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2005 Results    Results 

Tilford Goes For A Swim, Comes Back to Win

By Sean Weide

Dripping from shoulders to toe
Photo ©: Kurt Jambretz

When Steve Tilford crashed his bike into an icy lake on the second lap of Sunday’s KLM Marketing UCI Cyclocross Race, his first instinct was to get back on and start racing. A warm blanket and some dry clothing would have to wait. The Trek/Volkswagon rider had another epic chapter to write in his already storied career that includes five world mountain bike and four national cyclocross titles.

A two-part storm – first ice, then snow – that struck days before the race also prevented many competitors from St. Louis and other cities east of Kansas City from making the trip to the course that will play host to the 2007 and 2008 national championships. One of the more prominent no shows was defending national champion Todd Wells (GT), who blamed a stomach flu more than travel troubles.

Before his ice bath, Tilford was 20 seconds clear of Prenzlow after the first of eight laps in the 60-minute event. But on his second trip through a frozen, rutty patch of mud on the tree-lined course, he lost control and skidded out onto the ice. The bizarre incident and his stunning comeback had even the Topeka, Kan., resident shaking his head in disbelief afterwards. “I was on my hands and knees on the ice and my bike’s laying there flat on it,” Tilford said. “Then all of sudden, the ice broke through and I just went up my waist and down to my shoulders.”

The wind chill was in the single digits
Photo ©: Mark Breeding

With temperatures in the low 20s and a stiff, biting wind blowing out of the north, “I knew I was in trouble,” Tilford said. “After I got out, I yelled to the guys in the pit that I needed some new gloves because my hands were frozen. But by the time I rode another lap, the gloves had frozen solid on my hands and I couldn’t get pull them off with my teeth or my hands.” Tilford tossed his water-logged bike out of the lake and needed only one lap of the 2.5 kilometer course to chase down and pass Brent Prenzlow (Celo Pacific/Salsa) on the way to winning the second annual edition of the race at Kansas City’s Wyandotte County Park.

Tilford found himself riding a bike that had essentially become a single speed. Already caked with mud, the icy slush from the trip into the lake froze the bike’s brake and shifting cables. But it didn’t matter. Tilford quickly caught up to Prenzlow and was eight seconds clear of the Carlsbad, Calif., resident by the start of the next lap. From there, he put it on cruise control, tossing down lap times of 7:47, 7:43, 7:47 and 7:54 to build a lead that was a comfortable 29 seconds heading into the final lap.

“At the end, I tried to maintain and not make any more mistakes,” Tilford said. “Obviously, if this would have been the nationals, I would have finished 30th or something. You have to be able to shift and brake your bike or you usually don’t do well.” Tilford’s conquest of the elements harkened back to one of his nine victories earlier this year. In June, he won the fourth stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix in a thunderstrom so strong the hour-long criterium was called after only 17 minutes.

Alan Factory’s Bjorn Selander
Photo ©: Mark Breeding

The race for third was not decided until late in the race. Trek/VW’s Bill Stolte, teammate Shadd Smith and Alan Factory’s Bjorn Selander were separated by only 28 seconds with three laps to go, but Selander attacked the two and maintained his advantage for third, 55 seconds behind Tilford.

The UCI women’s race Sunday turned into a head-to-head battle between Portland’s Sue Butler (River City Bicycles) and Team Maxxis’ Melissa Thomas of Boulder. The pair pulled away from the field at the start of the 40-minute race and had nearly 30 seconds’ lead with two laps to go. Then Thomas made her move.

“She (Butler) had a friend who kept yelling at her to stay on my wheel especailly in the windy section so that made me try to drop her because didn't want to keep pulling her around,” Thomas said. Thomas was 15 seconds clear on the bell lap and scored her first cyclocross win of the season when she arrived at the finish with a 24-second cushion over Butler. Catherine Walberg (Team Kenda Tire) came in third. “It hurt to breathe the air was so cold,” said Thomas, who could barely talk after the race. “But I love adverse conditions and wore hand warmers in my gloves and shoes so I wasn’t really cold.”

