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Georgia 'Cross Series Finale
Athens, GA, December 7, 2002
Johnston clinches series with sixth season win
By Lamar Mauney
Sunshine and mid-50's greeted riders as they battled for the Georgia State Championships and the Georgia Cross Series points lead. The course was a fast combination of grass, winding paved trail and street, disrupted by two run-ups and a jaunt through a loamy wooded section. Custom Verge State Championship jerseys were awarded to all of the newly crowned champions.
The third year of the Georgia Cross Series was a great success. Over 125 riders from 41 teams competed in six categories, as well as for The Bike Shop Team Trophy. Seven races were hosted in six different cities. The University of Georgia Cycling Club hosted the State Championships in Athens for the second consecutive year, and did a great job!
Genesis Scuba rider Tony Scott opened the attacks in the Category 1/2/3 race, soon joined by BCA/EPX's Andy Johnston and defending State Champion John Phillips (Jittery Joe's). Andy counterattacked and soloed away to take his sixth season victory, winning the State Championship and Series, as well as a free trip to cross Nationals. John captured second in States and Series, while Jon Livengood (Bike Zoo), Tony and Tim Barrett (Nalley Automotive) placed third through fifth, respectively. Jon took third for the series as well, and Tony bronze for States.
Taking an early lead, first year cyclo-crosser Tony Scott (Genesis Scuba) garnered both the State Championship and the Masters 30+ Series. Dominique Desmonts (PeopleSoft) and defending State Champion Mike Huckaby (Bicycles Unlimited) picked up Silver and Bronze respectively, with Mike taking third in the Series. Dub Smith finished a close fourth, scoring vital points to finish second in the Series.
In Masters 40+ Florida rider Scott Ewing (ABP Velo) rode to a clear victory, breaking away in the first lap. The fight for the State Championship was in the chase group of Georgia riders Brad Harper (The Bike Center), Doug Pomeranz (Genesis) and Lamar Mauney (Genesis), as they finished second through fourth, respectively. Brad's closing lap attacks paid off with both State Championship Gold and the Series win.
With Nalley Automotive's Tim Barrett upgraded to the 1/2/3 race, the Bicycles Unlimited duo of Brady Rogers and Cleve Blackwell combined to win the last three races, as well as first and second, respectively, in both the State Championships and the Series. Weston Schempy was in the mix all year, and finished Bronze at States and fourth in the Series. Winner of the first four races, Barrett took third for the Series.
Lisa Ropke (Independent Fabrications) won the Women's State Championships and Series, begin the only rider to go undefeated for the season. Masters rider Esther Davis (Outback Bikes) took a break from racing with the men and won Silver. In her only race of the year, Kim Sawyer (Nalley Automotive) took Bronze. With top finishes in every race, Trish Albert (Nalley) was Series runner-up and fourth in States, as Becky Caldwell and Kim Budde (Nalley) placed third and fourth in the Series.
Junior rider Blain Foley (Genesis Scuba) rode to his fifth victory, capturing States Gold for Junior 15-18, and winning the Series. Quint Smith placed fifth to garner second in the Series, and won the biggest trophy of the Series for Best U14 Rider. Georgia riders Christian Fontaine (Bike Town), James Halgat (BCA) and Steve Halgat (BCA) took first through third, respectively, in the U15 State Championships.
In Team Trophy competition, both Genesis Scuba and Nalley Automotive fielded ten riders over the season, with Genesis taking a narrow victory. The trophy is a true work of art crafted and donated by The Bike Shop owner Mike Woityra. In a gesture of true sportsmanship, Nalley was presented a more conventional trophy for second place by the Genesis riders. Bicycles Unlimited and Bicycle Club of Atlanta (BCA) took third and fourth in this competition.
These unofficial awards were also presented:
Best Pit Crew - Kim Budde
Most Improved Rider - Walter Stark
Best New Masters Rider - Tony Scott
Best New U30 Rider - Tim Barrett
Most Bike Changes - John Phillips
Most Family Members in the Series - The Halgat Family
Unbeatable - Lisa Ropke
And the now infamous "State of Georgia Restraining Order" was presented to Masters 40+ rider Scott Ewing by his fellow competitors. This is to "restrain" Scott from returning to Georgia for Masters Cross races in 2003. Good luck to Scott at Nationals!
