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Vergegear.com MACC Series final
Blue Diamond Park 'Cross
November 30, 2003
Uhl and Leech Rock at Blue Diamond Park 'Cross
By Tammy Ebersole
The 2003 Vergegear.com Mid-Atlantic Cyclo-Cross Championship Series wrapped up with racing action at Blue Diamond Park 'Cross in New Castle, Delaware. This first time venue scored a big thumbs -up from both Mid-Atlantic 'crossers and spectators as it was one of the most interesting and diverse courses this season. The host team, First State Velo Sport, made great use of the BMX/Motocross Park terrain while still keeping the course "cross-friendly". That said, good technical skills were still a must for the day.
Women: Uhl leads the charge
With the sound of motocross bikes in the background, the Elite Women charged off the line, led by Sarah Uhl (Saturn). When the pack hit the first left turn off the pavement, chaos broke loose mid-field as several riders got tangled when the course narrowed. That distraction mid-field allowed the leaders to open up gaps immediately. Uhl opened up the early lead she had established but Amber Itle (Wissahickon) still had Uhl in sight and was working hard to bring her back. Behind Itle, a group of riders battled back and forth for the majority of the race.
Contained within that group was Erica Miller (Wissahickon), Megan Render (Snow Valley), Deidre Winfield (Extreme Racing) and current Vergegear.com series leader, Betsy Schauer (Fort/GPOA). Schauer eventually broke away from the group but not without a fight from Render. Render kept the race close but was unable to overtake Schauer. Uhl, the 2003 Vergegear.com Series Champion in the U-23 category held on to take the win. Itle soled in for second and Schauer took third. Schauer's third place finish locked up her points lead and made her the 2003 Elite Women's Champion. Render took fourth place and Winfield finished fifth.
Men: Turner's bad luck is Leech's good
In the Elite Men's race, it was Glen Turner (Mainline Cycling) that took the hole shot off the line. Turner had a huge gap coming off the road but his recent string of bad luck continued as he snapped his chain soon after he left the pavement. With Turner gone, the field stayed together for the first half of the lap then it was Les Leach (Wissahickon) who took a flyer off the front. Leach's lead held for a lap or two but he was eventually reeled back by a group that had formed behind him. Within that group was Leach's teammate, Mike Yozell who was the next to attack.
Yozell broke free and opened up a gap that he held until he was caught and passed by Ryan Leech (Fort/GPOA). With Leech clear, Yozell went back to the group behind and worked in support of teammate Joe Reynolds. Besides Turner's previously mentioned string of mechanicals, Reynolds must be next in terms of bad luck as he has also had a few tough weeks, the worst being a flat on the final lap at Raccoon 'Cross one week ago that denied him a chance in the final sprint for the win.
With Yozell looking to bring Reynolds up to Leech, Reynolds' chances were looking good until a rider attempting to pass on the inside of a tight corner locked bars with Yozell and took him down. With that Yozell was out. Springing free from the pack was cyclo-cross new-comer and top mountain bike rider, Greg Marini (Bike Doctor). Marini slowly closed the gap to Leech and made contact at the start of the bell lap.
As Leech and Marini headed out onto the course for the last lap, Marini got in front of Leech and it appeared for a moment that Marini was capable of leaving Leech behind. Leech found another gear and closed the distance to Marini's wheel. As the riders headed out to the back section of the course, Marini was still leading. When they came back in sight, he was still leading but as they hit the run-up for the final time, Leech hit the top first.
Leech was first down the descent and first to hit the road for the final stretch to the finish. Marini was not ready to give up and took the fight all the way to the line. It was Leech crossing first with Marini a very close second. Third place was won by Greg Wittwer (LSV/Trek) in a sprint over Reynolds who claimed fourth. Kyle Wamsley (Fuji) rounded out the top five.
Eric Schlauch (Somerset Wheelmen) dominated the Masters' 35+ class to take the win and the Vergegear.com Series title. Schlauch and Rob Hacker (Lite Bites) were tied for the lead coming into the last race but Hacker was a no-show due to illness and that made the day a little easier for Schlauch.
With the final points being tallied, look for announcement of all the 2003 Vergegear.com Mid-Atlantic Series winners this coming week.
