Results and Reports for March 6

Sequoia classic, stage 2

Visalia, California, March 5, 2000

By John Alsedek, cyclingnews.com correspondent

Since its inception in 1987, the Sequoia Cycling Classic in Visalia, California, has become one of America's best weekends of racing, with a star-studded list of former winners that includes Marianne Berglund, Bobby Julich, and Davis Phinney. This year, the combination of almost $25,000 in prizes and valuable National Racing Calendar points helped draw top-notch fields in both the men's and womens event's, with only the Timex squad not represented among the domestic pro teams.

Mercury's Chris Horner won the first stage, while Saturn's Nicole Reinhart won the women's event, and it was all set for a showdown on the second day criterium.

Men

At Sunday's Visalia Criterium, the cold and wet conditions that had prevailed the previous day continued, with temperatures barely breaking 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Nevertheless, the wide flat turns on the six-cornered, 0.7 mile circuit were well-suited to high-speed racing, and both the mens and womens events were hotly contested.

With just 10 laps completed, the most significant move of the day was to take place. A group of 3 riders got a small gap and were joined by 7 other riders. The group included Mercury's Gord Fraser, Chris Horner (yesterday's road race winner), Mike Sayers, and John Wordin. Saturn riders, Trent Klasna, Mark McCormack, and Tony Cruz, and solo riders Roberto Gaggioli, Anton Villatoro, and Shaklee's Colby Pierce.

The 10 riders held a maximum gap of 32 seconds before the peloton could organize a chase. The Shaklee team put their entire squad on the front in an attempt to bring back the group, which was ultimately successfull. Caught with just a handful of laps to go, the Mercury team immediately began preparing to lead out designated sprinter Gord Fraser; their plan worked to near-perfection, as Fraser took the win over Saturn's Antonio Cruz and Mark McCormack.

The one flaw in the Mercury plan was the disqualification of Pole Jan Bratkowski; he actually finished second to teammate Fraser, but was DQ'ed for having pushed another rider with two laps to go.

Results

1. Gord Fraser (USA) Mercury
2. Antonio Cruz (USA) Saturn
3. Mark McCormack (USA) Saturn
4. Chris Horner (USA) Mercury

Pam Schuster reports that the women's event started a little differently, as Ralph Elliot (famous women's race announcer) announced his proposal to his future spouse. He said that even though loved us all he wanted to ask only one woman to marry him. She accepted, they kissed and the gun went off.

The pace still remained high, the race was slowed at spots due to a series of crashes. After having won the previous day, Saturn sprinter Nicole Reinhart was looking to make it two in a row; however, Elita's Karen Dunne would have something to say about that. After having skipped the previous day's Rocky Hill Road Race because she was suffering from an intestinal virus, Dunne- the 1999 Pan American road champion- made up for lost time by knocking Reinhart down one step on the podium. The National Racing Calendar series continues on Tuesday, March 7th, with the six-day Redlands Classic.

Results

1. Karen Dunne (USA) Elita
2. Nicole Reinhart (USA) Saturn
3. Jenny Eyerman (USA) Jane Cosmetics

4. Tina Mayola (USA) AutoTrader.com
5.
6.
7.
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9. Andrea Ratcovich (USA) AutoTrader.com

US MTB Qualifying event

Arizona, USA, March 5, 2000

Veteran mountain biker, Tinker Juarez (Volvo Cannondale) came closer to qualifying in his second successive Olympic games by finishing second in the official qualifying event at Goodyear, Arizona today. He now will automatically be named as part of the US Olympic long team, which consists of athletes who are eligible to earn a spot on the team.

The event was won by Canadian Roland Green (Team GT), with 1999 National Cross-Country champion Travis Brown (Trek-Volkswagen) finishing third.

The front of the field experienced several lead changes throughout the five-lap race. Canadian Andreas Hestler, Greg Randolph (Team GT) and Steve Larsen (L.L. Bean/Mongoose) led the first two laps, with Juarez and Brown in behind some 20 seconds. By the end of the third lap the lead had changed with Green, Juarez and Canadian Chris Sheppard ahead of the field by 30 seconds.

