Candi Murray

December 6, 2001



Riding Amuck! Cyclo-cross riders relish down and dirty bike race

By MIKE STAHLBERG

The Register-Guard



Recommend this story to others.

LORANE - Their bicycles, feet and legs caked with mud, a line of

Spandex-clad cyclists chattered like birds on a wire while they waited for

a chance to use a garden hose to rinse the gunk off their bikes and shoes.

But nobody was complaining about the muck. To the contrary, many of the

competitors in Sunday's 2001 Oregon State Cyclo-Cross Championships

relished the challenges presented by the twisting, 2-mile course on the

grounds of King Estates Winery.

"Cyclo-cross is supposed to be a muddy sport," Kevin Thompson of Tigard

said. "This course is probably the muddiest we've had all year. ... It was

just so much fun."

A steep uphill section forces two racers to dismount and carry their bikes

during Sunday's 2001 Oregon State Cyclo-Cross Championships.

Racers lean into a turn during the downhill portion of one of Sunday's

races at the King Estates Winery near Lorane.

A muddy unidentified rider dashes toward the finish line in the cyclo-cross

races at King Estates Winery.

Photos: MATT ANDERSON / The Register-Guard

"It was perfect," agreed Jonathan Puskas of Lake Oswego. "We had rain all

week so we could get a nice muddy course the way we want it, and then it

was sunny on race day - that's as good as it gets."

In fact, Puskas said, the Oregon cyclo-cross season had been too dry 'til

now. "This is the eighth race of an eight-race season, and the seven prior

races haven't been muddy at all."

The views of Thompson and Puskas on the subject of mud would be typical of

the nearly 200 other competitors in the event, according to Splinter Wren

of Portland, one of the announcers who provided running commentaries for

spectators during the races.

"This is really the sport for all those folks whose mother reminded them on

a regular basis: `Don't go out and get muddy!' " he said. "This is their

chance to kind of get back at mom and get a lot of mud on."

Cyclo-cross is a down and dirty sport that is part mountain bike race, part

road race and part cross-country run.

In fact, the classic images of cyclo-cross are of riders dismounting from

their bikes and carrying them on their shoulders while they jump over

barriers or run up inclines too steep or slick to pedal.

There's even a bit of NASCAR auto racing in cyclo-cross, given that racers

are allowed to make pit stops to change wheels (or even switch to a

different bike). A clean bike can weigh as much as 20 pounds less than one

caked with mud.

The roots of the sport have been traced back to World War I, when bicycle

curriers were the primary means of communication between the front lines

and commanders in the rear. Speed, of course, was always of the essence,

regardless of the terrain or weather conditions.

The sport's first world championship was held in France in 1950, but

cyclo-cross was slow to catch on in the United States. That seems to be

changing, at least in the Pacific Northwest.

Two years ago, the first major cyclo-cross held in Eugene in 20 years drew

about 100 riders to a course on the grounds of Fox Hollow school. Sunday's

field was nearly twice as large, with riders divided among nine different

categories based on age, gender, experience and prior success.

"We have the biggest attendance of any cyclo-cross series on the country,"

said Brad Ross, race director for the eight-event Cross Crusade Series.

"We've had as many as 340 riders at some of our races."

Ross handed out about $2,000 worth of prizes to Sunday's top finishers,

plus almost $20,000 worth to the leading point-getters during the

season-long series. All of the Oregon races this year except Sunday's state

championship were held in the Portland metropolitan area.

It's hard to imagine a site for the cyclo-cross state championships better

than the King Estates Winery, a picturesque hilltop chateau that strikes a

resonance with the sport's European heritage. In fact, King Estates would

look more at home in France's Lorraine region as in Oregon's Lorane Valley.

"This is a great venue, for sure." Ross said. "The cyclists absolutely love

it."

With the start and finish line just outside the hilltop winery's tasting

room, bystanders were afforded the opportunity to view almost the entire

course. They whooped and hollered, shouted words of encouragement and rang

cow bells as riders passed by.

Each race started with a sprint over a couple hundred yards of paved road

and parking area behind the winery buildings. Then riders plunged at full

speed down a grassy hillside, brakes squealing as they negotiated several

hairpin turns before they had to dismount and cross their first barriers.

Then they picked up a series of gravel, dirt and paved roads that took

riders through a very wet wooded area and then back through the vineyards

to one final grueling climb, with barriers just before the finish line.

Then the riders had to do that loop all over again - two, three or four

times, depending on which category they were racing in.

It was the most difficult course of the year, Ross said. "It was definitely

a course worthy of the state championship," he said.

But no cyclo-cross course is a stroll in the park.

"It's harder than anything I've ever done before - it's so hard," said Meg

Mauntner of Portland, who took up the sport three years ago. "My husband

races, so I figured I might as well join him."

Mauntner said she met her goal Sunday, which was to "finish - upright - and

have fun."

"This is a hard course," she said, "because this hill just took it out of

you, then it was hard going downhill again ... so it provided a good

contrast of different types of riding."

Michelle Groez, a veteran "cross" racer with six years of experience, said

she has a "love-hate relationship" with the sport.

"I like the obstacles and barriers," Groez said, "And, yeah, the mud too.

It's great!"

But the "really steep hills" are something she could do without. "Like this

hill here, I can hardly run it," she said.

What kind of person is drawn to cyclo-cross?

Most participants are heavily involved in some other aspect of cycling,

such as road racing or mountain biking, or in triathlon. For many,

cyclo-cross helps keep in shape during the offseason.

"You have to be somebody who necessarily isn't so concerned about injuring

yourself or anything like that," Ross said. "It's not a super dangerous

sport, but you can turn an ankle, scrape up your knees, things like that."

Not to mention that you can come home drenched in mud.

And most "cross" riders have no illusions about winning. Instead, they

focus on competing against other riders of near-equal ability.

"I pick out two or three guys I've been racing against all year long and

try to beat them," said Thompson, the Tigard rider. "It's like a race

within a race."

"That's part of the fun of cyclo-cross, I think," Puskas said. "Because

when you road race, the minute you're off the back of the group - because

of the nature of drafting in large races - your day is done. There's not

much left to do but cover the distance.

"But you come out here and, you know, we're at the back, Chris and I, and

we're chasing each other and passing each other and it's kind of fun. Like

they say, a race within a race. It's great because you can keep measuring

your improvement against the people around you."