Cyclocross season is off to beautiful start (photo gallery)

Early season cyclocross is a special time. The air is still warm and the ground is (mostly) still dry. It’s the perfect way to ease back into this demanding sport that will change dramatically once the cold and mud set in.

Regardless of the forecast, ‘cross is a beautiful discipline. It combines the elegance of road racing, the grit and grime of mountain biking, and the grace of ballet as riders attempt to maintain balance while jumping off-and-on their bikes to run up-and-over obstacles. It’s hard to do it justice in words, so we’ve partnered with photographer Drew Coleman to bring you photos from all the local action throughout the season.

Drew was at the first two races of the Gran Prix Luciano Bailey (David Douglas and Het Meer) and we’ve got some of his best images to share.

Peruse the gallery (below) to inspire your training and racing. You’ll notice this first batch features some of the fastest and fittest racers in the region (we’ll try to feature a larger swath of participants next time around). If you want to improve your ‘cross skills, photos can be a good tool to learn proper technique. Look at the body positioning of these top racers. Where do they grip their bars? How they set up their bikes? I learn a lot from watching people who are faster than I am.

Another thing I like to do is check out all the fresh new kits. Everything is bright and shiny at the start of the season and I love seeing the colors and styles chosen by local teams.

Enjoy this week’s gallery and we to see you out at the races!

GPLB #1 David Douglas CX

GPLB #2 Het Meer (Vancouver Lake)

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org. Sign-up for the daily BP Headlines email.

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