B Witty

NEWS RELEASE-For Immediate Distribution



Contact Information:

Brad Ross/ Brian Witty, Promoters

Chris Bright, Media Coordinator

Cyclo-Cross Crusade Series

Telephone: (503) 246-7338

E-mail: brad-@prodigy.net; bri-@tmioregon.com; cbri-@pixelworks.com



Skerritt Out Duels Tonkin While Nussbaum Cruises at

Memorial Park Round of River City Bicycles 'Cross Crusade Series

      

      Portland, Ore., November 4, 2002 - Shannon Skerritt (Trek/VW/Bike

Gallery) and Jeannette Nussbaum (Kona/Kenwood) earned their second wins of

the 2002 River City Bicycles 'Cross Crusade Series on November 3, 2002 at

Memorial Park in Wilsonville, Ore. After five of eight rounds, the series

points standings is coming into focus with Skerritt and Rhonda Mazza (Team

S&M/Vanilla) establishing themselves as the pair to beat.

      Sunny skies and crisp autumn weather welcomed the debut of the

2.6-kilometer Memorial Park course that used a combination of tricky,

bark-dusted double-track through a forest and wide-open athletic fields for

an entertaining, speedy circuit. However, without any climbs, the course

designers had some ideas to keep things interesting, including the

"MacTarnahan's Six Pack" which was a 30-meter run-up with six barriers. For

a final challenge each lap, just before the finish line the course zigzagged

through a beach volleyball pit filled with ankle-deep sand.

      

Skerritt and Tonkin Take Charge

      The Category A Men's Race was scheduled for one hour, but the entire

field knew the importance of leading into the wooded section in the first

minute. As the starter's whistle blew, Erik Tonkin (Kona/Kenwood) got the

hole shot ahead of Mark King (Sunnyside Sports) and Brody Anderson (River

City Bicycles) while Skerritt had difficulty getting clipped in and slid

back into the field.

      Emerging from the forest, Tonkin led a small split that included Derl

Miller (Trek/VW/Bike Gallery), Shane Beers (Vision Cyclery) and Anderson and

Skerritt, who pressed hard on the back side of the course to get back to the

front. Coming through the finish, the five-man split held a six-second gap

on the Sunnyside duo of King and Mike Schindler.

      By the end of the second lap, the protagonists became clear: Tonkin

and Skerritt were scrapping for the win in a race reminiscent of Pier Park,

except that Tonkin's mop-top teammate Barry Wicks was not on the starting

line. Skerritt and Tonkin were sharing the lead, but were also not feeling

100 percent. Tonkin was fighting a cold and Skerritt was nursing bruises

suffered from a collision with another cyclist on an evening ride home from

work.

      As the lapboard counted down, Tonkin and Skerritt would take turns

attacking each other in the turf sections, but nothing was sticking.

Meanwhile, Miller, Beers, King and series newcomer Richard Feldman (Durance

Cycleworks) were having a spirited battle for the rest of the top five more

than a minute behind the leading pair. In fact, on laps four, five and six,

Feldman, Beers and Miller held third spot, respectively, with King and

Schindler close behind.

      As the finish neared, Skerritt settled in to shadow Tonkin knowing

that he has a speedier kick. Just before the bell, Skerritt pushed the

pace, but Tonkin put his head down and closed up on him. At the first

barrier just before entering the woods, Skerritt tried to get around Tonkin,

but the Kona/Kenwood rider hopped the barrier and gained the small

advantage.

      Tonkin stayed in front and was trying to burn off Skerritt. With 400

meters and one sand pit to go, Skerritt cranked it up and Tonkin had nothing

left. The Trek/VW/Bike Gallery rider wore a large smile running out of the

sand and across the line for his second win of the series and extending his

lead to 18 points over Tonkin. Beers dug deep and snared his first podium

finish of the series for third, followed by Miller and King.

      

Nussbaum Shows Her Strength

      With this victory, Nussbaum is becoming a force in the Oregon

cyclocross scene following her win in the opening round at Alpenrose Dairy

and a strong podium finish at the Cannondale/PDX International UCI event.

