When Marc Bavineau hops on a bike, it's usually quite a different experience than someone riding a bike for simple leisure or transportation. The 31-year old Gloucester resident is into the sport of cyclocross racing. In fact, last weekend he came back to Cape Ann with the title from the third race of the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships held in Kansas City.
Over a 1.9 mile course, Bavineau finished first in the Men's class B category for riders ages 30-39. All the more impressive, he won after battling nearly impossible conditions (two inches of mud caked the ground he had to ride over).
Everything considered, Marc surprised himself with the remarkable result. "I was hoping to get a top-five finish," admitted Bavineau. "Because of the weather and the conditions, there's a lot of crashes and mechanical problems (with the bikes). I was really happy with the win. I've been racing for four years and never won. I came in second place twice and third place a handful of times."
For the victory, Bavineau received a random assortment of prizes: a bicycle component crank set (retail value $300), a bottle of wine and a huge crate of California strawberries. The prizes were all generously donated by sponsors of the event.
So just what is cyclocross? Basically, cyclocross is a steeple race of bicycles with obstacles strewn about the course that the riders have to avoid. To make matters more difficult, riders have to dismount their bicycles at high speeds and jump over hurdles before remounting. Parts of the course even have sand so the riders can either try to ride through it or run while carrying the bike.
"It is 45 minutes of sheer hell," exclaimed Bavineau. The difficulty of the race is tempered with the friendships forged from shared agony. "The people that do it are very laid-back and supportive. When you start, it goes from a drag race on pavement into a single-file line. Usually at the beginning, people are pushed off the course. It gets pretty crazy, lots of elbows fly as people try to secure their spot. Most of the guys I race with I'm really good friends with," Bavineau said. "We'll race then go out for a few beers afterwards."
Bavineau has been into bikes all his life including taking part in some mountain bike races as a kid around the North Shore. As an adult, he's worked in bicycle shops as a mechanic. Being around bicycles so much made it easy for him to find such an obscure sport. Marc currently works for a pro team based out of Hamilton. He's the head mechanic for three riders including the married couple of Tim Johnson and Lynn Doucette. Johnson recently won the US National elite race. The team covers all of Bavineau's hotel and transportation expenses.
"The first time I did it, I had a blast. I wanted to do the whole New England series (seven races all around New England)," noted Bavineau. "I was totally hooked on it. It's a weird sport, a small niche within another niche sport (cycling)."
Cyclocross traces its origins to Europe as road bikers in France and Switzerland thought up the activity as a way to train in the off-season. According to Bavineau, Belgium is "the epicenter for cyclocross." Professional cyclocross racers in Europe get paid very handsomely as well.
After going over to Belgium two years ago to watch the last World Cup of Cyclocross, Bavineau has the opportunity to travel in Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy this winter for the World Cup while he works for the US National Team as the head mechanic. During the weekend of January 26-27, Marc will be working for Redline Bikes (the first mass production cyclocross manufacturer) in conjunction with the competitors from the United States.
The sport also parallels NASCAR races as they both possess mechanical pits complete with pit crews. "The bikes get destroyed pretty quickly. I'll have three bikes there so I'll change onto the other bike while they powerwash and relube the muddy one."
