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Cyclo-Cross
'Cross series kicks off in muddy Portland
Pontoni, Knapp take wins
By Neal Rogers
VeloNews associate editor
This report filed October 9, 2004
Click image to enlarge
by Neal Rogers
Decker and Wicks
If the standard perception of Northwestern cyclo-cross racing conjures
images of mud splattered riders battling it out in the driving rain, then
the opening round of the inaugural Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of
Cyclocross did nothing to change that image.
Intermittent rain showers turned the hairpin turns of the Cannondale
St?mptown Gran Prix - held on grassy fields in and around the Alpenrose
Velodrome, just south of Portland, Oregon - into a series of wipeout alleys,
creating a race situation where bike handling and tire pressure were nearly
as important as fitness. Mix in a victorious cameo appearance by former
world champion Daniele Pontoni (Selle Italia) and an intense five-man
contest for second-place, and the day was everything Northwestern ?cross is
supposed to be: slick, sticky, sloppy and downright sadistic.
Click image to enlarge
by Neal Rogers
Knapp fights her way up through the mud
While Pontoni and Ann Knapp (Kona) took the honors in the elite men's and
women's races, perhaps the day's biggest winner was Portland's Cross Crusade
race series, which saw a record 610 registered participants across the
various categorized races held from 9:30 a.m. until 4 p.m.
As the day went on, the stampede of racers along the compact but long
out-and-back circuit churned the mostly-grass course into a slippery
rain-soaked causeway, with hillier sections deteriorating into run-ups as
the day passed.
Racing before the elite men were the elite women, and in the absence of
reigning national champion Alison Dunlap, who has said she will not
cyclo-cross race this year, 2003 national champion Ann Knapp demonstrated
that she is the woman to beat on the national circuit.
Following her win at the Star-Crossed UCI event one week earlier in Seattle,
Knapp (Kona) opened up a lead on the second of five laps over the 45-minute
race, passing the not-yet-retired-as-rumored Gina Hall (Missing Link). Once
off the front, Knapp's strength running through unrideable sections carried
her to an uncontested solo victory. Hall took second, with a tennis shoe
adorned Rhonda Mazza (Vanilla-S&M) third. Josie Beggs (Starbucks) and Wendy
Simms (Front Runners) rounded out the top-five.
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by Neal Rogers
The sun broke through right after the elite men's race
"It took me about three minutes to get to the front," Knapp said. "I'm not a
fast starter, and there was a little crash that allowed me to catch up to
Gina."
Knapp's husband Dale, a legend in the Northwest cyclo-cross community for
more than a decade, is spending the 2004-05 ?cross season coaching for the
Seattle-area Rad Racing program in addition to working the pits for his
wife. Knapp predicted Kona teammates Ryan Trebon and Barry Wicks would
dictate the day's racing.
"They're going to school Pontoni good today," Knapp said. "Wicks and Trebon
are just gonna tag-team him, with Gully [Marc Gullickson] maybe jumping on
the pile as well."
From the gun it appeared Knapp was correct, as Wicks made his way into a
three-man group on the opening lap, led by Canadian Geoff Kabush
(Maxxis-Giant) and Pontoni. Behind chased Jonny Sundt (Maxxis-Giant), Ben
Jacques-Maynes (Specialized), Carl Decker (Giant-Pearl Izumi), Mark
McCormack (Clif Bar-Colavita Bolla), Gullickson (Redline) and Jesse Anthony
(Cyclocrossworld.com).
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by Neal Rogers
Kabush takes the early lead
Missing from the start line was former national cyclo-cross champion Todd
Wells (GT-Hyundai), away on a much-needed vacation after a long and tiring
cross-country season, as well as Adam Craig (Maxxis-Giant), who was
attending a friend's wedding.
After spending the first two laps with the North Americans, the 38-year-old
Italian national champion decided he'd had enough and rode away from the
orange-clad Kabush and Wicks, while Jacques-Maynes, Decker and Gullickson
worked together to chase behind.
With his superior handling skills, the diminutive Pontoni ably rode the
slick "slip-and-slide" traversing climb out of the velodrome's infield that
others were forced to run, opening vital seconds of advantage each lap; a
10-second crack to a chasing Kabush on lap 4 had opened into a 30-second
chasm a lap later as the Italian began lapping riders.
