| Dag
Selander takes 4th in Men's 50-54 and Brian Conant takes 2nd in B
35+ Another great day for
Midwest riders under a day with ever changing conditions making for
a difficult day of racing.
A number of Midwest riders had strong
finishes in the B races. In 35+ Brian Conant got the hole shot
and looked like he might take the win. However, an untimely
crash dropped him from first to second an incredible finish against
170+ racers. Paul Schoenning (Alan) finished a strong 8th and
John Meehan (Iowa City) finished 15th. David Bell (Chainsmokers)
went from about 170th place to 50th in one lap before a flat ended
his race.
Dag Selander (Alan Factory Team)
faced a tough day of racing with muddy conditions in the sun and ice
conditions in the shade to put another Selander family member on the
podium. He finished 4th place in a strong master's field.
 In
the Liberty Cup Bjorn Selander (Alan Factory Team) took revenge on
his mechanical the day before to take 11th place in a field stacked
with the best riders in the country. Kurt Refsnider (Ralph
Henderson/All 9 Yards) raced a strong race to finish in 31st.
 In
the Elite Women's race Wisconsin native Megan Monroe (Lemond) took
18th place in very slippery conditions. Minnesota's Linda Sone
(Hollywood Cycles) finished her first Nationals elite race in 27th
place.
All in all the Midwest showed up in
Providence and left their mark.
Photos from Day Three:
Midwestern
Riders
Alan Factory
Team Riders
Other Photos
from Elite Women and Liberty Cup
Weekend
Non-Race Photos
Results
Samantha Schneider and Katie Antonneau win Jr National Championships
Another fabulous day for Wisconsin as
Samantha Schneider (Endeavor) and Katie Antonneau (IS/Nova) both had
strong races today to win their respective Junior categories.
On the Men's side of things Bjorn
Selander (Alan) took 3rd in the 17-18 race. A mechanical with
2 laps to go left Bjorn running desperately to the pit and being
passed by 5 guys. However, he surged back to make the podium
in an awesome display of sheer strength and riding skills.
Local junior Thomson Remo (IS/Nova) raced against a stacked field
and finished a strong 11th out of 24 starters. IS/Nova rider Michael
James came in 18th in that same race.
In the Elite Men's race Tristan
Schouten (Trek/VW) showed that all his work on cross is paying off
as he placed 8th place in a field that contained all the big names
of cross. Matt Kelly (Alan) who has been suffering from an
unfortunate llness used his technical skills to finish 28th.
Also in the elite race Kurt Refsnider (Ralph Henderson/All 9 Yards)
finished 42nd after already placing 18th in the Collegiate race.
In Master's racing today Chris Strout
(Team Mack) was 43rd in a strong Men's 30-34 field. Linda Sone
(Hollywood Cycling) finished 9th in the Women's 30-34 race.
Michigan's Anne Schwartz (Flying Rhino) took 5th in the Women's
35-39. River Falls resident Tina Raehsler (Alan Factory Team)
took 16th and Renee Callaway (Alan Factory Team) was 20th.
Day Two Photos:
Midwestern
Racers
Alan Factory
Team Racers
Results
Patti Kaufmann wins 45-49 National Championship
On a snowy morning in Providence
Patti Kaufmann from Team Wisconsin took her second National
Championship title. Congratulations to Patti on a hard fought
race on a challenging day. Patti took the win by 6 seconds over
Rebecca Cooke of Hyde Park, New York.
In other racing news from Day One,
Steve Tilford from Topeka, Kansas won the Men's 45-49 National
Championship race. Illinois's Brian Conant (Revolution)
toughed it out in blizzard conditions in the 35-39 Men's race to
finish 23rd. In this race of 115 starters only 78 finished.
This was the last race that was held before racing was cancelled.
Minnesota's Paul Thoreson (Alan Factory Team) finished 26th.
In the 40-44 Men's race, Team
Wisconsin's Steve Gayner finished 36th. Minnesota's Paul Schoening
(Alan Factory Team) took a strong 30th. Iowa's John Meehan (ICCC)
finished 40th and Illinois's Chris Dimmick (Team Turin) finished
65th.
Iowa's Tammy Meehan (ICCC) was 18th
in the 40-44 Women's race and Illinois's Mary Mysilis (Turin) was
10th in the 45-49 Women's race.
Congratulations to everyone on a
tough day of racing!
