Recently on Cyclingnews.com |
 Mont Ventoux Photo ©: Sirotti |
MABRA 'cross #6 - Race Pace - C2
Sykesville, Maryland, USA, November 11, 2007
Hammaker and Sheldon set winning pace
By Joe Jefferson
Sunny skies were a welcome site as the Friday and early Saturday rains threatened to make Sunday's race a muddy affair. However, the morning sun was strong enough to burn off the frost and moisture that greeted the earlier competitors on this expanded, and very challenging, course.
Tokyo Joe's rider Libby Sheldon went from the gun and was never challenged in the eite women's race. Jessica Hill (Trail's End) was clearly on her way to a second place finish before relinquishing that position due to a mechanical. Yellow Breeches rider, Cathy Large took advantage of Hill's misfortune and time trialed in for a surprising second place finish.
The elite men's race was entertaining from start to finish. Todd Hesel (HVB), Kyle Hammaker (Cadence), Dave Weaver (unattached) and Jeff Buckle (Alan North America) attempted to leave the party early, but were closely pursued by a hard charging field. Hot Tube rider "Slick Nick" Bax jumped from the field and managed to find his way in the lead group. Misfortune struck Hesel twice as he flatted twice and eventually had to abandon the event. Bad luck also struck Bax as he had a bobble late in the race.
Hammaker, Buckles and Weaver pounced on the opportunity to drop Bax, who was clearly a danger of the lead quartet. Hammaker kept the pressure on late in the race and eventually moved clear of Buckles and Weaver to secure the win. Buckles used his road racing experience and a well-timed attacked to get clear of Weaver as the two came in second and third. Bax sealed the fourth spot and Gregory Lindstrom (HVB) came in fifth.
Many riders got up close and personal with the slippery grass surface during the races held earlier in the day, and the women's category 4 race saw a lead change due the slippery conditions. Mountain bike veteran and hole-shot winner Lynda Artusio saw her early advantage vanish as she went head-over-heels half-way through lap two. Artusio recovered quickly to stay in second place, but was unable to gain any ground on "Ms. Consistency" Christine Briseno of Route 1Velo/Captial Hill Bikes. Kristina Adams of the All American Bicycle Center selected a mountain bike as her rig for the day rounded out the top three. Cynthia Johnson of Artemis and Jean Colsant of Squadra Coppi came in forth and fifth respectively.
Warm-ups for the men's category 4 race saw more riders hitting the ground as the surface had yet to dry out. At one point, four riders formed their own human pyramid of bikes and bodies in the tricky off-camber downhill section of the course. Ryan Bannon of The Bike Lane moved out to an early race lead, but was caught before the conclusion of the first lap and Stephen Wahl won yet another hole-shot prime. Eventual winner Luke Sandusky got off to a bad start, but reeled in Wahl, Bannon and Christopher King of Route 1Velo/Captial Hill Bikes. This quartet of athletes moved clear of the field as super junior Steven Kendall (NCVC) and Ronald Barry (AABC) waged their own personal battle for the fifth and final podium position. Ronald Barry had a losing battle with a fence that just wouldn't get out of his way, which left the door open for the youngster from NCVC to secure the fifth position. Mid-race accelerations from Luke Sandusky and Christopher King allowed them to take first and second, while Stephen Wahl secured third and Ryan Bannon faded to fourth.
The course began to dry out as the day progressed, and this proved beneficial for veterans such as Chris Nystrom of C3-Sollay.com, who was the eventual winner of the 35+ and 45+ event. Racing in basically his backyard; Nystrom used the hole shot as a springboard to drag Barry Holman, Karl Connolly and Ron Huebner away from a hard charging field. It took a couple of laps for this quartet to gain a significant lead on the competition. But there still was another battle for fifth that was between Albert Greene of Yellow Breeches, Davie Blodgett of AABC and his teammate Rodger Masse. Masse clearly showed signs of being tired and could never get on terms with Greene or his team-mate. Blodgett held the fifth and final spot for most of the race, but faded late to the hard charging Green. Nystrom attacked late in the race and soloed for the win and Holman (Team Fuji) separated himself late in the race to take second on the day. Connolly of Kelly Benefits Strategies took third on the day.
