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Results & reports from the USAPromoters wishing to submit results should send them to Cyclingnews 2002 98over.com North Carolina Championship Series FinalJackson Park, Hendersonville, NC, December 8, 2002NC Cyclocross Series Finale Makes for Speedy Cycling, Standings ShakeupsBy Dahron Johnson Even though clouds hung low, racers' and spectators' spirits ran high as the final race of 2002 98over.com North Carolina Cyclocross Championship Series rolled onto the familiar grounds of Jackson Park in Hendersonville. Fortunately for the 62 racers and many spectators, the skies held their precipitation in check, and it became quickly evident fast racing was to be the rule of the day. Held on the home turf of series organizer Tim Hopkin, the course bore all the marks of his imprimatur, with at least a dozen off-camber turns, slick mud sections, and flat, open road sections. As with most of the races in the series, the long course in Hendersonville-which in the past featured at least one run-up and three or four sets of barriers-had only two barrier sets and a former run-up now made ridable. With the equal balance of technical challenges and speedy sections, though, the course demonstrated that the layout requirements and restrictions now stipulated by both the USCF and UCI do not necessarily mean making an off-road criterium. The 1.7-mile route provided a fitting end to a series that has long served as a beacon in the South for what cyclocross is, and should be, about. With tenth-ranked U23 rider Ryan Trebon off to the West to test his mettle and prepare for the National Championships to be held in Napa, California this coming weekend, the Men's A racers thought their task would be only to sort out the final overall standings for the series. They were quickly disabused of that notion. Of course, all the usual suspects were present: Cycling Spoken Here's Charlie Storm and Daniel Doub, Cycle De Oro/NorthState Chevrolet's Colin Barry and Rich Harper (though notably missing last year's second ranked rider, Peter Hymas), and Andy Applegate of the new Carolina Cyclocross Association/Trek team. Nudging up to the start line, though, was an out-of-town guest: Rad Racing Northwest's Toby Swanson, former US National Cyclocross team member, and currently ranked twentieth in the U23's. Even those superlatives don't do him full justice, as Swanson has made the journey to only one of the eighteen UCI-ranked races this season, focusing instead on running them ragged in the Pacific Northwest. And with the word spreading of how Swanson kept Applegate at bay the day before in the state championships, the A racers knew there would be no rest on this day. No sooner had the whistle blown did the mayhem begin. With the athletes' adrenalin on high, the pack scorched up the short opening pavement section together-not a problem, except that the road was immediately followed by a wide, ultra-slick turn that deceived riders into thinking they could ride though it broader than single file. Racers went down, and in the aftermath, the splits that were to remain in place for the rest of the race had been created. At the lead came Swanson, Storm, and Applegate. Behind them, spaced out but still in sight of one another were Doub, Barry, Morgan, and Harper, with Degele and Lindsay Wilson College's Chris Herndon still in the mix. Swanson slowly started to pull away from the others, and over the course of the ensuing 55 minutes pushed hard every lap, increasing his gap to a comfortable winning margin. Charlie Storm and Applegate, though, were still engaged in one of their epic battles. In the end, it appeared that Applegate's double