Results
Elite/U23 Men 1 Ryan Leech (Fort/GPOA) 2 Greg Marini (Bike Doctor) 3 Greg Wittwer (LSV/Trek) 4 Joseph Reynolds (Wissahickon) 5 Kyle Wamsley (TEAM Fuji) 6 Gunnar Shogren (Fort/GPOA) 7 Bobby Lea (TEAM Fuji) 8 Les Leach (Wissahickon) 9 Greg Ferguson (Fort/GPOA) 10 Kristopher Auer (LSV/Trek) 11 Bill Elliston (Ideal Tile) 12 Joey Thompson (Balance Bar/Devo) 13 Joseph Alachoyan (Ideal Tile) 14 Andrew Wulfkuhle (Wissahickon) 15 Joseph Piccillo (Evolution) 16 Jonathan Hansen (Snow Valley) Under 23 1 Greg Wittwer (LSV/Trek) 2 Bobby Lea (TEAM Fuji) 3 Joey Thompson (Balance Bar/Devo) 4 Andrew Wulfkuhle (Wissahickon) Elite/35+ Women 1 Sara Uhl (Saturn) 2 Amber Itle (Wissahickon) 3 Betsy Schauer (Fort/GPOA) 4 Megan Render (Snow Valley) 5 Deidre Winfield (Extreme Sport) 6 Erica Miller (Wissahickon) 7 Sami Fournier (Velo Bella) 8 Lisa Most (Wissahickon) 9 Donna Anderson (Evolution) 10 Tammy Ebersole (Evolution) 11 Tracy Lea (TEAM Fuji) 12 Erica Allar (TEAM Fuji) 13 Bonnie Stoeckl (Evolution) 14 Kristine Church (University of Colorado) Women 35+ 1 Sami Fournier (Velo Bella) 2 Donna Anderson (Evolution) 3 Tammy Ebersole (Evolution) 4 Tracy Lea (TEAM Fuji) 5 Bonnie Stoeckl (Evolution) Juniors 1 Syd Lea (T.E.A.M. Fuji) Masters 35+/45+ 1 Eric Schlauch (Somerset Wheelman) 2 Blair Saunders (FSVS) 3 Ransom Weaver (Guys) 4 Randall Root (Snow Valley) 5 Mike Hebe (Monex) 6 Kelly Kline (Wissahickon) 7 John Lux (First Capitol Velo) 8 Kirk Reisinger (Wissahickon) 9 Stephen Caffrey (FSVS) 10 Jim Bronson (Power Mama) 11 Rob Frederick (Evolution) 12 Doug Gray (FSVS) 13 Fred Wittwer (Charlottesville) 14 Scott Wilson (Evolution) 15 Todd Pittman 16 Tom McDaniel (Wooden Wheels) 17 Mark Laser (Yellow Breeches) 18 Mark Elsasser (Wissahickon) 19 Kevin Breckenmaker (Team Harrisburg) 20 Chris Houston (Yellow Breeches) 21 Leo Pizzini (FSVS) 22 Chris Stutz (SVVC) 23 Scott Seifert (Team Harrisburg) 24 Steve Hede (First Capitol Velo) 25 Scott Reynolds (Evolution) 26 Patrick Leonard (Evolution) 27 Stephen Blacklocks (Kissena) 28 Ronnie Irving (TEAM Fuji) 29 Nunzio Dibiasi (Team Harrisburg) 30 Robert Lyon (First Capitol Velo) Masters 45+ 1 Randall Root (Snow Valley) 2 Jim Bronson (Power Mama) 3 Fred Wittwer (Charlottesville) 4 Kevin Breckenmaker (Team Harrisburg) 5 Chris Houston (Yellow Breeches) 6 Leo Pizzini (FSVS) 7 Steve Hede (First Capitol Velo) 8 Scott Reynolds (Evolution) 9 Ronnie Irving (TEAM Fuji) Men B 1 Weston Schempf 2 Jesse Semancheck (FSVS) 3 Sean Galeghar (Tri Speed) 4 Chris Samuel (Team X-press) 5 Tom Mains (Ready Pac) 6 Wade Hess (Beacon) 7 Brian Wisowaty (Bike Doctor) 8 Bruce Freehoff (Beacon) 9 Baron Kirk (Green Mountain) 10 Mike Babcock (Nittany Velo) 11 Eric Morgan (Wissahickon) 12 Nick Rinkor (First Capital Velo) 13 Drew Guldalian (Wissahickon) 14 Ethan Townsend (LSV) 15 Chip Sovek (Potomac) 16 Andrew Albright (Monkey Hill) 17 Chris Evans (Wissahickon) 18 Garvin Louie (Union Velo) 19 Nunzio Dibasi (Team Harrisburg) Women B 1 Krista Schulte (Tri Speed) 2 Trish Cundiff (Pedros) 3 Nina Santiago Men C 1 John Miller (Guys) 2 Joe Wentzell (Breakaway) 3 Gary Cundiff (CC Pedros/K2) 4 Brian Webster (SVVC) 5 Mark Featherman (Breakaway) 6 David Stauffer (Cycleworks) 7 Jim Watkins (Somerset ) 8 Andrew Jakubowitch 9 Chad Totaro 10 Rob Lea (TEAM Fuji) 11 Robert Sands (Evolution) 12 Ron Hermann (Lateral Stress) 13 Christopher Berbert (Hoya Velo) 14 Todd Chewning (LSV) 15 Rolf Windh 16 James Ambagis (Wooden Wheels) 17 Gary Kelly (Yellow Breeches) 18 Gustavo Sanchez (Evolution) 19 Matt Perterson (HP Hermes) 20 Joseph Manning 21 Mark Vareschi (HP Hermes) 22 Harry Langdon