Georgia Cross Series Facts & Figures
Total number of riders: 125
Total number of teams: 41
Most races won in the series (riders that won more than 50% of their races):
Lisa Ropke: 7 (Womens)
Andy Johnston: 6 (Cat 1/2/3)
Blain Foley: 6 (Junior)
Tony Scott: 5 (Masters 30+)
Tim Barrett: 4 (Cat 4/5)
Riders that won a Series Category without winning any races:
Brad Harper (Masters 40+)
Riders that won a Series Category and won less than 50% of the races:
Brady Rogers: 2 wins (Cat 4/5)
Most Races Ridden (ie, riders competing in more than one category)
Tony Scott: 13 (7 Cat 1/2/3 and 6 Masters 30+)
Highest Total Points Scored by single rider (all categories points combined)
Tony Scott: 406 (Cat 1/2/3 and Masters 30+)
Teams with most riders:
Genesis Scuba: 10
Nalley Automotive:10
Bicycle Club of Atlanta: 5
Results
Men Cat 1/2/3 1 Andy Johnston (BCA-EPX) 2 John Phillips (Jittery Joe's) 3 Tony Scott (Genesis Scuba) Masters 30+ Men 1 Tony Scott (Genesis Scuba) 2 Dominique Desmonts (PeopleSoft) 3 Mike Huckaby (Biycles Unlimited) Masters 40+ Men 1 Brad Harper (The Bike Center) 2 Doug Pomerantz (Genesis Scuba) 3 Lamar Mauney (Genesis Scuba) Men Cat 4/5 1 Brady Rogers (Bicycles Unlimited) 2 Cleve Blackwell (Bicycles Unlimited) 3 Weston Schempy Women 1 Lisa Ropke (Independent Fabrications) 2 Esther Davis (Outback Bikes) 3 Kim Sawyer (Nalley Automotive) Juniors 15-18 1 Blain Foley (Genesis Scuba) Juniors 10-14 1 Christian Fontaine (Biketown) 2 James Halgat (BCA) 3 Steve Halgat (BCA) 4 Quint Smith (Nalley Automotive)
Georgia Cross Series
Men Cat 1/2/3 1 Andy Johnston (BCA-EPX) 2 John Phillips (Jittery Joe's) 3 Jon Livengood (Bike Zoo) 4 James Hyatt (The Bike Shop) 5 Tony Scott (Genesis Scuba) 6 Daryl Sawyer (Nalley Automotive) 7 Tim Barrett (Nalley Automotive) Masters 30+ Men 1 Tony Scott (Genesis Scuba) 2 Dub Smith (Nalley Automotive) 3 Mike Huckaby (Biycles Unlimited) 4 Dominique Desmonts (PeopleSoft) 5 Jack Rich (Bikesenjaba.com) Masters 40+ Men 1 Scott Ewing (ABP Velo) 2 Brad Harper (The Bike Center) 3 Lamar Mauney (Genesis Scuba) 4 Martin Visser (NOC) 5 Walter Stark (BCA) 6 Gerard Remery (Alpharetta Velo) 7 Doug Pomerantz (Genesis Scuba) Men Cat 4/5 1 Brady Rogers (Bicycles Unlimited) 2 Cleve Blackwell (Bicycles Unlimited) 3 Tim Barrett (Nalley Automotive) 4 Weston Schempy 5 Mark Graves (Dish Network) Women 1 Lisa Ropke (Independent Fabrications) 2 Trish Albert (Nalley Automotive) 3 Becky Caldwell 4 Kim Budde (Nalley Automotive) 5 Esther Davis (Outback Bikes) Juniors 1 Blain Foley (Genesis Scuba) 2 Quint Smith (Nalley Automotive)(1st U15) 3 Nathan Flieg (Genesis Scuba) 4 Christian Fontain (Biketown)(2nd U15) 5 Steve Halgat (BCA)(3rd U15) 6 James Halgat (BCA)(4th U15) 7 Evan Halladay (Genesis Scuba) 8 Ryan Walsh (The Bike Shop)