gold medal winning efforts of the day before finally caught up with him, and Storm finished the season with a strong second place. Applegate did not let up, though, until he crossed the finish line, and while he may have ended up third on the day, his solid performance throughout the seven race series earned him second place in the series, with 786 points to series victor Storm's 1002. Behind them, the racing was far from over, as Cycles De Oro teammates Barry and Harper work for each other paid off in the end. Early in the race, when Harper started falling off the pace, Barry held up to make sure Harper stayed with them. It was good that he did, for in the last lap of the race, Harper took the helm on the fast road section on the backside of the course, towing Barry within sight of Asheville Bicycle Racing's Jason Morgan. Target acquired, Barry poured everything he had into the last half of the last lap, and by the time they crested the final run/ride-up only 200 meters from the end, the two were neck-and-neck. As they came through the triple barricades 100 meters from the finish, Morgan was just ahead of Barry. Barry, however, was not to be denied, and came around Morgan in a dramatic sprint that had spectators and fellow racers hollering at the top of their lungs. Harper, his work done, came in some moments later in seventh, with Daniel Doub just ahead of him. Points races and out-of-state interlopers also provided plenty of excitement in the Women's A event. With Asheville Bicycle Racing's Cara McCauley, Earthfare's Adrienne Brown, and Lauren Trull of the Carolina Cyclocross Association/Trek team only separated by eighteen points, the series title hung in the race's balance. As if that weren't enough to intensify things, Independent Fabrications' Lisa Ropke, up from Woodstock, Georgia, decided to join the fray. Ropke strung things out almost immediately, with repeat state and national champion Trull in hot pursuit. Behind them, McCauley and Brown kept in close contact. Ropke's early efforts, though, showed on her face and in her rocking style by the closing lap, and when Trull was made aware of how close she was-around 15 seconds-she redoubled her efforts. In the end, Trull ran out of room in her unsuccessful chase, and had to settle for second on the day. McCauley crossed the line only moments later, and when the final points were tallied, she managed to eke out the series overall win by five points, with 474 to Trull's 469. Trull's road season teammate Brown took fourth in the race and third in the overall. The series leader for the Master's 35+ category coming into the weekend, Dr. Rob Moran of Cycling Spoken Here, was unable to attend the day's event, and his absence opened a window for Sandhill Cycling Club's Marcus Jones to take the overall victory if he could manage to take first or second on the day. However, with Michael Scholtz of DeFeet Racing setting a torrid pace from the start, Jones had his work cut out for him. It quickly became apparent that Scholtz, who had won two weeks earlier in Pinehurst, was on a mission. Mouth agape and out of the saddle crossing the line for each lap, it was obvious he did not want to give Jones a chance to come around him. Isolated, Jones fought hard every lap, and with the absent Moran's teammate John Baxter right behind him, Jones could not afford to make a mistake. In the end, Scholtz took the win, which also earned him sixth overall-a respectable place, considering he only participated in four of the seven events. Jones managed to hold off Baxter, and as a result, took the 35+ series title as well. Jones' grin when presented with the winner's trophy belied his realization that victory had