Photography

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by Mark Breeding

• Sue Butler (River City Cycles) shadowed Team Maxxis’ Melissa Thomas for the first half of the women’s UCI race.
• But by the finish Thomas was all alone as she navigatored the barriers the final time on her way to victory.
• The race for third was a battle between Team Kenda Tire’s Catherine Walberg (left) and rookie sensation Sydney Brown (Lincoln Plating-Lemond).
• The wind chill was in the single digits when the Elite Men blasted out of the Red Bull starting gate.
• Alan Factory’s Bjorn Selander was tailed by Shadd Smith (Trek/Volkswagon) for much of the race before pulling away to take third place.
• Trek/Volkswagon’s Steve Tilford grits it out after recovering from his crash into an icy lake on the second lap.
• Tilford was all alone when he got the bell for the last lap of frigid, 60-minute race.
• The exhaustion was apparent on the face of the 46-year-old as Tilford scored his second cylocross win of the season.
• The Elite Men’s podium (from left): Bjorn Selander (Alan Factory), Steve Tilford (Trek/Volkswagon) and Brent Prenzlow (Celo Pacific/Salsa)

Images by Kurt Jambretz/actionimages.cc/

• Steve Tilford (Trek/Volkswagon) makes his way out of the icy waters on the course through Kansas City’s Wyandotte County Park.
• Dripping from shoulders to toe Tilford retrieves his bike from the water.
• Ready to remount Tilford would soon find his brake and shifter cables frozen solid and unusable.
• It took Tilford less than a lap to chase down and pass Brent Prenzlow (Celo Pacific/Salsa).

Images by Bruce Edwards

• Team 14’s Sean Noonan leads John Meehan (Mercy Specialized) through the barrier section.
• Celo Pacific/Salsa’s John Behrens (leading) and Aaron Pool (Lincoln Plating-Lemond) negotiate a treacherous portion of the partially frozen course.

Images by John Peterson

• Melissa Thomas (Maxxis) takes the early lead and goes on take first place.
• Melissa Thomas (Maxxis) stands to prepare for the short downhill.
• Steve Tilford (Trek) pulling himself and his bike from the water after breaking through the ice.
• Brent Prenzlow (Celo Pacific/Salsa) passing Steve Tilford (Trek/Volkswagon), right after Tilford's swim.
• Shad Smith (Trek/Volkswagon) and Bill Stolte (Trek/Volkswagon) negotiates a tight corner with Bjorn Selander (Alan Factory) close behind.
• Soaking wet Steve Tilford has another fumble going though small dip.
• Brent Prentzlow closes the gap on Steve Tilford's stumble in the dip in trees.
• 30 minutes into the race Bjorn Selander has his sights set on Shad Smith and Bill Stolte.
• Just pass the halfway point Bjorn Selander over takes shad Smith and Bill Stolte, moving into third place.
• Bill Stolte stumbles after a tight corner with Shad Smith chasing Bjorn Selendar.
• Sean Noonan (Team 14/Pedros) bleeding after a mishap.
• Steve Tilford with a comfortable lead for first place has ice forming on his chin.

Results

Elite Men

1 Steve Tilford (USA) Shimano/Verge                 1.01.54
2 Brent Prenzlow (USA) Celo Pacific/Salsa              0.16
3 Bjorn Selander (USA) Alan Factory                    0.55
4 Shadd Smith (USA) Trek/VW - Midwest                  2.02
5 William Stolte (USA) Bill Stolte                     2.49
6 Nathan Rice (USA) Big Shark Racing/Ridley            2.52
7 Joshua Johnson (USA) Big Shark Racing                3.34
8 Shawn Harshman (USA) Harshman Wealth PrimusMootry    4.02
9 Brian Jensen (Den) Jelly Belly Pro                   4.11
10 John Behrens (USA) Celo Pacific/ProBikeSupport      4.22
11 Kyle Jacobson (USA) Beans and Barley                4.54
12 Aaron Pool (USA) Lincoln Plating                    5.35
13 Mark Studnicki (USA) Cowtown Cycling                6.37
14 Adam Mills (USA) MRRC/ Trek/ Volkswagon             9.17
One lap down
15 John Meehan (USA) Mercy Specialized                     
16 Sean Noonan (USA) Team 14- Pedros                       
17 James Holmes (USA) All9Yards.com Cycling Team           
DNF  Douglas Plumer (USA) Big Shark Racing                 
 
Elite Women

1 Melissa Thomas (USA) Team Maxxis                    35.26
2 Sue Butler (USA) River City Bicycles                 0.24
3 Catherine Walberg (USA) Team Kenda Tire              0.59
4 Sydney Brown (USA) Lincoln Plating/Lemond            1.19
5 Kelly Jones (Can) Sugoi Factory Team                 1.39
6 Jennifer Tilley (USA) Velo Bella/Kona                1.55
7 Pam Hinton (USA) Columbia Bike Club                  6.12