasty Boys) rounds the corner at the top of the log jam.
The concentration on young Adrian Magun's face shows just how tricky it was to navigate the beer garden side slope.
The concentration on young Adrian Magun’s face shows just how tricky it was to navigate the beer garden side slope.
Late for class.
Late for class.
Beta testing the new Hagens Berman Society Consulting team kit.
Beta testing the new Hagens Berman Society Consulting team kit.

2:30 Race Flickr Gallery

Kristi Berg (CycleU) makes the log obstacle look easy.
Kristi Berg (CycleU) makes the log obstacle look easy.
Genuflecting at the altar of cyclocross: Even before the downpour got serious the course was slippery.
Genuflecting at the altar of cyclocross: Even before the downpour got serious the course was slippery.
Some racers dressed in their Sunday best.
Some racers dressed in their Sunday best.
Proving that age is no excuse: This competitor got an enthusiastic cheer from the beer-drinking crowd every lap.
Proving that age is no excuse: This competitor got an enthusiastic cheer from the beer-drinking crowd every lap.
Alicia King (Hagens Berman Society Consulting) at the top of the log obstacle.
Alicia King (Hagens Berman Society Consulting) at the top of the log obstacle.

3:20 Race Flickr Gallery

Next Sunday, November 9, is the final installment in the MFG Series, the Subaru Woodland Park Grand Prix. Woodland Park is a fantastic venue to watch cycling buddies have fun in the mud–the course is arranged in such a way that you can watch the competitors pass by several times from a single location.

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