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Report from the trenchesBy Geoff Proctor One of the very cool aspects about cyclingnews.com is that the site dedicates itself not only to the top dogs, but to all the competitors at a given event. When I contacted Gerard about doing these 1999 U.S. Super Cup Cyclocross stories, I was warmed that he was ambitious about getting "full and complete" results. Obviously, part of this stems from my knowing that I'm never gonna be a headliner. But more aptly, I've always been fascinated by the stories being told in the trenches, by the guys fighting for, say, places 10 through 20. After all, these are the guys who are often the past and the future of any sport, serving as an integral component to the present which lies above them on the leader board. For me, these trenchwork tales are every bit as interesting as the race reports describing "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat" amongst the top 10. And our media's perpetual obsession with winning guarantees that such tales will continue to go untold. Super Cup #3 in Boulder on Sunday was one hot, dry bone crushing battle. The lead story about Marc Gullickson (Boulder Denver Couriers) capturing a much-deserved first Super Cup win over Travis Brown (Trek VW) and Saturn's Bart Bowen is a good one. But I'll leave that to those who had a better view of it. As for the non-story, that would be my race. On maybe the third lap, my untimely puncture on this elevator shaft of a descent and subsequent two-wheel slide over curb onto pavement sealed my fate. With Gulli doing 5:20 laps and my rim rolling raw to the far far away pit, it was game over, pure and simple. But if you scan down the results board and take a look at place number 14, you might be piqued: Vojto Bachleder (Boulder Denver Couriers). Only the most educated cyclocross aficionado would recognize his name, but sure enough, there I was, the night before the race, visiting with him at a friend's house in Boulder. 1992 World Junior Cyclocross silver medalist in Leeds riding for the powerful and then united Czechoslovakian cyclocross squadra. While I didn't recognize him, memories of his team's aura are still with me almost a decade later. Racing the Swiss 'cross circuit that winter, I remember watching with utmost fascination the Czech van at all the races. Sleek eastern euros decked with shiny aluminum Alans talkin' in torqued tongues with TUFO tires tumbling out wagon windows. These guys, in their distinct vertically striped CSSR skinsuits, took their game very seriously. Money was to be made, careers to be launched. It was they who taught me a bit about the sacrifice and professionalism of euro cyclocross. Having had some success on the mountain bike (another medal in the world junior mountain bike champs later that year), Vojto's promising cyclocross career became another non-story with the break up of his country in 1993. While Czech Republic riders enjoyed continued 'cross success (especially Radomir Simunek), their Slovakian counterparts suffered from lack of consistent funding. The end result is that prior to the past month, Vojto hadn't raced cyclocross in almost 4 years. Alas, Sunday's 14th place in the Super Cup is still only part of his weekend story. On Saturday at the Colorado State Cyclocross Championships, he went out and won a warm-up race, then bagged the Open race, beating none other than NORBA national champ Travis Brown in the process. Then it was off to a deep night of dish washing at a local restaurant. 