"It was a really hard race, and I just didn't know what was going to happen. There was no room for mistakes, so I think I rode pretty well. A couple of breaks came my way because some of the other riders had some problems out there," said Juarez, who rode in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. "I didn't know how fast Roland was going to go, so I was trying to keep an eye on him."

Green never faltered at the front, but Brown began gaining ground. Brown, who narrowly missed his chance for the '96 Olympic Team after an injury sidelined him, passed Sheppard, but in the end, Juarez couldn't be caught.

"I didn't feel like I had the edge to chase, but it still felt good. I may have not had the fight, but I still think this is probably the best I've ever ridden this early in the season," said Brown, who added he was happy with the addition of Juarez to the team. "We have a solid group of riders and we'll be able to encourage and support each other throughout the season."

Because of his Canadian citizenship, Green was ineligible for the U.S. Olympic Long Team. Still, the Canadian national team member said the race provided a solid pre-season warm up.

"It was a fun and technical course. This race was really just an extension of my training. I wanted find out how hard I could push myself, and after today, I think I should have good form for the World Cups," Green said.

By virtue of his win, Juarez was the only rider to automatically make it to the Olympic long team, and he joins Brown, Steve Larsen, Alison Dunlap, Shari Kain, and Ruthie Matthes. Ann Trombley qualified for the long team on Saturday March 4, at the women's long team qualifying race.

Results

Pro Men, 5 laps, 40 miles

1. Roland Green (Can) Team GT			2.20.13
2. Tinker Juarez (USA) Volvo-Cannondale 	   0.18
3. Travis Brown, (USA) Trek-Volkswagen		   0.53
4. Chris Sheppard (Can) Haro Bicycles 		   1.15
5. Jimi Killen (USA) Schwinn Toyota RAV4 	   2.51
6. Mathieu Toulouse (Can)		 	   2.59
7. Seamus MacGrath (Can) Haro Bicycles 	 	   3.36
8. Matthew Decore (USA) 			   4.51
9. Pete Swenson (USA) SoBe/HeadShok 		   5.06
10. Steve Larsen (USA) L.L. Bean/Mongoose 	   5.25

Women, 3 laps, 24 miles

1. Ann Trombley	(USA)				1.43.25
2. Shari Kain (USA)	 			   0.27
3. Lanie Mason (USA)	 			   0.38
4. Michele Keane (USA)				   1.22
5. Rhonda Quick	(USA) 				   2.09
6. Audrey Augustin (USA)	 		   2.37
7. Shonny Vanlandingham	(USA) 			   5.26
8. Lorien Anderson (USA)	 		   7.02
9. Amber Neben (USA)				  10.00
10. Katherine Zambana (USA) 			  12.59 

Melbourne Madison (Australian championships)

Melbourne, Australia, March 4, 2000

Courtesy of Adam Murchie

With the track season coming to a close in Victoria, it is time for the major Madisons to take centre stage. Saturday night saw the staging of the Buffalo Sports Australian Madison Title at the Northcote Velodrome, in conjunction with the Forges Stores Wheelrace. The weather was fine for a change, with no threat of the rain that has hung over previous events.

The Forges Stores Wheelrace was the first major event of the night. The crowd thought that with 6 Scratch riders in the event, it was surely going to be won by one of these riders. This was not to be, as it appeared that the back markers were conserving precious energy for the Madison later in the evening.

As a result, the Forges final was a primarily front to middle markers affair, with a few back markers for good measure. Suprisingly, the few backmarkers were able to get onto the main group after a strong turn from Mark Roach. With Harding and Marvulli on his wheel getting an easy ride, Marvulli seemed to be the man to beat. On the bell lap, Roach lead out with half a lap to go, and showed magnificent pursuiter's strength to hold off Marvulli and Harding for the win. This excitement was to be short lived though due to a crash in the Madison, which saw Roach have to withdraw from the event.