come by the most fortunate type of luck. His primary rival for the overall title, Dr. Moran, had the misfortune of being on call this race day, giving Jones the opportunity to take the overall title despite having placed behind Moran in all other series events. While the two-year long series tradition of having every race count toward the overall awards consistency-Jones, after all, did finish in the top five in all races-and promotes attendance, one should also ask whether it, in the end, accurately reflects the season-long performance of the athletes competing for their categories' top awards. In the event, though, there were series places still be decided. Behind the Scholtz/Jones/Baxter trio, another points battle was in full swing. Cycles De Oro/NorthState Chevrolet's Michael Satterfield and Inland Construction's Jim Edwards were tied for fourth on points, and the pride at stake in this duel might as well have made that overall ranking the yellow jersey. Edwards had finished ahead of Satterfield in the first two events of the series, but Satterfield had edged him out in the next four races, setting up the day's battle. On his side, Satterfield had his loyal teammate Lonnie Brooks there to assist, and once again, De Oro teamwork made the difference. With the three all together halfway through the race, Brooks launched an attack. This allowed Satterfield to sit back and mark Edwards' every move. Brooks had one of the best races of his season, riding by himself 11 seconds ahead of the pair, and more importantly, acting like a carrot for Edwards. In the end, and just as in the A-men's race, the battle for fourth came down to the last ride-up and barriers. Satterfield and Edwards charged up the short, steep, hill side by side. Then, Edwards bobbled at the top, forcing him to put a foot down. Satterfield quickly took advantage of his competitor's misstep, but Edwards was right back on his wheel by the barriers. The effort to catch back on, though, left him short on breath, and while he came through the obstacles quickly, Satterfield had a crucial step on him as they hopped back on the bikes. As Satterfield charged away, Lonnie Brooks was there to seal the deal. When Brooks arrived at the finish line, he stopped just short of it and waited. Then, when Satterfield flew across the line, Brooks simply stepped over it, putting another place between his teammate and Edwards. The tactic assured Satterfield a series fourth place by 12 points over Edwards, and Brooks' fifth on the day helped push him into seventh for the series. Injuries from the previous day's state championship races defined the Masters 45+ event. Hearts Racing's Randy Shields, who was 7-0 on the season-including his gold-medal ride on Saturday-had somehow pulled a calf muscle dismounting the bike after Saturday's event. Hobbling but undeterred, Shields still lined up at the start on Sunday, intent on protecting his series title. With Shields only needing to finish to preserve his lead, OLP's Arthur Reaves and Albert Mills of Alamance Bike Club/Elon Bike shop saw their chance for an elusive victory. The two had been finishing just ahead or just behind each other, and while Shield's injury was unfortunate, it allowed the exciting Reaves/Mills duel to come to the fore. As Shields gingerly stepped over the barriers, Reaves and Mills surged ahead. In the end, Reaves took first on the day, pulling away from Mills in the race's closing minutes. Randy Shields' brother, Kerry, kept up his brother's high standards, taking third. When Randy finished the line in last place, he had not only won the 45+ title, but also the renewed respect of his fellow racers for the valiant effort he put