Canton CX Race Report

All rankings out of five possible

Parking:
Overall, good parking situation, although the tight quarters make getting in and out a bit of a challenge as people are coming and going from the course. Lots of parking available, but unclear on how to get to all of it.

Registration:
These guys and gals have a nice set up at the registration area. Centrally located at the finish line, with the food and music. Participants were organized by last name and not category, adding an interesting twist.

Bathrooms:
Can't really have any complaints here. Indoor bathrooms and showers. I didn't go in during any rush, but it was very clean and accommodating. Plus, lots of wood to dodge in and out of. You could also go by the huge pile of horse manure to obscure your own scent.

Course:
Really nice mix of endurance, power, and technical section. Can be "chunked" into about four sections. First from starting line extend to the first set of barriers, where you are barreling along roads, grassy stretches, and some tight turns. Second after the uphill barriers include more tight turns, some rocky single track that turned muddy pretty quick. Third is the back road section that is paved, and deceptively technical. Take a turn too fast on the leaves, and away you go sliding across the road. Fourth is the semi-technical power section. Tighter turns that you need to accelerate out of, steep run up, around the track, hairpins, into a power section over the barriers and to the start. Chances for exertion and recovery. Fun, fun, fun.

Line-up Procedure:
No call-ups, and no real discernible starting line. So, we just started lining up. But, good distance between the rows to make it safe. Looking at 18 across in each row as interesting.

Pits:
You gotta mechanic with a boxer named Nuggets. But, single entry is kind of a drag. Not much to be done about that.

Post-Race Refreshments:
Good grill spread with hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, and fixins. The proceeds go to a great cause as well.

Overall:
A New Belgium Classic. You can't go wrong with Canton. NAV and IBC know what makes for a good experience, and deliver. Only bummer this year was no Canton Cup glasses. Maybe next year. Also, a potential drawback is the collapsing of the Cat 4, with 3/4 women and young pups. Creates a lot of potential traffic on the course. If the fields continue to grow, going to have to figure out a way to make this more manageable and spread it across the day.