The Kona/Kenwood rider has been having a strong season also taking two wins

in the Microsoft Seattle Series, so she was clearly a favorite on the line

at the Category A Women's race with series leader, and defending series

champ, Mazza up for the challenge.

      From the start, Nussbaum powered away from the women's field with her

smooth pedaling style that had her lapping 10 seconds faster each lap than

any other woman. After the first lap, she had a significant gap over the

determined trio of Mazza, Karen Kenlan (Sunnyside Sports) and Alice

Pennington (Trek/VW/Bike Gallery). By the second of seven laps, Nussbaum

was 33 seconds in front of Mazza, who had set out to try and reel her in.

      With Nussbaum and Mazza away, the race for third was heating up with

Suzanne King (Sunnyside Sports) just ahead of Kenlan, Pennington and Amy

Hunter-Dillinger (River City Bicycles). For most of the race, this group

was never more than 20 seconds apart.

      By the final lap, Nussbaum was continuing to pull away and was nearly

a full minute ahead of Mazza, who in turn was more than a minute in front of

King in third. Nussbaum pressed with a sub-7:30 lap and had time to make

her last trip through the sand pit a casual one with a polite wave to

acknowledge the cheers of the crowd. By late in the race, gaps had started

to open up with King, Pennington and Hunter-Dillinger rounding out the top

five.

      Next week the River City Bicycles 'Cross Crusade Series takes a break

with the sixth round making its return on after a one-year hiatus to Sam

Barlow High School in Gresham, Ore. on November 17. The course is built for

speed but with the autumn rains starting to settle in the Northwest, the run

of sunny weather may come to a muddy end.

      

About the 'Cross Crusade Series

      Now in its 10th season, the River City Bicycles 'Cross Crusade Series

is an Oregon-based grassroots effort that has grown into the largest

cyclocross series in North America. The 2002 'Cross Crusade has more than

$20,002 of prize money up for grabs during the eight races, including two

UCI sanctioned events for the first time.

      The 'Cross Crusade series emphasizes fun and participation which is

evidenced by the expansive prize list that ranges from cash and bike-related

merchandise to six-packs of local microbrews and bottles of Oregon-grown

wines. This level of generosity is made possible by the unparalleled support

of the series' title sponsor River City Bicycles and presenting sponsors

Cannondale, Saturn/RussAuto, MacTarnahan's and Sellwood Cycle Repair. Learn

more about 'Cross Crusade at www.crosscrusade.com.



River City Bicycles 2002 Cross Crusade Round 5

Memorial Park, Wilsonville, Oregon

November 3, 2002



Top 20 Category A Men:

1. Shannon Skerritt, Trek/VW/Bike Gallery

2. Erik Tonkin, Kona/Kenwood

3. Shane Beers, Vision Cyclery

4. Derl Miller, Trek/VW/Bike Gallery

5. Mark King, Sunnyside Sports

6. Mike Schindler,?Sunnyside Sports

7. Richard Feldman, Durance Cycleworks

8. Rich Cramer, Presto Velo

9. Chris Brandt,?Collins

10. Sean Doyle, DeSalvo

11. Mark Matson,?Gentle Lovers

12. Chad Swanson, Team S&M

13. John McCaffrey,?Presto Velo

14. Scott Robinson, GS Camerati

15. Brody Anderson, River City Bicycles

16. Sean Garvin,?GS Camerati?

17. Ian Eglitis, Presto Velo

18. John Boelsems, GS Camerati

19. Scott Wilson, GS Camerati

20. Tim Coffey, Pazzo Velo





Top 10 Category A Women:

1. Jeannette Nussbaum,?Kona/Kenwood

2. Rhonda Mazza,?Team S & M/ Vanilla

3. Suzanne King,?Sunnyside Sports

4. Alice Pennington, Trek/VW/Bike Galley

5. Amy Hunter-Dillinger,?Lakeside/River's Edge

6. Karen Kenlan,?Sunnyside Sports

7. Marjon Marik,?River City Bicycles

8. Joanne Stevens, Sunnyside Sports

9. Mandy Lozano, River City Bicycles

10. Bridgette Stoick



Full Results @ www.crosscrusade.com



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