Month one is almost in the books for the 2013 Zanconato SSCX series! We have had some really exciting racing over the last 3 rounds! We have had some great races, QUAD CX, White Park and Sucker Brook. There have already been lots of shenanigans and some new faces and some newly formed rivalries! This year is a special one. Not only is it our 3rd year with the series but SSCX Worlds are on the East Coast! They will be held in Philly on December 8th. Our rad brothers in arms from PA are the ones responsible for this madness. From the looks of the party the brought to MTB Nationals this past summer they know how to keep SSCX weird. And I support this! The whole reason we got into CX and SSCX is because its fun right? More to come of this for now put a big red star on the weekend of December 7th & 8th. You are going to want to be in Philly for both of those days. Trust me.
The Zank series got off to a great start at Quad CX. The weather was awesome and the gun club as always makes for a great venue. It has that jungle cross feel that I love. Lots of crazy woods sections and gravel and sand pits. And I am pretty sure we were racing on an actual gun range at one point. The turnout for Quad was awesome.
White Park and Sucker Brook were this past weekend. Next year we will have to create a King and Queen of the Granite State for the person who has the best time between the two races. This year the Rowells would have taken that honor home for sure! Makes sense as they are both solid as a rock on the bike. We have some of the same rivalries we have had in the past and some new ones as well. Which is so great. The plan this year was to get more people racing SSCX and it is working. I think SSCX is like a zombie virus. Once one racer is bitten its really only a matter of time before the whole #NECX are SSCX zombies with only one mission. Race for beer and burritos!!!
Next up on the Zank SSCX World Wide Weird Tour is Providence. SSCX is about to hit the big time. Providence is one of the pillars of CX in the US. And we get to get up on that big stage and let our freak flag fly! The Friday before the UCI weekend we will have a full day of racing and hijinks. Fridays SSCX race will be held at 4 pm at Roger Williams park. There is more than just beer and burritos on the line for this one! The winners of both the mens and womens races win a free entry to Philly SSCX Worlds! A third winner will get a ticket to ride as well. The "People's Champion" will be picked by Lone Wolf Cycling who has graciously donated these 3 entries. From what I have seen of Lone Wolf Cycling I suspect the People's Champion will be the one with the best costume who is capable of hopping the barriers while taking a beer handup. But I could be wrong.
The other event on tap for Friday is a CX Madison. What is that exactly? Basically a CX relay race. Two riders go in and split of the laps. Exchanges happen in the pits. For this one we have been kicking around the idea of bring back a bit of the old NECX vs MAC vs PA grudge match. Each team puts a case of beer in. Winner takes all. Who is in?
After the racing we will meet back at the Biltmore Hotel for podium presentations and the New England Builder's Ball. The Builder's Ball will feature handbuilt bikes and goods from all over the East Coast. It will be a blast.
The Zank SSCX series like the name implies is a series. Points are accumulated through the season and an overall champion is awarded at the finals at Ice Weasels. Also for each race you do you get a raffle ticket to get into the running to win a handmade Zank custom frame as well as a ton of other great prizes! At each race we award the podium Ipswich Ale and other great prizes donated by ENGVT. Boloco burrito cards, beer and other prizes are awarded for things like having race number 666, or coming in 13th, or crashing the hardest. You get it. We reward excellence as well as style and stupidity in our series. Because in the end we are doing this for fun.
The remaining races for the series are:
10/4- Providence
10/12-Mansfield Hollow
10/13-MRC
10/27-Orchard CX
11/16-Cheshire
11/23-New England Regionals
12/14-Ice Weasels
Rules are very simple. Show up with a bike, helmet and race it with one gear/speed. Dedicated SSCX bikes are a thing of beauty but zip ties can make any bike a SSCX.
Huge thanks to our sponsors: Zanconato Custom Cycles, Ipswich Ale, Boloco, ENGVT, and Deathtouch/Ghostship