As the evening progressed, the wind died and the stage was set for a thrilling Buffalo Sports Australian Madison Championship. With 16 teams in attendance and the presence of Alex Fulcher, a National Selector, racing was sure to be fast. The teams of Aitken/Bates and Pate/Cooke were the hot favorites, and both teams had something to prove. Marvulli/Sheard tried hard to get a lap early on, but the effort seemed to drain the team, with them eventually losing three laps. Pate and Cooke were dominant from the start, with Bates/Aitken on their heels.

Disaster then struck for the Bates/Aitken team. Bates was given a solid bump and lost balance, falling heavily. In the process, he severed an artery in his hand which saw him taken to hospital for treatment. Aitken continued a little whelk longer, but then withdrew. Not long after, Mark Roach hit a rider after a hand sling and slid down the banking. The lacerations and bruising saw his team retire from the event.

From here on in, the racing was intense. The UK and NZ teams were very aggressive, and along with Pate and Cooke managed to take a lap on the field. From this point on, these three teams marked each other and hotly contested every sprint. Pate and Cooke were just too good through, and had a convincing win to become the 2000 Buffalo Sports Australian Madison Champions.

Results

1 Stephen Pate (Vic)/Baden Cooke (Vic)			95 pts
2 Bradley Wiggins (UK)/Bryan Steele (UK)		42
3 Tim Carswell (NZ)/Glen Thompson (NZ)			27

1 lap behind:

4 Matt Allan (Vic)/Brent McCaig (Vic)			32
5 David Maltby (Vic)/Ashley Harding (Vic)		28
6 Troy Clarke (Vic)/Hilton Clarke Jnr (Vic)		26
7 Darren Young (Vic)/Scott Suckling (WA)		23
8 Matt Rice (Tas)/Caleb Manion (Tas)			21
9 Luc Gilmore (Tas)/Nathan Clarke (Tas)			17
10 Gareth Atkins (Tas)/Chris White (NSW)		4
11 Christian Rivette (Vic)/Roberto Salvadeo (Vic)	1

2 laps behind:

12 Russell Van Hout (SA)/Ben Lindsay (SA)		6

3 laps behind:

13 Ashley Sheard (Vic)/Franco Marvulli (Swit)		13

Did not finish:

14 Brett Aitken (SA)/Gene Bates (SA) 
15 Mark Roach (Vic)/Cameron McCormack (Tas)
16 Joel Leonard (Vic)/Jeremy Maartens (RSA)

Forges Wheelrace:

1 Mark Roach (50m) 
2 Franco Marvulli (40m)	
3 Ashley Harding (70m)	

Trek Kaprioti Classic

Upper Hutt, New Zealand, March 4-5, 2000

Courtesy of Jeff Lyall

One of the oceanic region's largest mountain bike races, the Trek Kaprioti Classic in New Zealand was won yesterday by Christchurch rider, Julian Mitchell. In second place was James Dic of the United Kingdom, followed by Steve Bale in third.

The women's race was won by Sadie Parker (Aukland), from Brenda Clapp and Lisa Savage.

The 50 km course is quite challenging, and is just one lap - out of the ordinary for mountain bike races. On the previous day, James Dic managed to win the Gary Fisher "Perverse Race" race over the same 50 km circuit, but in the reverse direction, while Susie Wood from Maungaraki was the fastest woman.

Results

Gary Fisher Perverse Reverse

Men

1. James Dic 			2.34.16
2. Trevor Woodward 		   0.28
3. Chris Burr 			   5.07

Women
1. Susie Wood 			3.10.08
2. Sharon Harris 		  10.31
3. Jo Forbes 			  20.13

Trek Karapoti Classic

Men

1 Julian Mitchell 		2.28.48
2 James Dic 			   1.11
3 Steve Bale 			   1.37

Women

1. Sadie Parker			2.59.12
2. Brenda Clapp			   5.46
3. Lisa Savage			   8.26