SuperCup Round #3 - Cat. 3
Chicago, USA, December 9, 2000
1999 Results Past
winners
Johnson, Richardson upend
leaders at Chicago SuperCup
 |
Men's
podium
Photo: © Mark Abramson
Racing on snowy, frigid course, two upstarts delivered strong punches
today to throw the leadership of the 2000 SuperCup Cyclocross Series
into question.
In an exciting women's race, Carmen Richardson (SoBe/Headshok) sprung
away from a crash that claimed overall leader Ann Grande (Kona/Voicestream)
with just over a lap to go. She then dueled with Rachel Lloyd (Sycip)
all the way to the final hurdles, where she cracked open a gap that
carried her to the line with the win.
The men's race proved wildly exciting to the 2,000 spectators that
braved sub- freezing temperatures to watch this hour-long tilt in Washington
Park. National Under-23 Champion Tim Johnson (Saturn) bravely skated
about on the icy course to open up a lead on the star-studded field.
Overall series leader and National Men's Champion Marc Gullickson (Mongoose)
fought through early race traffic. After breaking free to pursue Johnson,
Gullickson struggled on the technical course that seemed to change from
mud to ice and back to mud with every lap. After 33-minutes of racing,
however, he finally closed the gap on Johnson. "I don't know if Tim
slowed down or what, I didn't think I did all that much," said Gullickson.
"He was really getting time on me on all the hurdles. He's probably
the best guy right now on that."
Gullickson versus Johnson, power versus prowess, has been the story
line of this season's SuperCup series. But as the laps wound down, Gullickson
had to consider an additional threat. Bart Bowen, Johnson's Saturn teammate
and the 1999 SuperCup Champion, roared into contention with the leaders,
boiling down his deficit to Gullickson from more than a minute to just
10 seconds. As a result of this threat from behind, Gullickson had to
burn fuel to keep him, and the soft-pedaling Johnson, away.
All of this led to the final run through the Red Bull hurdles. With
a flat course, promoters brought in a truckload of spongy mulch, over
which they laid five hurdles in a 40-yard stretch. This energy-sucking
patch had reaped a grim harvest of riders in each of the earlier races.
One junior racer, Aaron Mennenberg of Seattle, vying for a podium spot,
crashed heavily on the boards and broke a number of bones.
 |
Richardson
leads
Photo: © Mark Abramson
In the women's race, Grande fell prey to the hurdles, falling hard
once, getting up and stumbling again. She then picked up a mangled bicycle.
Despite an immediate replacement bike from a mechanic, Grande could
not catch Richardson, Lloyd or even Emily Thorne (Independent Fabrication),
who all hit the thrusters when they saw the leader's jersey go down
in a plume of dust. Grande finished fourth, her lowest result ever in
a SuperCup.
"I felt bad for Anne," said Richardson. "The same thing happened to
me last year in the exact same place on the exact same lap. That's what
bike racing is all about."
Entering that dangerous zone with just a few hundred meters left in
the men's race, Johnson accelerated to a terrifying pace. "He was better
than anybody else in there," said Gullickson. Like a gazelle on a nature
show, Johnson danced through the hurdles with stunning precision, remounted
the machine, and cracked open a gap that Gullickson could not close.
"When I looked back and I saw I had 50 meters on Gully, that's something
I'll never forget," said Johnson. "I'll have sweet dreams all week about
that."
For Johnson, he'll barely have a week. Next weekend brings the same
cast of characters to Kansas City for the national championships and
the SuperCup finals. Johnson trails Gullickson by just eight points
in the overall series tally. In short, Gullickson finds himself in the
exact same position as last year: wearing the leaders jersey going into
the finals, but under extreme pressure from a Saturn rider. In short,
between Gullickson and Johnson, whoever places higher in Kansas City
will win the SuperCup series.
The results in Chicago also gave Richardson the women's leaders jersey,
followed by Lloyd and Grande, all within a few points of each other.
Suddenly, Kansas City's suburb of Overland Park finds itself in the
crosshairs of American bike fans. It may not be Gore and Bush, but it's
close. Hopefully, the town and the Union will survive.
Results
Elite Men
1 Tim Johnson (Saturn) 58.25
2 Marc Gullickson (Mongoose) 0.06
3 Bart Bowen (Saturn) 0.22
4 Justin Robinson (Bullion Stil/Specialized) 1.51
5 Brandon Dwight (Trek/Volkswagon) 1.56
6 Johannes Huseby (Independent Fabrication) 1.59
7 Dale Knapp (Kona/Voicestream) 2.01
8 Adam Myerson (Breakaway) 2.21
9 Ben Jacques-Maynes (The Spokesman) 2.33
10 Jonathan Sundt (Redline) 2.42
Elite Women
1 Carmen Richardson (Sobe/Headshock) 41.50
2 Rachel Loyd (Sycip/Novo) 0.02
3 Emily Thorne (Independent Fabricaton's) 0.29
4 Ann Grande (Kona/Voicestream) 0.30
5 Gina Hall (Real Whek/ Voodoo) 0.58
6 Jen Dial (Independent Fabrication) 1.30
7 Christine Vardaros (Body Glider) 1.46
8 Jody Koch (Ameritech) 1.55
9 Heather Mcroberts (Ritchy) 1.57
10 Ingrid Spies (Recycled Cycling) 1.59
Results & report courtesy of Kiron Group/race organisers
Past
Winners
Men
1999 Stephen Larsen (LL Bean/Mongoose)
Women
1999 Anne Grande (Red Line Racing)
|