The Men's category 2/3/4 race was blown to bits early as road star Steve Fife of ETS-Silver Cycles hit the "go" button in hopes of snagging the coveted hole-shot prime. Fife came up short on the hole-shot competition as Inland Construction/BTD rider Taylor Jones took the mug and the money, as well as the win. This race became a pursuit event early as Jones moved out to a significant lead while others attempted to maintain their own spots within the picking order. Rob Campbell proved the he can do more than just promote a great race as the NCVC rider soloed for second on the day. Trevor Shattuck proudly flew the flag for Hunt Valley Bicycle/Marathon Roofing, as he managed a hard fought third. Steve Fife took fourth and big Chris Harshman of ABRT Latitude knocked out the final podium spot.
Three riders contested the Masters 55+ race, and National Cyclocross Champion Rob Lea (Team Fuji) made quick work of the competition. James Wagner (Clean Current presented by Don Byers Volvo) and Larry Dell (AVC Team Hagerstown/Washington County) were a distant second and third. Both junior events saw stiff competition as several riders were competing in their second event at this juncture of the day. Sam O'Keefe U18 of C3-Sollay.com and Steven Kendall U16 of NCVC both secured wins in their respective divisions.
Results
Elite Men 1 Kyle Hammaker 2 Jeff Buckles (Alan N. America) 3 Dave Weaver 4 Nick Bax 6 Gregory Lindstrom (Hunt Valley Bicycles/Marathon Roofing) 7 Evan Ellicott (team n-tieractive/Bike Doctor-Waldorf) 8 Sean Mealey (Hunt Valley Bicycles/Marathon Roofing) 12 James W. Wagner 13 Eric Russell (Clif Bar) DNF Todd Hesel (hunt valley bicycles/marathon roofing) Elite Women 1 Libbey Sheldon (Tokyo Joe's) 2 Cathy Large (yellow breeches racing) 3 Jessica Hill (Trails End Cycling) Masters 1,2,3 1 Bernie Shiao (Kelly Benefit Strategies/LSV Amateur Cycling) 2 Marc Gwadz (DCMTB/City Bikes) 3 Sean Mccormick (ETS/Silver Cycles) 4 Michael Birner (All American Bicycle Center) 5 Michael Buchness (Pedal Shop/Old Dominion Brewing Company) 6 Erik Leaver 7 Roger Masse (All American Bicycle Club) 8 Christopher Clarke (DCMTB/CityBikes/Metro Gutter) 9 Jim Bonson 10 Denny Boyle (Race Pace) 11 James Mcternan (Kelly Benefit Strategies/LSV Amateur Cycling) DNF Chris Newell (Hunt Valley Bicycles/Marathon Roofing) DNF Todd Pittman DNF Randall Root (ABRT/Latitude) Juniors 1 Sam Ofeeke 2 Colin Kennard 3 Justin Mauch (NCVC/Inova Health System) 4 Langston Clarke 5 Tyler Stinson Men 3/4 1 Taylor Jones (Inland Construction/BTD) 2 Robert Campbell (NCVC/Inova Health System) 3 Trevor Shattuck (Hunt Valley Bicycles/Marathon Roofing) 4 Steve Fife (ETS / Silver Cycles) 5 Chris Harshman (ABRT/Latitude) 6 Alex Monteson 7 John Riley 8 George Milinkovic (Squadra Coppi/IM Saab) 9 Stephen Wahl 10 Kenneth Mcdowell (ABRT/Latitude) 11 Syd Lea (Team Fuji) 12 Ed Fisher (ShoreVelocity) 13 Charly Hermanson (Kelly Benefits Strategies/LSV Amateur Cycling) 14 Steve Schwarz (Kuhl Cycling Team) 15 Keith Rohr (Adventures for the Cure) 16 Bob Grimwood (World Cup Ski & Cycle) 17 Gerald Burkett Iii (World Cup Ski & Cycle) Masters 55+ 1 Rob Lea 2 James Wagner (Clean Currents p/b Don Beyer Volvo) 3 Larry Dell Masters 3/4 1 Chris Nystrom (C3-Sollay.com) 2 Barry Holman (Team Fuji) 3 Karl Connolly (Kelly Benefit Strategies/LSV Amateur Cycling) 