Crossresults.com

Have you been to crossresults.com yet? Neat website. It allows you to analyze your cyclocross results several different ways, and it’s especially good at tracking head-to-head records against other racers. It’s also good for tracking your upgrade points, which is something the USA Cycling website doesn’t offer.

One of the most interesting features of crossresults.com is the Course Performance profile. It shows how your results were affected by these four broad questions:

1. Was the course technical or easy?
2. Was the course hilly or flat?
3. Was the course tight and twisty or fast and open?
4. Was the race held in wet or dry conditions?

The profile is a composite measure of performance that changes over time. Right now, mine looks like this:

I don’t think of myself as an especially adept technical rider, yet I score well on the first question. I do think of myself as someone who can outclimb most rivals, so I’m a little surprised at my slightly negative score on that question. I’m probably right where I should be on the third question: someone who would be better on a course that rewards steady pedaling over stop-and-go punchiness. I let my mouse pointer hover over the last criterion to show you the pop-up message. Course conditions are much on my mind today. I didn’t fare well on a wet course last month at Lake Geneva and I am not fired up about the possibility of wet conditions in Milwaukee and Manitowoc this weekend.

But crossresults.com’s assessment of me is history, not destiny. If I can get through Saturday’s race, then Sunday’s race should be easy by comparison. And I think next weekend’s races on the hilly courses of Grafton and Badger Prairie should be good opportunities for me … if they’re dry.