forth. Again, though, the situation was forced by requiring racers to complete all events; did Shields really need to ride in such obvious pain to protect what he had already earned by racing an otherwise flawless season? Continuing the day's tradition of tight racing, the B Men's event put on display riders so evenly matched that the top four stayed within 10 feet of each other for all but the final two laps. Spicing up the action, though, was another points battle. Boone Bike & Touring's Shaw Brown, third overall heading into Sunday's race, trailed Timothy "Bo" Glenn of Cycling Spoken Here by only ten points. To jump ahead of Glenn, though, Brown would need to finish two places ahead of him. With Glenn's teammate Taylor Jones only needing to finish to take the overall victory, the pre-race odds seemed in Glenn's favor, as Jones had openly promised to ride in his support. As the race unfolded, though, it became quickly apparent that Glenn's legs were not responding well to the challenge, yo-yoing off the back of a group that included Brown, Jones, and Cycle De Oro/NorthState Chevrolet's Dahron Johnson. With Johnson effectively unable to move up any further in the series rankings, he and Brown made an in-the-moment combine. If Johnson could continue to stay ahead of Glenn, then Brown needed only to finish just ahead of them both to secure a second overall. As it turned out, they needed to do little work themselves. With Jones grinding away in a large gear, the high pace hurt his already struggling teammate Glenn. As Jones pulled away, Glenn continued to fade, and Brown rode hard all the way to the finish. Johnson, who had slipped off Brown's pace, managed to pull back within just a few bike lengths, yelling up to Brown that second was his. Johnson then sat up, keeping an eye open for Glenn, and coasted through the final meters for third on the day. Patricia Durrell of Sandhills Cycling Club proved winning battles doesn't necessarily mean winning wars, though she managed to do both this day. Durrell, who was leading the B-women's series despite not having taken a single victory, corrected that omission by finishing first in Hendersonville. Behind her came Asheville Bicycle Racing's Janet Trubey, who was, as it were, two-for-two in twos: second on the day, and second overall. The steadily improving Lochwood Racing's Shannon Goff came in third, and took the final podium spot in the series as well. Juniors series rivals, the unattached Sam Falgout and Fit To Be Tried's Daniel Dinkins, met for their final series duel, the results of which caused a last-day switch of series leaders. Dinkins' six-point advantage coming into the day was not enough to hold Sam Falgout at bay. Dinkins, whose second place in the previous day's medal races hinted that he might not be up to par, had another off day finishing third. Falgout took the win, and with it, the overall title-Dinkins finished in second, only three points behind. Sneaking in between the two for second on the day was Bicycle Shed racer Ed Buress. Finally, Nicholas McGowan, riding for Bicycle World and up from the North Carolina coast, took the day's victory in the C-men's event. It being his only race of the series, though, he was no threat to second place finisher and series winner, Carolina Cyclocross Association/Trek's Chris Wade. His main rival for the series top spot, Jay Walsh of Paul's Racing, had a rough day of it, finishing in seventh, but still came out with enough points to hold onto a series second place. Cycles De Oro/NorthState Chevrolet racer Matthew Skeen rounded out the day's top three, but it was still not enough to best the third overall of Cycling Spoken Here's David Matyjasik. Matyjasik