A strong performance by Top Natchez riders at last weekends Red Barn CX highlights the continued progress of improvement for riders Brian Kozicki, Jameson McGuine and Aaron Collins.  Brian Kozicki was again just off the podium for the Masters 3/4 race with a strong 4th place finish, and 9th place overall. As a relative rookie CX rider,Jameson McGuine again showed excellent pace in the Men’s Cat 4/5 race finishing 7th in the class 16th overall in the race. Aaron Collins rounded out the Top Natchez racers with 11th place finish in Men’s Cat 4/5, and 24th overall finish.  These riders are looking forward to test their skills at the upcoming Velo CX, especially rider Brian Kozicki who is looking to break the 4th place streak and land himself on the podium!

Great weekend of riding at Levis.  Trails were great and the rain wasn’t too bad…little cold but at least a beer cooler wasn’t needed.  Best trails around.

Top Natchez scores a Top 10 finish in Men’s cat 3/4 by Brian Kozicki along with a strong showing by Bill Dick with a 23rd place finish. Aaron Collins rounded out the Top Natchez team with a 44th place, and although still a ways from a podium is a marked improvement over previous races.

Theo Wirth Recap By Brian Kozicki

Great day of racing with awesome weather. After preriding the night before I was concerned with the difficulty / safety of the course. I was afraid of the water drainage ruts on the downhill and uphill but they were filled in better and more predictable. The stairs were hard as ever but the several training runs up them helped. Also it was really nice to race on the freshly cut MORC trails. So thankful to have so many nice trails in town. The course was spectacular in every regard and was a nicely ran event. Thank you for all of your efforts for putting on a killer event. Ended up racing the first race of the day (Masters 35+ 3/4) which ran along with the 3/4. Didn’t get enough I guess so I also did the 35+ open race later in the day. My back is shot and have some sore joints but well worth it. Much thanks to SKinnyski as well for always representing what’s great with the outdoors and our community.

Onboard Footage from Aaron Collins(Cat 3/4 Race)

Action Shots by SkinnySki

Prefect afternoon for some MN river bottoms.   Rode the full length from Mendota to Bloomington Ferry.  Excellent out there.  Get some!

With a rainy start to the Cat 4/5 race, there was question if this day was going to a grueling or really awesome. With the weather clearing out, sunshine and cooler temps it became a really awesome day. With Top 20 finishes in both the Cat 4/5 and Cat 3/4 race, by Aaron Collins and Brian Kozicki it was a strong day for Top Natchez Racing. We really want to thank the guys/gals that put together the Southside Sprint as it really is one of the premier crit races that we get to do, and sets the bar high for others. Thanks again!!!

Race Summary from Aaron Collins (Cat 4/5)

I was looking forward to capturing another 1st at the Southside Sprint. Unfortunately it has been a tough month for me to get out and ride, with a car that blew up, a wedding and a wicked storm going through the neighborhood I haven’t had much time to train. I was pleased when I saw that there was 5 laps to go and I was still with the group and hadn’t exploded yet. When I saw 2 laps to go I knew that I had to make a move now or never. I hit the hill as hard as I could and try and hold out in the front for as long as I could. When I hit the hill on the final lap, my heart rate went through the roof and I just ran out of steam. I was able to stay on the group and give it my all for the final sprint. 20th place is not bad when you really haven’t ridden for a month, but disappointing when you know that if you had you might have gotten Top 10, or even Top 3. Always next time…..

Race Video from the Cat 4/5 Race

Summary from Aaron Collins(Cat 4)

The ride over the State Fairgrounds started nice, but by the time I got there it was raining. I wasn’t feeling super-strong and having never raced in the rain I was more concerned with keeping it upright. Decided to just take it semi-easy and after watching a few people crash on the first lap, this cemented my decision that I just wanted to finish. I probably could have stuck on the group but mentally I just wasn’t in a  aggressive mood and my legs felt weak. Hung around with 4 man group and finished the race somewhere near the back of the field. Hopefully the weather is a little nicer for next week

 

Top Natchez Results for the Ken Woods Cat 4 Road Race
21st  – William Dick 1:57:24
30th – Aaron Collins 2:09:09
Total Race Count – 35

Summary from Aaron Collins

The last road race I did was the State Championship Road Race in 2011 so I wasn’t sure where I was going to end up in this race. The winds were coming pretty hard from the south, and with about 35% of the course heading directly in to the winds I knew I needed to stay with the group. Unfortunately that same part of the course was also riddled with pot-holes making riding in a group situation very interesting. All was good until the start finish climb and I just blew up,  was not prepared for the intensity and hit my max heart rate. It was not fun after that , as I got dropped from the pack, so it was a long second lap. Big thanks to Tim Morgan from St. Paul Bicycle Club for towing my butt around the last 1/2 lap or so!

Due to the awesome weather(i.e 5 inchs of snow in mid-April) the Tuesday Night Worlds criterium race was cancelled.  In place of the normal race footage, how about Aaron Collins descending Bogus Basin Road in Boise ID.  He was out there doing  a little spring training last week.

Race Report from Aaron Collins

Summary: It still too cold out, where is spring? I haven’t got my heart rate up that high all winter, so come about three quarters thew way through the race I was hurting. Goal was to just finish without a crash(like every race) and this one was pretty calm. Only a few issues, and a a random event on lap 3 where everyone scattered like there was a crash but nothing happened. Last lap I blew up and just could not hang, but there is always next Tuesday! Really happy with the Shimano Road Sport C50 wheels, nice and fast and pretty light.  Sure not as light as the Dura Ace wheels, but for the price you get a really great product and they look killer!

The sporty designed PHA Short Sleeve Jersey bicycle jersey has a trendy look. The shirt is manufactured from ecological Ecoknit textile, created from recycled materials. Making the ecologically responsible Bioracer shirt functional and soft. As added environmental aspect the sides of the shirt have leak proof waste pockets with a magnet fastening. Furthermore there are also three ergonomically situated back pockets. Available in black with blue or orange stripes or in white with a bordeaux red/orange stripe design.
http://www.bioracer.com/en/collection/4/pha-short-sleeve-jersey

Dude/Dudettes :
We are a bit behind schedule on this, but it is time to get it moving! Here is the concept for the 2013 kit, and there have been a few changes but it is mostly the same. Over the next few weeks we will be getting the order together so start figuring out how much you want to spend, as based on last year, we will likely only order once.