Full
Results
Race Bible
- Check it out Wisconsin's own Heidi Mingesz is a race official
Info for racers and
spectators
Registration
Local Riders to Watch
Cyclocross
Insider's Guide to Providence
This comes from the Northeast
Cyclocross list completely without permission and is the
"unofficial" guide
Herečs the word from two Providence crossers on where to go and what
to do off the bike while youčre in our kewl city. If youčre going
to overspend on anything while youčre here, wečd pick dining and
entertainment. Our restaurants and bars are plentiful, smoke-free,
and mindblowingly good. Get directions before you head out because
our streets are notoriously confusing. Always bring a bike lock if
you are riding and be courteous.
W=short walk from host hotel, B=under 15 minute bike from Biltmore
C=Car
Best bike shop: The HUB 181 Brook St. 383-9934 open house after pro
race Saturday B
Best Gen X/Y hipster bike messenger bar: The Red Fez, 49 Peck St.
272-1212 W
More
Clif Bar,
Mavic, Cycle-Ops, and Polar Beverages Keeps 'Em Rollin in Turn One
Athlete Village Created for Expected 1,700 Competitors at 'Cross
Nats
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Dec. 6, 2005) - With 1,700 athletes converging on
Roger Williams Park for the Liberty Mutual U.S. National Cyclo-cross
Championships, promoters needed to find companies capable of giving
every athlete critical pre-race support.
Clif Bar
has been selected to create the warm-up area and cool-down zone
available for every athlete and positioned close to the start-finish
area. Mavic and its famous Tour de France 'Service Course' will be
on hand to provide mechanical support. And Polar Beverages will
operate the water station.
"These
are the national championships. We appreciate that people travel
thousands of miles and put in hundreds of hours to get a shot at
that stars-and-stripes jersey. They all deserve a good shot and Clif
Bar and Mavic is there to help them," said Lyle Fulkerson,
operations director. "The big teams will be set up with their own
trucks and tents and RVs. But Clif Bar, Mavic and Polar are right
there to offer that same support to the nervous teen-ager racing
their first nationals."
All of
these athlete services will be arranged at Turn One, just beyond the
finish line.
"Early
this year when Richard Fries approached us with the news that he'd
be helping to promote the 'Cross Nats in Providence, we knew it
would only make sense for Clif Bar to come on board as a supporter
of the event," said Dylan Seguin of the Team Clif Bar program. "TCB
Cyclocross riders Mark McCormack and Jesse Anthony are definitely
looking forward to racing in Providence as are all of the riders
I've spoken with."
Promoters have also selected Mavic, the same French company that
supports the Tour de France, to provide on-site mechanical support
before, during, and after the event.
"No
other company has such a sense of elan as Mavic," said Richard
Fries, communications director. "When your bike is broken, those
yellow trucks and cars and all those mechanics are your angels of
mechanical mercy. We picked Mavic not just for their expertise, but
also for their courteous manners. They treat a beginner like a pro."
"We're
very excited to be part of the 2005 Cyclo-cross Nationals," said
Sean Sullivan, Mavic communications manager. "From the huge rider
turnout to the great venue it's shaping up to be one of the best
nationals in recent memory. By the looks of the record number of
people pre-registered, I think our neutral service guys in yellow
will be quite busy."
Mavic
will also set up and oversee the pit areas on the course, a
mechanical madhouse found nowhere else in cycling.
"In
cyclo-cross the pits are more important than any other cycling
event. It's common to see riders to use two or three bikes in a
race," said Tom Stevens, race director. A mechanical team must hand
off a new bike to a racer and then clean, repair and lubricate the
other machine to be ready in just half a lap. "They have to do all
this in three minutes. We needed a good company to back us up. We
picked Mavic."
Promoters also had key support from Polar Beverages. Based in
Central Massachusetts, Polar will provide a hydration station for
athletes, right next to the Clif Bar booth.
To see
who else is sponsoring this year's Liberty Mutual U.S. National
Championships of Cyclo-cross, visit
www.cyclocrossnationals.com
Mavic will have some neutral
wheels in the pit but not enough for everyone. |
Compton
and Wells repeat on final day of the Liberty Mutual U.S. National
Cyclo-cross Championships
PROVIDENCE, RI (December 11,
2005) After a weekend of weather that made even seasoned New
Englanders scamper for cover, the last day of the Liberty Mutual
U.S. National Cyclo-cross Championships finally saw some sun plus a
slew of new National Champions.
Following the women's and men's "Killer B" races for the coveted
hand-made "Sandbagger" jerseys, the competition for the stars and
stripes started with the Master Men 50-54 category race. There,
local legend, Paul Curley, waited a quarter of a lap before simply
riding off the front and never looking back.
"I was hoping for the conditions
to be as technical as possible because I know there are a lot of
riders who are stronger than I am," said Curley. "I was really
thankful that the conditions stayed technical. It was something
where you really had to do some gambling. I mean I fell as much as
anyone else did, but I fell going fast and as long as you're going
fast, you're going to stay ahead of the guys that are being cautious
and not falling."