took the last trophy place by a mere 4 and a half points over Skeen, who had only competed in four of the series events. With the victors donned in their champion's vests, donated by Sandhills Cycling Club, and astride their Thompson seatposts-a last minute prize given by the Georgia-based manufacturer-the 2002 98over.com North Carolina Cyclocross Championship series draws to a close. All the best to those representing North Carolina in the National Championships this coming weekend in Napa, California. Just remember, when you get back, don't put that cross bike in storage just yet! The five-race, three-weekend Winter Cup arrives in January, so keep those canti's lubed. As always, full details on the series, or anything else North Carolina cyclocross, can be found at www.nccyclocross.net. Happy holidays, stay safe, and speedy racing! ResultsA Men - 16 riders 1 Toby Swanson (Rad Racing Northwest) 55.41 2 Charles Storm (Cycling Spoken Here) 3 Andy Applegate (Carolina Cyclocross Association/Trek) 4 Colin Barry (Cycles De Oro/NorthState Chevrolet) 5 Jason Morgan (Asheville Bicycle Racing Club) 6 Daniel Doub (Cycling Spoken Here) 7 Rich Harper (Cycles De Oro/NorthState Chevrolet) 8 Chris Herndon (Lindsay Wilson College) 9 John Degele (East Carolina Velo) 10 Martin Visser (Nantahala Outdoor Center) 11 Josh Conner (Lindsay Wilson College) 12 James Wilson (Earthfare) 13 Tim Hopkin (Asheville Bicycle Racing Club) 14 Chris Livergood (Bike Zoo) 15 TJ Behm (Baby Dolls Racing) 16 Jarik Saleh (Kelly Bikes) A Women - 6 riders 1 Lisa Ropke (Independent Fabrications) 39.41 2 Lauren Trull (Carolina Cyclocross Association/Trek/Earthfare) 3 Cara McCauley (Asheville Bicycle Racing Club) 4 Adrienne Brown (Earthfare) 5 Hope Ann Snyder (Paul's Schwinn) 6 Maureen Chambers (Franklin Street Cycles) Masters 35+ - 8 riders 1 Michael Scholtz (DeFeet Racing) 41.03 2 Marcus Jones (Sandhills Cycling Club) 3 John Baxter (Cycling Spoken Here) 4 Michael Satterfield (Cycles De Oro/NorthState Chevrolet) 5 Lonnie Brooks (Cycles De Oro/NorthState Chevrolet) 6 Jim Edwards (Inland Cycling) 7 Chip Cooney (DeFeet Racing) 8 John Kuenck (Sandhills Cycling Club) Masters 45+ - 8 riders 1 Arthur Reaves (OLP Racing) 46.57 2 Albert Mills (Alamance Bike Club/Elon Bike Shop) 3 Kerry Shields (Hearts Racing) 4 Dale Bryant (Sandhills Cycling Club) 5 Dean Lyons (Boone Bike & Touring) 6 Charles Patnode (Sandhills Cycling Club) 7 Steve Baker (Spin Cycle) 8 Randy Shields (Hearts Racing) B Men - 6 riders 1 Taylor Jones (Cycling Spoken Here) 43.24 2 Shaw Brown (Boone Bike & Touring) 3 Dahron Johnson (Cycles De Oro/NorthState Chevrolet) 4 Timothy "Bo" Glenn (Cycling Spoken Here) 5 Donald Taylor (Unattached) 6 Tyler Crabtree (Harrell's Bicycle) B Women - 3 riders 1 Patricia Durrell (Sandhills Cycling Club) 27.29 2 Janet Trubey (Asheville Bicycle Racing Club) 3 Shannon Goff (Lochwood Racing) C Men - 12 riders 1 Nicholas McGowan (Bicycle World) 29.19 2 Chris Wade (Carolina Cyclocross Association/Trek) 3 Matthew Skeen (Cycles De Oro/NorthState Chevrolet) 4 David Matyjasik (Cycling Spoken Here) 5 Ross Douglas (Baby Dolls Racing) 6 Mark Scholtz (DeFeet Racing) 7 Jay Walsh (Paul's Racing) 8 Howard Parsons (Tarheel Cyclists) 9 Robert DeRose (Thomson Components) 10 Dave Stanbridge (Unattached) 11 Jim Smalley (Paul's Racing) Juniors - 3 riders 1 Sam Falgout (Unattached) 30.00 2 Ed Burress (Bicycle Shed) 3 Daniel Dinkins (Fit To Be Tried) Final overall series standingsMen's A 1 Charlie Storm 1002 pts 2 Andy Applegate 786 3 Ryan Trebon 708 4 Daniel Doub 674 5 John Degele 634 6 Colin Barry 578 7 Peter Hymas 550 8 Jason Morgan 534 9 Rich Harper 454 10 Timothy Hopkin 358 11 James Wilson 355 12 Greg Becker 