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North Carolina Cyclocross series #3
October 31, 2004
Turning up the heat (index) in Cary
By Line Dempsey of www.fastcoaching.com
A beautiful day for cycling, but arguably too hot for 'cross, greeted racers for the third race in the NC Cyclocross Series. This Halloween raceday, turned out to be far from scary as the regular competitors gathered at the start line. Today, John Hamblin (Fiordifrutta/Wheelworks) took the first lap prime offered by the FCTEAM (www.fcteam.com) and relinquished not his place in the field, easily winning over the ever-present Charlie Storm (Fuji / Back to Dirt). Hamblin, absent from the first race of the series, has now won the most recent two events, placing him in first place in the points battle. John Degele, racer for the primary sponsor for this race, Cycling Spoken Here, continued to grind away, finishing third. Colin Barry (Printery / Cycles) made a strong effort today, to beat Derek Powers (Doughnut Boy), the two finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Powers, has finished 5th in each race of the series, but hopes to break his streak with a move up the ladder next weekend.
For the women's A race, Candice Blickem (Genesis Scuba) made her return to cross racing this weekend, after missing the first race of the season due to illness. Blickem was able to capture third place in both events of the weekend, with Mandy Lozano (Easton / Kona) winning the race on Saturday, and teammate Danielle Staskal (Easton / Kona) taking her first win of the season on Sunday.
Master's Races were quite exciting, as several of the earlier competitors in the series opted to test their legs in the A race. A heated battle ensued, with Marcus Jones (Sandhills Cycling) putting on an excellent display of 'cross performance, besting Jimmy Breuner (Bact to Dirt). Michael Ventola (Sandhills) also showed power, completing the top three of a field of 17 starters. Carolina Masters continues to dominate the Master's 45 event, with Randy Shields (Carolina Masters) going 3 for 3 in the series, while Kerry Shields (Carolina Masters) and Andy Ammon (Carolina Masters) ate up the remaining podium spots.
In the Killer B series, David Forkner (ASU) put on a commanding display of tactics as he beat the field of 24 starters. Andrew Raab (Bicycle Sport) finished in second place, with Dale Zuckert (Franklin Street) closely behind. Alec Durell (Sandhills) returned to the top five, after tough race on Saturday. Jim Molner (Cycling Spoken Here) rounded out the top five.
In the Women's B race, Cathy Beck (GVC) won her third race in a row, extending her 2004 cyclocross-winning streak to the magic number of 7. Hope Ann Synder (Paul's Racing) took the silver medal, while Lynn Weller won the bronze medal.
In the Men's C race, the recently dubbed, "C" Feet team (DeFeet) continued to post good numbers, with Brad Smythe and Dwight Wyatt finishing second and third, respectively. Wyatt was coming off of a win the day before, and did not have enough to help teammate, Smythe. Chris Green of Sandhills Cycling opened up a 20 second gap on the DeFeet racer. Sean Kurdys (DeFeet) also was able to charge into the top five, almost catching fourth place finisher, Dan Baily.
In the junior event, Cody Hawkins took the gold medal. Racing moves to cooler temperatures this weekend, as Series Race #4 is slated for Boone, NC.
