December 18th marked the 2011 ECCC cyclocross championships in Fitchburg,MA and the seasons debut of the UNH squad. A hardy group of UNHers were in attendance for the 8am start, greeted by 20 degree temps and a frozen, hard course. This made the relatively non- technical course a little bit faster than usual and had the fans hopping up and down to keep warm. Taylor Smith, out of commission with a chest cold, helped out with the bike setup early and provided shelter the night before for the team. Ben Kramer, in his first ever cross race, claimed he relied on both his cross country ski conditioning and technique to get through some of the technical aspects of the course. These included a 20 foot ‘flyover’ , a crop circle and a fifty yard sand pit. Ben Levergood overcame two separate mechanical issues and finished strong prompting Richard Fries to proclaim “this tough kid from UNH will NOT quit!” Richard also gave UNH several props along with all the other schools represented at the race venue. A big thank you to Gus’ Bike shop who provided the riders with cross bikes. We are already looking forward to next season with the formation of a UNH Cyclocross team, the season beginning just after the MTB season finishes up.