3 races in just over 24 hours in the unseasonal heat of late autumn. When I told him a good week of training for me (with my family and job and all) is about 7 hours, he divulged that the only training he does right now is washing dishes and digging ditches. This dude is very much for real. The photos he carries of him up on the podium next to Roger Hammond at Worlds in Leeds 1992 brought a smile to my face. And an affirming thought. For every race, there's a story. And it isn't always the lead story. I think that's why we keep going back to the trough. Within our stories lies nourishment. By the way, did anyone catch American Tim Johnson's 17th place at Sunday's World Cup in Safenwil? Another story lurks. Results
Elite Men
1 Marc Gullickson (VOO DOO Boulder) 59.56
2 Travis Brown (Trek/VW) 0.35
3 Bart Bowen 1.19
4 Chris Wherey (Saturn) 1.56
5 Damon Kluck (Real Wheel/Voo Doo) 1.57
6 Jeremy Horgan-kobelski (B/D Courier 2.13
7 Ken Helgeson ("US Air Force, IF") 2.19
8 Christian McCarthy (Boulder Denver 2.43
9 Peter Webber (I.F.) 2.49
10 Frank Mapel (Trek/VW/Powerbar) 2.54
11 Alex Candelaro (Boulder/Denver Race 3.04
12 Brandon Dwight (Trek/VW/Powerbar) 3.12
13 Justin Robinson (Vos Dos) 3.13
14 Vojto Bachleda (Boulder Bee) 4.36
15 Thomas Clark (Guerciom) 4.39
16 Brian Hudzinski (CU Cycling) 4.40
17 Richard Feldman (Durance cycleworks 4.44
18 Ross Schnell (Surlet) 5.18
19 DS Davberton (Trek/VW) 5.22
20 David Wyaudt (Palo Alto / Kestuel) 5.24
21 Jed Scheckler (CBC) 5.38
22 Micah Thompson (BRAC/Rocky Mts.) 5.39
23 Adam Watts (RPM Racing) 5.42
24 Zach Shriver (Hassle Free Sports) 6.11
25 Tim Faia (Unattached) 6.27
26 Whit Johnson (Ionic/Nena) 6.46
27 Taylor Carrington (Schwinn/Toyota) Lapped
28 Josh Harron (Boulder Chaos)
29 Jason Pink (Signaz/Schwinn)
30 Glen Light (Red Rocks Velo)
31 Geoff Proctor (Strong Racing-MT Velo)
32 Colby Pearce (Shaklee)
33 Frank Overton (Schwinn/Midwest)
34 Chris Dawes (Wild Oats)
35 Jack Rudzinski (Smorgasbod Cycles)
36 Jeremy Braziel (I.F.)
37 Chuck Coyle (Boulder Chaos)
38 Todd Berger (Pro Peloron)
39 Ian Smith
Elite Women
1 Carmen Richardson (Sobe HeadShok) 44.41
2 Anne Grande (Red Line Racing) 0.36
3 Heather McRoberts (Ritchey) 1.45
4 Ann Trombley (Airborn/Kore Wt. Bros 2.05
5 Gina Hall (Clif Bar) 2.14
6 Jen Dial (Independent Fabrications) 2.48
7 Anne Lannan (Veritas Dean) 3.04
8 Mary McConneloug (Gunnar) 3.13
9 Michele Kean (Tallon Crossers) 3.18
10 Katie Blincoe (Redline) 3.24
11 Emily Thorne (ECVC) 4.07
12 Christina Begy (Independent Fabrica 4.21
13 Shenna Fitzgerald (Kona/ Rocky Mts. 4.32
14 Margell Abel (Veritas) 4.53
15 Erin Light (Red Rocks) 5.00
16 Heather Irmiger (CU) 5.47
17 Christine Vardaros (Aegis/Jamba Jui 7.20
