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Beacon Cyclocross -UCI C2- Mid Atlantic Championship Series #2 Presented by Cape Atlantic Racing, LLC Bridgeton, NJ Sunday, October 16, 2005
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KONA KING OF VERGE IN NEW JERSEY October 16, 2005, Bridgeton, NJ, USA; Kona riders dominated Sunday’s second race of the $30,000 Verge Mid Atlantic Cyclocross Series with wins in both UCI Elite races, and a convincing podium sweep in the UCI Elite Men’s event in Bridgeton, New Jersey. The three-century-old river port town is the county seat and boasts a city park almost as large as the town itself. Within the park, residents can find a riverside beach, an amphitheater and even a small zoo. Unfortunately for the eastern regulars of the Verge Mid Atlantic Cyclocross Series, the zoo wasn’t part of the course -- because a cage would have been the only thing that could have stopped the onslaught of Kona riders Georgia Gould, Ryan Trebon, Barry Wicks and Kona East Coast/CCA’s Tyler Johnson. However, both the amphitheater and the beach were included as obstacles, and they would play pivotal roles in the day’s action As the sun came up over the farms that surround the town, 50 miles southeast of Philadelphia, it was clear that there would be no repeat of last weekend’s mudfest in Pennsylvania. The day dawned clear and breezy. The “Chamber of Commerce weather” was further enhanced by the warm temperature that would eventually approach 70 degrees (F). The rain of the previous week had actually served to make the sandy soil and hard-pack trails harder and faster than previous years, with many racers commenting that the 80 meter long Beach Run “seemed shorter” than last year. The Pro Double-Header started with the Women’s event. Led by West Virginia’s two-time series champion Betsy Schauer of FORT/GPOA!, the women lined-up for the first of six UCI-sanctioned in this year’s series. As the field came down the hill and into the spectator area for the first time, it was clear that the rider to beat was Kona’s Georgia Gould. The Idaho native, whose racing season this year will extend from March to December this year, quickly established a lead ahead of Schauer and last week’s second-place rider, Melanie Swartz of Squadra Coppi/IM Saab. For most of the first lap, it looked like Schauer and Swartz might make a race of it, but those thoughts were erased on the first trip up the dreaded “Amphitheater of Pain”. Running up the unevenly-spaced foot-and-a-half high steps as though they were the steps in front of the local Post Office, Gould raced away, never to be headed. Her eventual margin of victory was one minute and 29 seconds. Behind Gould, the race f or second turned out to be a tactical fight between Swartz, who led the battle for much of the race, and Schauer, who didn’t seem as confident on the dry sandy soil as she did in last week’s mud. Schauer may have been lying low on the high-speed course, however. With just over a lap to go, she attacked on the steps of the amphitheater to retake second place, eventually finishing with nine seconds in hand over the ever-present Swartz. On the line for the Men’s event, and it appeared that FORT/GPOA! had an advantage with no fewer than five riders -- including defending Elite Champion Ryan Leech and defending U23 Champion Greg Wittwer. Lining up beside them though, was the Kona triple-threat: Ryan Trebon, Barry Wicks and Tyler Johnson. Trebon had plenty to prove in this, his unexpected first east coast race since breaking his arm. The debut was unexpected, since the Kona duo were in Maine to race the UCI leg of the New England series, but thanks to the airlines, their bikes were not. Since most shops don’t have four spare 62cm, 17 pound Kona “Jake-the-Snakes” available for visiting pros from Oregon, Trebon and Wicks had to wait until Sunday. Once the race started, they let it be known that they had had enough of waiting, and they certainly weren’t going to be waiting for their competition. Tyler Johnson, of Connecticut and wearing the black jersey of Kona East/CCA, took the holeshot on the uphill start, but from then on it was all bright orange of Kona’s big boys out in front. Trebon and Wicks rode together, stretching their lead and bounding up the steps of the amphitheater like gazelles. The two leaders stayed just inches apart until Wicks bobbled while entering the beach run, followed by an awkward dismount. Just like that, the race was over. Trebon eventually won by nearly a minute-and-a-half. Afterwards, Wicks described the race succinctly, “Fast and fun”, he said. Ryan Trebon’s post-race comments said more than he intended about the effort he had to make for his dominating performance. “When’s it get dark around here?” he said, “Let’s go out for a road ride for an hour -- or two.” Race Notes: Barry Wicks was actually riding almost the entire beach run in practice -- staying on his bike for the plunge to the river and the right-angle turn, both in deep sand, plus an additional 60 meters of deep sand following that. Lisa Most of Team Wissahickon, the sponsors of next Sundays Verge Mid Atlantic Cyclocross series event, was the highest-placed 35+ rider in the Women’s Elite Field. By far the most entertaining race of the day was the Masters, with eight riders swapping positions continuously, eventually culminating in a six rider sprint through the sand pit, up the amphitheater and up the paved finishing straight. Bohemia, New York rider Bob Campos of Huc Jessies was the overall winner. Randall Root of Team Snow Valley/Sibex was the highest placed 45+ rider. Fred Wittwer of the Charlottesville Race Club was the best 55+ rider, beating more than 2/3 of the entire Masters field in the process. After dominating win last week that had some wondering if he shouldn’t be racing in the Elite class, Steve Cummings was unable to repeat at the fast New Jersey Circuit. Christopher Case, racing for the University of Texas out of Chevy Chase, Maryland took a 38 second victory in the Men’s B class. Cummings was able to hold off fast closing local rider Paolo Zenoni (Westwood Velo) for second. The $30,000 Verge Mid Atlantic Cyclocross Series returns next weekend for an International Double Header weekend with a UCI C1-ranked race at Granouge estate in Wilmington Delaware on Saturday, October 22, followed by a UCI C2-ranked race at Ludwig‘s Corner Horse Show in Glenmore Pennsylvania the following day. |