Wicks, 22, who hails from the nearby town of Corvallis, put on a valiant
effort for the hometown crowd, briefly moving into second place on lap 5 of
the 8-lap event, but the six-foot-five Kona rider bobbled hard into the
fencing soon after and he and Kabush were joined by Decker, Jacques-Maynes
and a hard-charging Gullickson, who had recovered from a poor start to make
contact with the lead chase group.
Click image to enlarge
by Neal Rogers
Pontoni on the run-up
"It motivated me when I caught those guys," said the former national
cyclo-cross champion. "It took me a lap-and-a-half, but once I caught them I
just got sucked along. There wasn't any drafting happening, but it was
motivating, and I figured I might as well throw an attack."
But Kabush, the 2004 NORBA cross-country series overall winner who had never
seriously pursued ?cross racing until this season, surged off the front
again with the four riders five seconds in tow with two laps remaining. With
Pontoni holding a nearly one-minute lead, the race for second-place - first
North American - had come down to a five-man battle.
As the sun finally broke out at nearly 4 p.m., the warm rays must have shone
most brightly on Gullickson, who bridged across to a tiring Kabush and
valiantly rode in for second-place, while behind Decker also attacked and
passed Kabush, who finished fourth. Jacques-Maynes and Wicks rounded out the
top-six, but Wicks was reportedly relegated to seventh for riding into the
pits without taking a bike change.
It was an outstanding performance by the 36-year-old Gullickson, who is
considering retirement at the end of the season. "I had a good start," he
said, "but at the first hairpin I was sprinting inside a bunch of people and
I pulled the brakes full-on and I didn't stop at all and I went straight
into McCormack and the tape, and one of the barriers went into the triangle
of my frame. In muddy races like this it's hard to pass, because everybody
is on the line, and it just took me forever to get back on. Carl was with me
and together we went through about 10 guys."
For Kabush, who spent much of the day as the first-chaser after putting in a
five-day stint at Interbike, the fourth-place finish was bittersweet. "I got
the hole shot," Kabush said. "I tried to relax, and I waited for Pontoni to
come up. I wanted to see what lines he was taking, but I could only stay
with him for about a lap. This is the first time I've raced in this kind of
mud, so I'm still learning. These are probably the most adverse conditions
I've raced in, but I'm having fun. The first couple of races I'll be
learning a lot."
Pontoni, who speaks little English and reportedly abhors muddy conditions,
had little to say after the race. Through an interpreter, he said he felt it
was prestigious to win in the United States, and that were there not
schedule conflicts with the Cyclo-cross World Cup, more Europeans would like
to come over to race in the U.S.
UCI cyclo-cross racing continues Sunday in Tacoma, Washington, with the Clif
Bar Grand Prix of Cyclo-Cross at Fort Steilacoom Park.
Click image to enlarge
by Neal Rogers
The men's podium
Elite Men
1. Daniele Pontoni (Selle Italia)
2. Marc Gullickson (Redline)
3. Carl Decker (Giant-Pearl Izumi)
4. Geoff Kabush (Maxxis-Giant)
5. Andy Jacques-Maynes (Specialized)
6. Mark McCormack (Clif Bar - Colavita)
7. Barry Wicks (Kona)
8. Erik Tonkin (Kona)
9. Bart Gellespie (Biogen-Idec)
10. Brandon Dwight (TIAA-CREF- Clif Bar)
Elite Women
1. Ann Knapp (Kona)
2. Gina Hall (Missing Link)
3. Rhonda Mazza (Vanilla-S&M)
4. Josie Beggs (Starbucks Dubbleshot)
5. Wendy Simms (Front Runners-Steed Cycles East)
6. Christine Vardaros (Velo Bella)
7. Sarah Kerlin (Velo Bella)
8. Hilary Daniels (Hunter Cycles)
9. Kristi Berg (Bicycle Centers)
10. Brigette Stoick (Veloshop)
Junior A
1. Braden Kappins (TIAA-CREF- Clif Bar)
2. Charles Marzot (Corner Cycling Club)
3. Taylor Lane (Rio Grande-Monson RA)
4. Alex Howes (TIAA-CREF- Clif Bar)
5. Luke Brechwald -(Rad Racing NW)
6. Eric Riggs (SF Velosport)
7. Adam McGrath (Excel Sports
8. Adam Switters (Lombardi-Kline)
9. Joeseph Rogerson (Rad Racing NW)
10. Noah Harwood (People Cycling-Stelvio)
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Candi Murray