Cyclocross State Championships, 2003 -- Grinney and Ryan Hang Tough!

by Finn Ryan

After much debate and conversation, I decided to [upgrade to] do the A race. I figured it was more of a challenge and would support me in moving forward with cyclocross.

Grinney and I represented the dropouts on the line with about 20 others.  The race started at a good pace.  It seemed like there was a group of 3-4 in the lead, followed by a few stragglers, followed by the group of three I was part of.  Jim Holmes (mercy/cannondale) was working hard trying to catch the stragglers in front of us and hopefully bridge up to the lead group.  He attacked many times, mostly on the track.  We did reel in Zach Fiocca (higher gear), and the four of us worked together for the remainder of the race.  I fell off slightly at the end - I think I was used to the 40 min races rather than 50 min. I finished 9th overall, 6th Wisconsin rider.  Grinney also hung in there and finished strong.

I accomplished my goal of a top ten finish and I have some good ideas of what to work on to be more competitive next season.

Thanks for the support on the course.  I felt like there were fans yelling at me every 20 ft!!  I also heard many riders comment that this is the first "real cyclocross course" of the season.