Sucker Brook 'Cross - New Hampshire

by Stephanie White

Hi Everyone,
The first 'cross race of the season; always a great
time! My first race this year (Sucker Brook
Cyclocross) was this past Sunday, September 17, in Auburn NH.
It's a local race and I've known the promoter since I
first started to ride.

The course was fast and fun with a lot of field
riding, a few tight corners, some steep tricky climbs,
and a long running sand section near the end.
It was a hot day for cyclocross, a good 80 degrees by
the A womens race in the afternoon. The officials
(thankfully) allowed feeding, so it felt like a
short mountain bike race.

There were 12 girls at the start line, including my
little sister Libby (she's going to try to race with
the big girls now). Off the start Amy Wallace (Richard
Sachs) took the lead and held it. I tried to hang with
her for about half a lap, but then settled in with the
chase group with Cris Rothfuss (NEBC) and an ECV rider
I didn't know. The three of us knew we
weren't going to catch Amy and weren't going to get
caught, either.

Thus the mind games began! We all took turns pulling,
but we were playing it smart, too. With two laps to
go, the ECV girl got a flat and Cris got stuck
behind her. I opened up a small gap - but maintained
it through the last few laps, finishing second! Amy
killed me, but it was a good time all the same.