Inside an elite XCC race
Inside the Lake Placid short track with Charlie Aldridge, Gwendalyn Gibson, and Kelsey Urban
Mt Van Hoevenberg, New York — Charlie Aldridge is becoming a recognizable name at the front of World Cup races. The 23-year-old from Great Britain is earning solid results in his first couple seasons out of the U23 ranks, mixing it up with the likes of fellow Brit Tom Pidcock and Cannondale teammate Alan Hatherly.
Aldridge was positioning himself well midway through the short track race in Lake Placid, but he drifted back and got slowed by crashes in the final laps to finish an anonymous 27th place.
“It's just another short track isn’t it,” he said. “It's like a lottery. You can be up there all the time. I was in the front group, and then on the last lap, everyone kept crashing in front of me.”
Aldridge said that the short track course led to tight, tactical racing. Whereas some races string out and bottleneck, the Lake Placid course didn’t have as many decisive climbs or technical sections compared to other courses. The Cannondale rider waited in the wheels before moving up in the back half of the race.
“I waited for a couple laps, and then I rolled to the front,” he said. But then it's just a lottery, like someone could be going to dive bomb you all the time, and then someone crashes in front of you, and you lose your momentum then 10 people can pass. So it's like crit racing”
In both the men’s and women’s races, let attacks decided the victor. Much like yesterday’s U23 races, the lead pack of riders whittled down until one rider broke away during the final lap. In the men’s case, it was XCC World Champion Victor Koretzky. And in the women’s race, it was Specialized teammate Sina Frei who won in a similar fashion.
One rider on the start line was recently crowned American XCC National Champion, Kelsey Urban. It was the Team 31 rider’s first race wearing her new stars and stripes jersey, but Urban also fell on bad luck with a crash at the start of the race.
Urban said after the race that despite her hard luck, she still enjoyed the opportunity to race in her home country.
“It's really nice to race at home,” she said. “You know, I think there's definitely some extra energy and some more familiar faces. That's really nice.”
The Californian has been building back her form after struggling with some health issues last season. An 8th place finish earlier this year at the Brazil World Cup was a career-best ride and a taste of what could come in the future.
“I'm really proud of all the individual rides,” Urban said. “Even if it hasn't come together like on a single day yet, I think I've laid a really solid foundation that I'm excited [about].”
Trek’s Gwendalyn Gibson has also been building back from injury after breaking her collarbone in Brazil, though she said she’s feeling good on the bike. She felt good in the short track but said she could work more on her tactics on fast courses.
“When it's close races like that, I think I'm just still working on being more aggressive,” Gibson said. “I had good legs, I felt good, I could feel the home crowd energy. I just need to execute the tactics a little better, but I have good feelings for tomorrow at least.”
The elite XCO races kick off soon, and Gibson isn’t the only American hoping for a better result. Christopher Blevins was placed perfectly in the short track before sliding out in a corner. Whatever happens, the New York fans are ready to witness the pure speed of the weekend’s main event.