Supercup Cyclocross series #1 - Cat. 3Colorado, USA, November 4, 20001999 Results Results Past Winners
Gullickson takes series openerUnder sunny skies in Boulder, CO, hometown favorite and defending cyclo-cross national champion Marc Gullickson (Mongoose) came away with a convincing win in the opening round of the US Cyclo-Cross Super Cup. Gullickson took the lead early on and quickly opened up a 15 second gap on the hard packed course over the chasing duo of Tim Johnson (Saturn) and perennial crowd favorite Dale Knapp (Kona/Voicestream) who had 8 seconds over the main chase group. Johnson was able to leave Knapp behind on the 3rd lap but could not gain any ground on a charging Gullickson who led to the finish to take the win by 33 seconds. The race for 3rd heated up as Knapp was eventually reeled in by a pack including defending Super cup champ Bart Bowen (Saturn), up and comer Brandon Dwight (Trek/Volkswagon), Espoir winner Ben Jacques-Maynes (The Spokesman) and local mountainbike pro Whit Johnson (Dean) who seemed to have no problems with mounting and dismounting his bike despite his baggy shorts. Whit Johnson led the chase with Dwight, Jacques-Maynes, and Knapp following. Meanwhile Bowen struggled with his handling skills, making contact with the ground 3 times. On the last lap Bowen put the power on to take the podium spot a mere 4 seconds ahead of a two-up sprint between locals Brandon Dwight and Whit Johnson. Gullickson now holds the lead in the 4 race series which continues in Boston on November 18 and stops in Chicago on December 9. The Super Cup finals will be held on December 17 in conjunction with the National Championships on December 15-16 in Overland Park, Kansas. Report by Rob Karman Lloyd scores an upsetRachel Lloyd (Sycip) came to the event looking to score a podium spot. Her SuperCup experiences have ranged from exciting to exasperating, but never has she won an event this prestigious. Nor did she expect to win what many called one of the best women's SuperCups ever. As expected, two-time SuperCup Champion Ann Grande pressed to the front of the first lap. Unexpected, however, were the responses of Gina Hall (VooDoo/RealWheel) and Heather McRoberts (Boulder-Denver Courier). McRoberts would fade, but Hall stuck to the wheel of Grande. Lloyd fought her way up to form a lead trio; they were chased by another trio that included McRoberts, Jen Dial (Independent Fabrication), and Melissa Thomas, a track racer making a SuperCup debut. Missing from the front was Carmen Richardson (Sobe/Headshok), the 1999 Boulder SuperCup winner. She struggled to breathe for two reasons: the altitude and some broken ribs from a crash two weeks earlier. True to form, Grande pressed the attack and went clear of Lloyd and Hall. Typically that would prove the end of the story. But Grande dropped her chain twice in one lap and Lloyd pounced on the opportunity. Hall passed the stalled Grande too, but could not fend off her charge to catch Lloyd. Grande then took aim at Lloyd's lead with two laps to go. She steadily reeled her in but could not cinch the deal. Meanwhile Hall hovered in a painful third spot only to learn that with two laps to go, Richardson had launched a campaign to reach the podium. Richardson went right through McRoberts' group and then pushed up close to Hall with the bell lap. While Lloyd fought to stave off Grande, Hall rode likewise to stave off Richardson. All four were within 30 seconds of the lead. Lloyd fought to the line to score her first SuperCup win; Hall fought to score her first SuperCup medal. The SuperCup Cyclocross Series will next go to Gloucester, Mass., on Nov. 18. That will be followed by Chicago on Dec. 9 and the finals in Kansas City on Dec. 17, held in tandem with the national cyclocross championships Dec. 15 & 16. Founded in 1996, the SuperCup Cyclocross Series has been promoted by the Kiron Group since 1998. The series has been credited with promoting huge growth - both in quality and quantity of riders - in cyclocross. In 44 years of world championships, Americans had never won a medal. Since the professional promoting of the SuperCup series, Americans have won three medals and one world title. Cyclocross is deemed the steeplechase of cycling. Held on tightly woven courses that include pavement, turf and dirt surfaces, cyclocross forces riders to dismount and remount the bike repeatedly to scale hurdles and carry their bikes.
ResultsElite Men 1 Marc Gullickson (USA) Mongoose 1.03.46 2 Tim Johnson (USA) Saturn 0.33 3 Bart Bowen (USA) Saturn 1.10 4 Brandon Dwight (USA) Trek/Volkswagon 1.14 5 Whit Johnson (USA) Dean 1.15 6 Dale Knapp (USA) Kona/Voicestream 1.25 7 Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) The Spokesman 1.29 8 Justin Robinson (USA) Bullion Stil/Specialized 2.00 9 Jeremy Horgarr-Kobelski (USA) RLX Polo Sport 2.07 10 Frank Mapel (USA) Trek 2.13 Elite Women 1 Rachel Loyd (USA) Sycip/NOVO San Anselmo 43.23 2 Ann Grande (USA) KONA/Voicestream Seattle 0.14 3 Gina Hall (USA) Real Whek/ Voodoo Richmond 0.28 4 Carmen Richardson (USA) Sobe/Headshock Bethel 0.31 5 Melissa Themas (USA) Red Hook Lakewood 1.57 6 Heather Szabo (USA) Boulder-Denver Couriers Lafayette 1.59 7 Emily Thorne (USA) Independent Fabricaton's So Hamilton 2.03 8 Jen Dial (USA) Independent Fabrication Lakewood 2.11 9 Anne Lannnan (USA) BWCT/Veitas Boulder 2.27 10 Trish McCarthy (USA) Boulder 2.44 Results and report courtesy of Mark Abrahamson Past winnersMen 1999 Marc Gullickson (USA) Women 1999 Carmen Richardson (USA) |