USGP cyclocross in Tacoma

This Saturday a USGP Cyclocross event was held in Tacoma, Washington. I went down to watch the race and take photos. It has been raining and raining and raining in Washington for the last few weeks (forever it seems), and I was expecting to have to wade through mud bogs to watch the race. Once I reached the race site, I found no mud. I was a little disappointed to be honest, but I am sure the racers were thankful.

There were many races throughout the day, I arrived about halfway through when the Elite level races were starting. When I arrived, it was near the end of the Masters class mens racing. The race course was a loop about 2 miles long, that the group makes several laps of. At the start/finish line they have a board that shows how many laps are left for that race. Unfortunately, one of the guys in this race didn't understand math and made a huge effort to win, only to discover he had one more lap to go. He came down the straight away sprinting for the finish line, raised his arms in triumph and then heard everyone yelling "you have one more lap!". He had quite the look of disappoint on his face.

Unfortunately, this is the picture I took of it. I guess I am still learning my camera.























The next group to race was the Women's Elite group. Pre-race, they had the top eight women line up in front of the crowd, and then announced them one by one.



















The start of the race was a long straight away, that dove into a left hand turn in front of the crowd. Here shows the beginning of the women's race.











Here is a long climb section























Here is a section through some woods...
























Every cyclocross race must have a section where you must carry your bike over some obstacles.























And uphill. The one in Tacoma is at the limit the rules allow (80 meters tall)

























and a random pumpkin photo.