The win was Curley's 20th
victory in a national championship.
The final day also contained a new event, the Liberty Cup. A
showcase of the weekend's stars and stripes winners, the Liberty Cup
contained all ages of riders who had won jerseys this weekend plus
other notables including Canadian national cyclo-cross champion,
Lyne Bessette, and 'cross "rookie," Chris Horner.
A decidedly low-key affair, the riders nonetheless put on a show for
the crowds, including a barrier-hopping Jeremy Powers. However, in
the end none of the riders could answer to the seemingly unstoppable
Todd Wells, who went to the front and rode off with his second win
in as many days.
"I was actually going to take it easy today and have fun out there,"
explained Wells. "But after about four minutes my feet were numb, my
legs were numb and I figured if I was going to be suffering I might
as well go hard."
The final race of the event was the Elite Women's race. There Katie
Compton proved that last year's win was no fluke by putting over a
1:30 into second place finisher, Ann Knapp, even after Compton had
to start from the back due to her lack of UCI points.
"I had to start at the back of the group and it took me some time to
get through traffic and get to the front of the group," said
Compton. "The girls started fast and I knew I had to get close to
them. Once I got on their wheels I wanted to sit and see how I could
ride but with that course it really helped to be at the front and be
picking the lines."
Rounding out the Elite Women's podium was local favorite, Maureen
Bruno-Roy, who battled against Rhonda Mazza until a late race bobble
by Mazza gave Bruno-Roy the opportunity to slam the door and secure
her second podium finish in two days.
Well Done
Todd and Troy Wells Earn National Titles
PROVIDENCE, RI (December
10, 2005) Day 2 of the Liberty Mutual U.S. National Cyclo-cross
Championships added a new chapter to the history books plus saw a
few upsets to podium predictions as ice, slush, mud, mechanicals and
illness jolted pre-race favorites out of order.
In the U23 Men's race,
Troy Wells executed a technically solid race to hold off Jesse
Anthony, who flatted on the first lap, and to outpedal Brent
Bookwalter, who clung to third place after winning the national
collegiate title earlier in the day. After losing signifigant time
to a flat, Anthony succeeded in working his way back into second
place yet in the end he could never close the gap on Wells, whose
consistency earned him the win.
"On the first lap I
tried to start pretty hard so that I could stay out of trouble,"
Wells said. "I actually followed Brent around for two laps to learn
the course because I only got to ride one lap and after Brent fell I
kind of went to the front and tried to stay consistent and keep my
gap at a consistent rate."
Less than two hours
later, Troy's older brother, Todd, earned his second national cyclo-cross
title on the same course, which had gone from slushy to icy as the
sun went down. Although the Wells brothers had already discussed the
possibility of both earning a national title, the truth was that
racers with names like Anthony, Bookwalter, Page, Johnson, Craig,
and Trebon stood in the way of reality.
"Right away myself and
Trebon got off and then I crashed running up the stairs and broke my
handlebars," said the older Wells. "I had to ride about a lap with
broken handlebars and once I got a new bike, Trebon slipped up in
once section and I passed him. In the final few laps you're just
praying for the lap counter to go down. I was digging deep and I saw
Trebon--he must have figured out some of the lines on the course
because he had more power on the pavement sections but he wasn't
riding the technical stuff as well."
Defending national
champion Jonathan Page arrived at the race after a trip to the
hospital the day before. A stomach illness of sorts bore down on
Page with abandon and early this morning the question as to whether
he would line up to race was raised. Wearing the Liberty Mutual kit,
Page rode a strong, steady race to finish in an impressive third
place, despite a bout with illness the day before.
After a frustrating
incident in last year's master women 30-34 race, which kept Maureen
Bruno-Roy from winning, Bruno-Roy claimed her first national cyclo-cross
title in the 30-34 category. Citing consistency and power as key
improvements over last year, Bruno- Roy seemed to have the race sewn
up from the start and rode the race as a preview to tomorrow's elite
women's race.
"Tomorrow's race is a
bit of a crapshoot where no one really knows who is going to win,"
explained Bruno-Roy. "We don't really have a defined champion--we
don't have somebody who is so far ahead. So many riders tomorrow
could take it depending on the conditions and things like that so
it's really exciting to be able to contest that race tomorrow."
