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Bay Area Super Prestige Series #3
San Francisco, CA, November 14, 2004
'Retired' Jacques-Maynes Heralds a Triumphant Return for Racing in Golden Gate Park
Nine months ago Andy Jacques-Maynes finished the World Cyclocross Championships one position behind US Champ Jonathan Page, and started a new career. The Cal Berkeley graduate returned from Pont Chateau to Morgan Hill and began working within the R & D department of Specialized - officially retiring from his pro cycling career as part of Sierra Nevada Brewing on the road and Clif Bar with his 'cross bike - or did he? At Sunday's third round of the Bay Area Super Prestige Cyclocross Series in Golden Gate Park he behaved just like the old Andy and crushed a strong Northern California field. Beautiful November sunshine brought out a record attendance with former '70's 'cross stars Jim Gentes and Clark Natwick enjoying the 2.2 kilometre circuit through the sandy park trails. For Velo Bella it was a clean sweep; their candidates for the Portland Nationals in four weeks appear to be the team to beat.
In between dashing to and from Taiwan to work on new models for Specialized, Jacques-Maynes has obviously found enough time to train - and race successfully - both in the West and East coasts with 3 top 10 finishes in the US GP of 'cross. At the whistle under the Red Bull starting arch he blasted up the 300 metres of pavement to gain the lead and never look back. The chase train included Justin Robinson, Josh Snead, Cameron Falconer, John Funke, and Aaron O'Dell, averaging just over 5 minutes per lap in very hot pursuit, negotiating three sets of barricades each lap - very 'un-UCI'. Midway through the race, Robinson, Snead and Falconer popped a gasket, and Funke and O'Dell exploited this slight advantage, keeping it until the finish. With Jacques-Maynes cruising home in triumph, Funke set the table for a successful sprint against O'Dell to complete the podium.
Velo Bella's Barbara Howe came back from an East Coast tour with a new reputation as one of the West Coast riders to beat. With two wins in October (Pennsylvania), and then two top-5 results at the Gloucester weekend, Howe is a strong contender for a berth on this year's Worlds team. But she didn't have the horsepower on Sunday to keep her teammate Sarah Kerlin from prevailing at the finish. Kerlin has been establishing her own reputation after Tacoma and Gloucester, and Sunday she had the nod on the fast course. Completing the all-Velo Bella podium was Melodie Metzger. The team can now focus on the last GP of 'cross next weekend in New Jersey. The Northern California UCI weekend - December 4th and 5th - are the final rounds of the Bay Area Super Prestige Series, and should fine-tune preparations for the "Flamingo Flock" at the Portland Nationals in December.
2004 Bay Area Super Prestige Sponsors include: Red Bull, Bianchi Bicycles, Big Swingin' Cycles, Clif Ba,r F:iz'ik, Palo Alto Bicycles, Sheila Moon, Sports Basement, Ritchey Logic, Summit Bikes, SyCip, Eurocycling Imports, AbbiOrca Photography, Verge Sport, Blackburn Designs.
Further Information: Pilarcitos Cyclesports Tom Simpson (650 302-6310) www.pilarcitos.com
Results
Elite Men A 1 Andy Jacques-Maynes (Specialized R&D) 2 John Funke (Sycip) 3 Aaron O'Dell (Rock Lobster/Traugutt Guitars) 4 Justin Robinson (Family Cycling Center/Bullion) 5 Cameron Falconer (Hunter Cycles) 6 Joshua Snead (Rock Lobster/Traugutt Guitars) Elite Women A 1 Sarah Kerlin (Velo Bella) 2 Barbara Howe (Velo Bella) 3 Melodie Metzger (Velo Bella) 4 Allison Baumhefner (ABS/Hunter Cycles) 5 Hillary Daniels (Hunter Cycles) 6 Jamie Whitmore-Cardenas
Local results 2004