266.5 13 Derek Powers 216 14 Michael Ventola 181 15 Toby Swanson 180 16 Mark Rogerson 171.5 17 Rob Moran 132 18 Dan Miller 94 19 Perry Lee 85.5 20 Eammon Lanigan 85.5 21 Jason Laxton 82 22 David Larkins 81.5 23 Chris Herndon 78 24 Martin Visser 66 25 Josh Conner 63 26 Chris Livergood 54 27 TJ Behm 51 28 Philip Kielty 36 29 Ben Early 36 30 Jim Taylor 28.5 31 Basil Moutsopoulo 28.5 32 Jarik Saleh 28.5 33 Michael Scholtz 19 34 Bobby Byrd 19 Men's B 1 Taylor Jones 432 pts 2 Shaw Brown 328 3 Bo Glenn 320 4 Dahron Johnson 250 5 Jarrett Deerwester 180 6 Randy Dailey 165 7 Andrew Oishi 162 8 Kevin Hall 144 9 Wayne Stone 141 10 Mike Lockhart 141 11 Daniel Ingram 130 12 Dana Johnson 114 13 Randy Dockery 81 14 David McLean 81 15 Wes Dickson 60 16 Donald Taylor 57 17 Tyler Crabtree 51 18 Thomas Straughn 42 19 Bill Pressly 39 20 Aaron Brown 34 21 Tim Jackson 27 22 Linf Dempsey 26 23 Scott Sadler 21 Women's A 1 Cara McCauley 474 pts 2 Lauren Trull 469 3 Adrienne Brown 452 4 Hope Ann Snyder 332 5 Maureen Chambers 257 6 Amber Krieger 120 7 Sylvia Hiller 114 8 Alisha Little 99 9 Lisa Ropke 90 10 Candice Blickem 60 11 Patricia Pinner 48 12 Beverly Robinson 42 Women's B 1 Patricia Durrell 240 pts 2 Janet Trubey 199 3 Shannon Goff 155 4 Annette Bednosky 144 5 Amber Krieger 75 6 Connie Ingram 51.5 7 Daniele Staskal 40.5 8 Anne Bolyea 40 9 Amy Hannon 31.5 10 Peggy Reed 28.5 11 Cassandra Perkins 27 12 Teresa Garrett 25.5 Master's 35+ 1 Marcus Jones 437 pts 2 Rob Moran 432 3 John Baxter 363 4 Michael Satterfiel 310 5 Jim Edwards 298 6 Michael Scholtz 288 7 Lonnie Brooks 246 8 Guy Spiher 211 9 John Koenck 147 10 Chip Cooney 89 11 Bill Pressly 82 12 Michael Ventola 81 13 Charlie Storm 81 14 David Neumann 72 15 Joe Largay 55 16 Martin Visser 48 17 Mike Culpepper 45 18 Chuck Russell 43 19 David Tsai 42 20 Danny Greene 40 21 Scott Hill 39 22 Mike Beaman 39 23 Randy Murray 36 24 Mark Griffin 30 25 Charles Campbell 24 26 Michael Purser 21 27 Kyle Tompkins 18 28 Carl Griewisch 12 Master's 45+ 1 Randy Shields 489 pts 2 Arthur Reaves 465 3 Albert Mills 426 4 Dale Bryant 366 5 Kerry Shields 285 6 Dean Lyons 253 7 Andrew Aamon 248 8 Charles Patnode 216 9 Steve Baker 191 10 Howard Hesterberg 163 11 David Fuller 125 12 Jeep Barrett 101 13 Kenneth Johnson 78 14 Lynn Reed 39 15 Robert Welsh 39 16 John Slivka 26 Men's C 1 Chris Wade 235.5 pts 2 Jay Walsh 176 3 David Matyjasik 136.5 4 Matt Skeen 132 5 Dave Stanbridge 117 6 Ken Riggsbee 114.5 7 Shawn Tew 97 8 Howard Rhyne 96.5 9 George Santucci 91.5 10 Steve Levine 76.5 11 Bryan Thomas 72 12 Robert Prestwood 50.5 13 Ross Douglas 46.5 14 Nicolas McGowan 45 15 Dennis Grooms 40.5 16 Ray Brooks 26.5 17 Matt Erh 25.5 18 Mark Scholtz 25.5 19 Jim Smalley 21 20 Howard Parsons 19.5 21 Jack West 19 22 Robert DeRose 18 23 Sean Wehr 17 24 Tim Dupree 17 25 Jeff Hambleton 16.5 26 Joseph Lion 15 27 Ken Peeples 13.5 28 Greg Trazier 13 29 Don Barton 13 30 Daniel Bailey 12.5 31 Gary Dowd 12 32 Tyrone Payne 12 33 Chuck Wallace 11 34 Doug Deaton 11 35 Ron Steele 10.5 36 Walt Philipson 9 37 John Mueller 9 38 Russell Lesko 9 39 Richard Smiley 7 40 Trace Owen 7 41 Sean McAndrew 7 42 Justin Forbes 5.5 43 Miles Efron 1.5 44 Todd Spain 1.5 45 Robert Gamble 1.5 46 Tom Ricketts 1.5 47 Christopher Garre 1.5 48 Dale Harrell 1.5 49 Kristin Garau 1.5 50 Paul Depenning 1.5 51 Bob Lowery 1.5 52 William Adams 1 53 Keith Bell 1 54 Mark Ernst 1 55 Ron Smith 1 56 Richard Mann 1 57 Mike Troup 1 Juniors 1 Sam Falgout 228 pts 2 Daniel Dinkins 225 3 Travis Liverman 40.5 4 Michael Thomas 40.5 5 Ed Burress 40.5 6 Patrick Sessoms 36 7 Richard Valenziano 31.5 8 Steven Valenziano 28.5 9 Kyle Branyon 28.5 10 Justin Hicks 21 |
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