MABRACROSS

Faster, Cyclocrosser! Kill! Kill! Like the go-go dancing leads in the iconic 1960s Russ Meyer film, thrill-seekers in the BikeReg.com MABRAcross Super 8, sponsored by Sonoma Restaurant and Wine Bar, will now have the chance to hunt down and overcome the opposition in the all new kill point competition.

And we already know that every second counts in bike racing, but in the Super 8, every race counts, too. If you are gunning for a series title, or care about where you end up in the standings, there are no days off. With only eight races on the calendar, every one is important. Cyclocross in the Super 8 is more like the BCS than the MLB (those are team sport references, bike racing friends), there are no mulligans (that one is golf).

Here is the nitty gritty on the details about how the series will work.

The Super 8 offers 18 competitive classes.

25 riders in 16 classes score series points at each race.

10 classes win Verge Sport leader jerseys each week.

Six classes win series cash prizes 5 to 10 places deep, which will be presented at the series championship race, Capital Cross Classic.

Three classes win Kill Points.

Team points will be calculated by Crossresults.com to determine the top team in the Super 8.

And what about those kill points? Here’s how it works. Points will be awarded for the Mens 3/4, Masters 3/4 35+ and 45+ and Beginner Cat 4 Men. Kill points are calculated by taking the difference between the riders starting position and final finishing position. So if you are wearing bib number 50 and finish in 25th place, congratulations! You just earned 25 kill points.

This may be a case of burying the lead. Already at the end of the release and no dollar amounts? That’s just plain wrong. The Super 8 is flush with cash and it can all be yours. The Elite Men and Women win $1,500 at each race, and the top Elite Men, Women, Masters, and Single Speeders win another $3,000 for their series placing.  Not to mention the champs get to come race the series next year for free!  That’s $15,000 in total prizes plus up to $1,400 in free entries.

Finally, every race in the Super 8 will offer a single-speed category. And this field is legit. Series points, leader’s jersey, series prize money, it is all there for the taking by this group of shiftless bike racers.

The serious fun all starts in less than a week. Make sure to visit MABRAcross.org for updates. Complete rules can be found here. Crossresults.com will once again host our complete results. For all the update news about the Super 8, follow us on Twitter at @Super8cx.

Now that everyone is finished marking their calendars with BikeReg.com Super 8 races, it’s time to reveal the race day schedule so you know what time to set the Sunday morning alarm clock. We all know racing cyclocross is about making choices. Short or long-sleeve skinsuit, knobby or file-tread tires, 28 or 25 psi, inside or outside line, run or ride, IPA or stout. The Super 8 is also about choices. Every cyclist in your family can choose the race with the best competition at their ability level.

Category 4 Men and Women get to choose between the beginner fields to learn the game at 8:30 and 9:15 respectively, or once you feel like you have a little moxy you can wade into the melee of the Women Cat 3,4 at 12:02 or the Men Cat 3,4 “Killer B’s” at 2:00.

Category 3 Women now have the choice to duel the Elite Women Cat 1,2,3 at High Noon and see who is truly fastest on the draw, or square off against the Women Cat 3,4 two minutes later.

Knowing that old age and treachery overcomes youth and skill, the masters have THREE choices. Here to stay is the Master 35+ Cat 3,4 race (with points for 45+) racing for 40 min at 10:00. Rather than try to figure out the proper skill/treachery balance, the 35+ 1,2,3 will race at 1:00 and the 45+ and 55+ get their own race at 11:00 and 11:01.

Even the Lil Belgians have choices now with races at 10:00 and 12:00. We understand that many families have moms and dads that race so the additional kids’ race allows everybody to race and cheer. And it allows the little ones to get experience doubling up races at an early age.

Is this too much choice? Can’t even decide whether to upshift or downshift? We have a race for you. 2011 will be the inaugural season of the Single Speed 1,2,3,4 series, starting at 2:01, one minute behind the Killer B’s. Of course, you still have to choose your gear-inches.

Sometimes two heads are better than one to think through these decisions, and sometimes four legs are better than two to punch it out of a corner. Several Super 8 races will feature the return of tandem-cross. Choose your hand-up and costume wisely.

MABRAcross Super 8 Race Day Schedule 

Thank you for making this season the most successful yet in BikeReg.com MABRAcross history. Before the final race fades from everybody’s memory, we want to hear your thoughts on the series, so that we can make next year even better. To that end, we have put together a quick survey to pick your brains. This is your chance, cyclocrossers, to let the MABRAcross staff and promoters know what you liked and what you would change. It’s only ten questions long and should not take up too much of your offseason. 

Okay, let’s be honest. The problem with sending out surveys like this is that even though people genuinely want to respond, we are all busy and distracted this time of year and despite everybody’s best intentions things like this always gets put aside and eventually forgotten. But we really want to hear from you. So let’s do this like the obsessive-compulsive cyclists we are: (1) go right now and get your training journal, or open it up in a new window; (2) find Thursday’s training schedule and input the following workout: 

• Spin easy for ten minutes.
• Click on the survey link and answer each question at 100 percent effort.
• Rest one minute between answers.
• Cool down for ten minutes.
• Recovery shake or light meal. Watch the carb intake, your racing season is over. 

Survey can be found here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2KKM3VB 

Thank you.

MABRAcross constituents, we ran into some technical difficulties this week and there is a glitch in the calculations for the BikeReg.com MABRAcross standings on crossresults.com. While we get that straightened out, we wanted to make sure everybody has correct information going in to tomorrow’s final race. The points czar has been working overtime to get all the numbers properly calculated and we have posted the correct standings here. Remember that every point earned in the MABRAcross championship race is worth 1.5 points towards the Verge Sport Leaders Jersey competition.

MABRALeaderJersey20109of10