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2002 US Cyclo-cross Nationals - CN
Domaine Chandon, Yountville, California, USA, December 14-15, 2002
Espoir Men (U23)
Craig defends crown in torrential conditions
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Adam Craig (Giant) scored a repeat win in the under 23 men's category at the Shimano-USCF National Cyclocross Championships.
Craig, 21, started with Number 1 on his back, the honor bestowed to a defending national champion. To begin with, Craig faced a strong challenge from Oregon's Barry Wicks (Kona/Kenwood) and a string of young future pros.
Racers today also competed against heavy rain that turned sections of this Northern California vineyard course into soupy mud. But despite the conditions, nearly 1,000 entrants have signed on to race.
"I've been doing a rain dance all week long," said Craig, who is famous for his ability to ride well in sloppy conditions. Craig, one of the most powerful athletes ever tested by USA Cycling, has turned out results second only to Lance Armstrong. He admitted struggling in high-speed cyclocross events that require gazelle-like abilities. But in the muck, it's power, not prowess that wins cyclocross races.
"Today was a good race day for us from the NorthWest," said Wicks. "It's hard-man's territory. I was excited to have (the rain) come down hard - I just gassed it from the start."
After Wick's initial blast, North Carolina's Ryan Trebon (Krystals) pushed to the front and then went hard enough to move into the lead. Then he slammed into a puddle, striking rocks on the bottom, and emerged with two flat tires. By the time he reached the pits and made repairs, Trebon had fallen back to seventh position.
Then Craig gunned the pace and left Wicks behind.
As the race closed, Craig opened up a massive lead. He did suffer one puncture, but conveniently timed it just before the pits and lost almost no time, and finished with a 40 second margin over Wicks. However, Trebon may have posted the most impressive ride of the day; he bullied his way through the ranks and eventually finished third. Vermont's Alan Obye (Balance Bar/DEVO) finished fourth and Josh Anthony (Cyclocrossworld.com) finished fifth.
Results
1 Adam Craig (Giant) 45.54 2 Barry Wicks (Kona) 0.26 3 Ryan Trebon (Krystals) 0.56 4 Alan Obye (Balance Bar/Devo) 1.32 5 Josh Anthony (Cyclecross World.Com) 2.05 6 Russ Tiles (Chalchalah Racing) 3.02 7 Jeremy Powers (Team Devo) 3.41 8 Brian Astell (Ccb) 3.48 9 Troy Wells (Team Devo) 4.17 10 Toby Swanson (Rad Racing Nw) 4.36 11 Ryan Iddings (Rad Racing Nw) 4.36 12 Aaron Menenberg (Ti Cycles) 4.39 13 David Werling (Necsa/Fraysees Sports Resort) 5.35 14 Brent Bookwalter (Balance Bar/Devo) 6.02 15 Nathan Griffith (Suburban Homes/Wolverine Sports Club) 6.08 16 Akira Wong (Sally Spicer.Com) 17 Michael Cody (Necsa) 18 Juozas Martynaitis (Bicycle Warehuose/Gsr/Team Easty) 19 David Binker (Richy-Nova)
