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USCF Colorado State cyclo-cross championship
Boulder, Colorado, December 7, 2003
Another Brown/Gullickson showdown
By Matt Pacocha
Under sunny skies and blustery winds, Boulder Racing closed out the 2003 Colorado Cyclocross Season. The University of Colorado's Research Park property hosted the USCF Colorado State Championships. Racing was fast and furious, and weather was a factor, not in the form of precipitation but energy sapping winds. Local news channel 9 was on hand to cover the championship race, and collect video footage for a later broadcast. The racing proved to give an exciting depiction of the sport of Cyclocross.
The women's race saw Heather Szabo (Tokyo Joe's), Gretchen Reeves (Rocky Mountain) and Julie Emmerman (Epic Roots) leave the rest of the women's field behind. The course combined high speeds on slippery gravel surfaces, requiring a rider's total concentration. Two laps into the 45-minute event, Gretchen suffered a flat tire, with no support in the pits the untimely mechanical took Reeves out of the race. The two leaders charged off, and half way through the event Heather had established a gap between herself and the chasing Emerman. This small gap gave Heather the green light to run off with the race. Through superb bike handling and gritty determination Heather held Julie off, and battled the days biggest opponent, wind. Winning the race left Heather Szabo as the undisputed Colorado State Cyclocross Champion. Julie held on to second, and Jen Gersbach (CU Cycling) rounded off the podium with an impressive third place ride.
A strong men's field showed to battle for the state title at Boulder Racing's classic Colorado course. After a hard start quickly split the field into two groups, spectators were treated to two defined packs attacking the course. The leading group contained Travis Brown (Trek/VW), Marc Gullikson (Redline) Jonathan Baker (Pro Pelaton), Brandon Dwight (7Up/Maxxis), Christian McCarthy (Vitamin Cottage), Micah Thompson (Excel Sports), and Matt Pacocha (Red Rocks Velo). This group would further separate itself from the chasers over the first two laps of the race, at which point Marc Gulikson and Travis Brown raced away from their fellow leaders. Halfway through the third lap Micah slid out on one of the many loose corners spliting the chasers into two groups. Brandon, Jonathan, and Christian carrying the primary chase, with Micah and Matt fighting to regain the group. Christian would be the next to fall off, as the chasers hastened their pace. At the front, Travis tested Marc repeatedly, finally gaining a gap, which he stretched to 15 seconds and held to win the race. Upon crossing the line Travis established himself as the Colorado State Cyclocross Champion, and a serious contender for the National Championship in Portland later this week.
Photography
Images by Matt Pacocha/Boulder Racing
- The men’s start was fast and furious.
- Travis Brown (Trek/VW) and Marc Gullickson (Redline) had to deal with poor positioning on the first runup.
- Travis (Trek/VW) and Marc (Redline) quickly separated themselves from the group.
- Jonathan Baker (Pro Peloton), Christian McCarthy (Vitamin Cottage), and Brandon Dwight (7-Up/Maxxis) take up the early chase.
- Brandon Dwight (7-Up/Maxxis) leads Jon Baker (Pro Peleton) through one of the courses bmx like berms.
- Marc Gullickson (Redline) and Travis Brown (Trek/VW) charging along at the front of the race.
- Matt Pacocha (Red Rocks Velo) looking for a little help from Christian McCarthy (Vitamin Cottage).
- Micah Thompson (Excel Sports) and Chris Hopwood (Gary Fisher) keep the pace high.
- Travis Brown (Trek/VW) raced like a true professional and earned the Colorado USCF State Championship title.
- Heather Szabo (Tokyo Joe’s) was able to win the women’s pro championship race, showing her form for nationals next weekend in Portland.
- CU’s Jen Gersbach rounded out the women’s podium in 3rd.
- And her teammate Eszter Horang was able to follow her to 4th.
- Alison Dunlap (Luna Chix) raced with the 3’s to fine tune her fitness for nationals.
- Junior winners and future stars, Alex Howes (LRT), Peter Stetna (Tokyo Joe’s) and Brady Kappius (Subaru /5280).
Results
SM Pro 1/2 1 Travis Brown (Trek/ VW) 2 Marc Gullickson (Redline) 3 Jonathan Baker (Pro Peleton) 4 Brandon Dwight (7-Up/Maxxis) 5 Christian McCarthy (Vitamin Cottage) 6 Matt Pacocha (Red Rocks Velo) 7 Micah Thompson (Excel Sports) 8 Chris Hopwood (Gary Fisher) 9 Joe DePaemelare (Denver/ Boulder Couriers) 10 Mike West (Trek/ VW) SW Pro 1/2/3 1 Heather Szabo (Tokyo Joe's) 2 Julie Emmerman (Epic Roots) 3 Jen Gersbach (CU Cycling) 4 Eszter Hurang (CU Cycling) 5 Catherine Johnson (Pro Peleton) 6 Margel Abel (Boulder Racing) 7 Beth Fisk (La Forza)