Results
for Day 2 of the Liberty Mutual U.S. National Cyclo-cross
Championships are available online at
http://www.cyclocrossnationals.com/results_05.htm
Snow, Sleet, Driving Rain and Near
Gale Winds Usher in Day One of the Liberty Mutual U.S. National
Cyclo-cross Championships
PROVIDENCE, RI (December 9,
2005) Racers at the Liberty Mutual U.S. National Cyclo-cross
Championships kicked off three days of spirited competition this
morning under a steady snowfall. Snow turned to sleet then turned to
freezing rain then back into snow during the master women's 40-44,
45-49, 50-54, 55-59 race yet despite the increasing slickness six
new
champions earned their stars and
stripes today.
"I raced in Chicago last week and it was
snowing just like this but we didn't have the base layer of the icy
conditions, we just had grassdry and then snow on top so it was
different conditions," said Patti Kaufman, winner of the master
women 45-49 category. "I had a lot of difficulties with the terrain,
it was tough, there were a lot of ups and downs. You knew you were
going to go down and you just accepted it."
Audrey Huffman struggled to stay upright due to worsening course
conditions and succeeded in sustaining a significant lead until a
fall in the final few laps delayed her by ten seconds. No matter
since Huffman got back up to finish first in the 40-44 category and
collect her championship jersey.
Racing in his third national cyclo-cross championship category
(first elite, then pro, now masters 45-49) Steve Tilford claimed his
sixth title and will move to the front of the line for Sunday's
Liberty Cup race.
"This is only the second year I rode masters," said Tilford. "I
mainly rode today because there was a chance I could line up on the
front row for Sunday's Liberty Cup race. I don't like starting 40 or
50 guys back so if I can race on Friday and line up on the front row
on Sunday, I was like "hey, that seems like a good trade off."
Other category winners in today's races include Dale Knapp, master
men 40-44; Tove Shere, master women 50-54; and Betty Jordan, master
women 55+.
Mother Nature showed 'cross fans and racers a bit of wrath this
afternoon when blizzard conditions and wind gusts proved too mighty
to continue competition. Today's final two races: the master men
30-34 and collegiate men, race have been postponed until Saturday.
Racing starts at 9 a.m. with the collegiate men; master men 30-34
will race at 11:30 with the remaining categories in the order that
appears on the website.
Friday Conditions
Okay,
conditions are really snowy and the last two races of the day were
cancelled. No definite plans have been made as to when the
30-34 Men and the Collegiate Men will race. A decision is
expected by around 6pm.
Snow is falling in Providence. So far
not too much has fallen but this should have an affect on today's
racing. Then temps are expected to rise above freezing which
could cause some messy racing.
Elite 'Cross Stars Grilled to Perfection at Dec. 9 Media Night
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Nov. 15, 2005) - The nation's best cyclo-cross racers, past
and present, will be grilled to perfection on the evening of Friday, Dec. 9, at
a special media reception on the eve of the national title race.
"Picking a favorite for the elite races, both the men and women, will be tougher
than ever this year," said Lyle Fulkerson, Operations Director. "So we're going
to put it to the racers themselves. We'll also ask some of the legends of the
sport who they're picking."
The
media reception will be held Friday at 8 p.m. at 3 Steeple Street Bistro and
Bar, 125 Canal St., Providence, just three blocks from the official race hotel,
the Providence Biltmore. The first hour is for credentialed media and VIPs.
At 9 p.m. the event will be open to all race volunteers
and racers who present their bib numbers. Fine ales will be served
compliments of Harpoon Brewery, the official ale of the event.
The
media is encouraged to register for credentials and download important race
information, logos, and photos at
www.cyclocrossnationals.com.
"We
will have a fully functioning media room at the Biltmore, complete with wireless
connectivity," said Richard Fries, Communications Director. "We will also have
an on-site media room but due to the remote nature of the venue, Internet access
is unavailable there."
The
race hotel is located just three miles from the race venue at Roger Williams
Park.
The
2005 Liberty Mutual U.S. National Cyclo-cross Championships is a production of
the New England Cyclo-cross Association. For more information visit
www.cyclocrossnationals.com.
"Rookie" Looks to Upset Favorites at 'Cross Nationals
Chris
Horner to Line Up in Providence
 |
Chris Horner
at the Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross
photo courtesy of
AbbiOrca.com
|
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Dec. 1, 2005) - A newcomer to cyclo-cross, Tour de France star
Chris Horner, will line up to race at the Liberty Mutual U.S. National Cyclo-cross
Championships.
Horner recently made his cyclo-cross debut at the final two races in the Crank
Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross in California. Starting from the middle of
the pack, Horner made up for a lack of prowess with pure power. He placed 13th
and 11th respectively and earned crucial UCI points to secure a good start
position in Providence.
"I
had a blast," Horner told the crowd after the final race, the Grand Prix Clark
Natwick in San Francisco. "I think this suits me."
Read more |
