It was an incredible weekend of racing in Fayetteville, Arkansas for the inaugural Fayettecross , a UCI-level 'cross race, and the precursor to the 2022 UCI World Cyclocross Championships! Gage Hecht was coming off a couple weeks of training at home in Colorado, while teammate Lance Haidet was getting his 'cross legs back after recently returning from the UCI World Road Championships in the U.K.
Gage was out for redemption after a rough race in Waterloo a few weeks ago and Lance was ready to put his road racing fitness to the test. Both riders had their own respective battle for the top spot on podium with Lance finishing second place on Saturday and Gage grabbing the silver medal on Sunday. Of note, Lance and Gage used the all new PDX WC tubeless ready clincher tires on Sunday with no issues whatsoever!
Next up on the racing calendar is a stop in Boulder, Colorado, hometown of Donnelly headquarters and the site of the US Open of Cyclocross at Valmont Bike Park.
Rubbin' is racin'. "For the first couple of laps, it was a large group of us at the front, so there was bunch of fighting for position and a good amount of rubbing going on out there. Gage and I did a really good job of trying to be at the front and keeping the pace high, and eventually the group was whittled down to just four of us." - Lance Haidet
Dry and fast. The course in Fayetteville was a pretty fun one. It wasn’t the most technical course out there, but the combo of a ton of tight turns and a bunch of strong riders made for really punchy and hard racing." -Lance Haidet
Racing Fayettecross. "It was great opportunity to begin preparing for the World Championships in 2022. The course and venue was completely new so it was very bumpy, but there were some fun sections through the woods. In Saturday’s race, things were already much smoother." - Gage Hecht
Tomorrow's another day. "After a hard start and pushing it for the first two laps, I struggled to recover for the remainder of the race. The pace was a bit more than I could manage today, but I still came across in fourth. Nothing to hang my head about!" - Gage Hecht
Always be prepared. "In the later half of the race, the weather rolled in and made things pretty interesting. It started dumping rain midway through the race and made the conditions crazy slick. After starting the day on LAS file treads and when it rained I was getting sideways a lot! I ended up pitting twice within one lap, first to go to double MXP tires and then the second time to go with the PDX WC mudders. The rapid change in conditions definitely initiated the separation in our front group, and once Kerry (Werner) got a gap, it was sort of game over. " - Lance Haidet
The pain cave. "On Saturday night Fayetteville was absolutely pounded with nearly four inches of rain. It made for some absolutely insane conditions on Sunday. I had to warm up in the trailer and Gage rode in the van. Literally every inch of the course was some of the slowest conditions I’ve seen in a while."- Lance Haidet
In deep. "After a night of pounding rain, the track transformed from a mostly grass criterium to a boggy swamp. It was a completely different course on Sunday. I loved it." - Gage Hecht
You gotta go for it. "I had a very good first lap and established a gap on the field. I was caught with just over a lap to go and we battled for position the entire way to our final trip though the pit." - Gage Hecht
Is this insane? "It was a really hard day out there, but there’s always something fun about racing in conditions like these. Races like this have you questioning your sanity the whole time, but I think that’s what makes it so cool." - Lance Haidet
Time to run. "During the race I found myself running for up to nearly a third of the lap. It was a tractor pull slog, but I tend to thrive in these conditions. I'll take this over a grass criterium any day." - Gage Hecht
Race and recover. "I definitely was bummed to miss the win on that last day, but am really happy to have my first, true UCI podium of the season. Overall it was a good weekend, and I am excited to see how Fayetteville creates the home of the 2022 World Championships. Now time to rest, recover and acclimate to the altitude before racing next weekend in Colorado." - Gage Hecht
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Rider Tire Selection and Pressure
Lance Haidet (Sat.) - Lance started the race with the LAS, but as the rain started to fall he switch to the MXP and eventually the new PDX WX tubeless ready clincher
Front: LAS / 23.5 psi >> MXP /24 psi >> PDX WC / 23 psi
Rear: LAS / 24 psi >> MXP / 24 psi >> PDX WC / 23 psi
Gage Hecht (Sat.) - Gage started the race with a PDX on the front and eventually switched to the PDX on the rear.
Front: PDX / 24 psi
Rear: LAS / 24 psi
Lance Haidet (Sun.)
Front: PDX WC tubeless ready clincher / 22 psi
Rear: PDX WC tubeless ready clincher / 23 psi
Gage Hecht (Sun.)
Front: PDX WC tubeless ready clincher / 22 psi
Rear: PDX WC tubeless ready clincher / 24 psi
Team Schedule (Tentative)
Rochester Cyclocross – Rochester, NY
Jingle Cross World Cup – Iowa City, IA
Trek CXC World Cup – Waterloo, WI
Fayettecross - Fayetteville Arkansas
NEXT RACE:
US Open of Cyclocross – Boulder, CO
Cincinnati UCI Cyclocross - Cincinnati. OH
Silver Goose - Midland, ON
Pan Am Games - Midland, ON
Ruts N Guts CX – Broken Arrow, OK
USA National Championships – Tacoma, WA
UCI World Championships – Dubendorf, CH