18 Grotchon Kolscing (CU) 8.19
19 Megan M. Harrod (GS-Ignaz) Lapped
20 Andrea Mackie (Colorado Velo)
21 Nancy J. Keyman (Tunn Waterford)
Espoirs
1 Damon Kluck (Real Wheel/Voo Doo) 1.01.53
2 Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder Cou 0.16
3 Ross Schnell (Surlet) 3.21
4 Jed Sheckler (Valley / GT) 3.41
5 Adam Watts (RPMRACING) 3.45
6 Zach Shriver (Hassle Free Sports) 4.14
Master 35+
1 Rob Meighan 53.25
2 Tim Rutledge (Redline) Seattle, WA 0.12
3 Dennis Farrell 0.46
4 Dan Norton (Redline) Redmond, WA 1.49
5 Charlie Hayes 2.01
6 Eric Dunn 2.30
7 Frank Hibbitts (Rainbow Cycles Inc) 2.35
8 Karl Kiester 3.45
9 Jesse Coldsmith 4.00
10 Chris Grealish 5.00
11 Tim Leary 5.01
12 Bret Wade 6.00
13 Rick Davis 6.22
14 Robert Bieterman 6.29
15 Tom Stevens Lapped
16 Brian Cross
17 Brook Watts
18 Chris Carey
19 Jon McClurg
20 Roger Knight
21 Gary Meyer
22 Dennis Collard
23 Jerry Meyers
24 Circ Toepel
25 Roger Bowett
26 Rick Squires
27 Tom Prehn
28 Darrell Bratton
29 David Leedberg
30 Tim Downing
31 Paul Watkins (Pedalers Racing Team) Harrah, OK
32 Tim Davis
33 Jim Martin
34 Gary French
Junior Men
1 Justin Thompson
2 Dameion Donias
3 Craig Lipka
4 Jeremy Powers
5 Dustin Radenacher
6 Akira Wong
7 Sterling Magnell
8 Walker Ferugson
8 Josh Anthony
10 Aaron Memen
10 William Skinner
12 Dan Wolfson
13 Fritz White
13 Cote Oliver Stiler
15 Zak Grabowski
15 Jesse Anthony
15 Matt Hawkins
18 Chris Stoukburger
18 Jason Moore
20 Glen Bierke
20 Ian Stuart
22 Zhenya Matrosov
22 David Werling
24 Ben Seltzer
24 Werling David
26 Andrew Hawkes
26 Terrence Valis
28 Ang Shaldrake
28 Chris Hill
28 Sammy Sarcip
31 John Kahler
32 Josh Gewirtz
32 Jon Kalalev
Collegiates
1 Tyler Savage 41.35
2 Chris Edmunds 0.05
3 Kurt Rees 0.10
4 Ben Turner 0.15
5 Steve Owens 0.18
6 Justin Marchacos 0.20
7 Gavin Seedorf 3.26
8 Neal Henderson 4.23
9 Patrick Sullivan 4.25
10 Ryan Artale 5.15
11 Lacasllado Lapped
12 Steve Luckey
B Men
1 Charlie Evans 43.42
2 Chris Lattimer 0.00
3 Luke Wason 0.18
4 Scott Forrest 0.41
5 Kip Boers 0.47
6 Devon Alveres 0.58
7 Heath Garvey 1.08
8 Austin Walker 1.15
9 Kevin 1.35
10 Blaku Caldwell 1.36
11 James McCalla 1.38
12 Jeff Wardell 1.45
13 Shawn Hadley 1.53
14 Greg Mueller 2.17
15 Jay Thomas 2.19
16 Jason Shelman 2.20
17 David Graf 2.27
18 Ken Dorst 2.28
19 Rob Salcido 2.36
20 Douglas C. Ryder 2.38
21 Steven Elmes 2.59
22 Eric Kuo 3.02
23 Joe Lindsoy 3.06
24 Chris LeGault 3.16
25 Peter Lopez 3.33
26 Matthew Bailey 3.36
27 Jeff Cospolich 3.38
28 Scott N. Valdoz 4.10
29 Corey Dickerson 4.20
30 Tyler Pilger 4.38
31 Chritophor Prics 4.41
32 Scott R. Wares Lapped
33 John Leyboorne
34 Brent Tharp
35 Frank Abate
36 Matthew Glick
37 Michael Donohoe
38 Thoo Procopod
39 Lee Mosor
40 Kevin Knapp
41 Matt Carvalho
42 Jeff Leischner
44 Bryan Jew
45 Charles Brown
46 Brad Buikema
47 Barry Cohrn
48 David Burns
49 Rich Visscher
50 Chris Levins
Beginners
1 Brad Kappius 33.01
2 Carla Wollum 0.48
3 JT Toepel 1.38
4 Peter Hibl 4.28
5 Kayla Martin 7.13
6 David Sobel 8.04
7 Vill-Hine Ramsberger 8.29
8 Darius Wilsey Lapped
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