4 Ron Huebner (Potomac Velo Club) 5 Albert Greene (Yellow Breeches Racing) 6 David Blodgett (All American Bicycle Club) 7 Roger Masse (All American Bicycle Club) 8 Phillip Smith 9 Bernard Mcdonald (C3/Sollay.com) 10 Jeff Anderson (HPC/List) 11 Darren Bernard (Haymarket Bicycles) 12 Scott Thompson (Squadra Coppi/IM Saab) 13 Chip Sovek (Potomac Velo Club) 14 Thor Engblom (NCVC/Inova Health System) 15 Kenneth Mcdowell (ABRT/Latitude) 16 Karl Kensinger (NCVC/Inova Health System) 17 Bill Marciniak (Family Bike Shop) 18 George Schulz (Evolution Cycling/Lardbutt) 19 John Rogers (Clean Currents p/b Don Beyer Volvo) 20 Jonny May 21 Ken Woodrow (Squadra Coppi/IM Saab) 22 Chip Lortz 23 Chris Huhn (Evolution Cycling) 24 Cary Hunter (Potomac Velo Club) 25 Keith Rohr (Adventures for the Cure) 26 Tom Meyers 27 Bruce Buckley (THE Bike Lane) 28 Geoffrey Heintz (The Children in the Shoe) 29 Christopher Sellman 30 Thori Wolfe 31 Kevin Lee 32 James Bellora (Squadra Coppi/IM SAAB) 33 Mark Wanco (World Cup Ski and Cycle cycling team) 34 Ronne Irvine (T.E.A.M. Fuji) 35 Mike West 36 Jim Klender 37 Greg Hoffman 38 Joshua Simonds (Clean Currents p/b Don Beyer Volvo) 39 James Saunders (Route 1 Velo/Capitol Hill Bikes) Men 4 1 Luke Sandusky 2 Christopher King (Route 1 Velo / Capitol Hill Bikes) 3 Stephen Wahl (AVC/ Team Hagerstown-Washington Co) 4 Ryan Bannon (The Bike Lane) 5 Steven Kendall (NCVC/INOVA Health System) 6 Ronald Barry (All American Bicycle Club) 7 Bob Gillespie (All American) 8 Todd Bickling (Team N~tieractive/Bike Doctor-Waldorf) 9 Ryan Douglas (Route 1 Velo/Capitol Hill Bikes) 10 David Battan (Squadra Coppi/IM SAAB) 11 Chris Macon (Kelly Benefits/LSV) 12 Jonathan Foley 13 John Glodek (NCVC/INOVA Health Systems) 14 Todd Gue (dhbd /bicycle place velo) 15 Norman Brach (C3-Sollay.com) 16 Stephen Riskus 17 Richard Goldberg (Hunt Valley Bicycles) 18 Chris Mattingly 19 Jake Danoff (DCMTB/City Bikes) 20 Chris Zangmeister (All American Bicycle Club) 21 Lyal Tressler 22 Scott Cernich 23 Chris Adair (ABRT) 24 Larry Mauch (National Capital Velo Club/Inova Health System) 25 Gary Sterner 26 Thori Wolfe 27 Joshua Nadas (Proteus) 28 Paul Bayne (Kelly Benefits Strategies/LSV Amateur Racing) 29 Tim Blanchard (The Children in the Shoe) 30 Bradley Kendall (NCVC Inova Health Systems) 31 Charles Barnes (Lanterne Rouge) 32 Michael Giancoli (Hub United) 33 John Ludicke 34 Jason Pearlman (The Bike Rack) 35 Adam Lewandowski 36 Rich Cambell 37 Harry Langdon 38 Mike Schiavo (Lanterne Rouge) 39 Jonathan Ivins (Squadra Coppi/IM Saab) 40 Joseph Ventosa (proteus bicycles) 41 Greg Mazur (Proteus) 42 James Carlisle 43 Alfani Carto Women 3/4 1 Christina Briseno (Route 1 Velo/Capitol Hill Bikes) 2 Lynda Artusio 3 Kristina Adams (All American Bicycle Center) 4 Cynthia Johnson (Artemis) 5 Jean Colsant (Squadra Coppi) 6 Lindsey Hillesheim (Squadra Coppi/IM Saab) 7 Rebecca Letwin (Team BBC) 8 Nicole Shue (Velo Bella-Kona) 9 Mary Zadnik Newell (Hunt Valley Bicycles/Marathon Roofing) 10 Marisa Peacock 11 Yo Kumm (Proteus) 12 Christina Hubner 13 Denise Clearwater Under 16 1 Steven Kendall (NCVC/INOVA Health System) 2 Justin Mauch (NCVC/Inova Health System) 3 Caleb Merriam (TEAM Fuji) 4 Mark Frazer 5 Ezekifel Rogers 6 Dustin Tucker 7 Holden Rohr (Adventures for the Cure) 8 Zak Boyle DNS Nicholas Battan (squadra coppi)
