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By E. Andra Whitworth
Duathlete John Phillips, 24, of Athens, Georgia, has swept the Georgia Cross championship with his second consecutive title win during the second year of the series.
On Sunday, December 9, Phillips attacked competitor and pro mountain bike racer Andy Johnston at the top of a steep run-up to win the championship race by a 29-second lead.
"Twice is nice," said Phillips, who entered the state series as defending champion, only to teeter between first and second place throughout the six-race series due to mechanical failures.
The Elite men's race was dominated by four riders including Phillips and Johnston, as well as James Hyatt and Frank Mathews. Phillips attacked on a road section to join Johnston at the front and leaving Hyatt and Matthews behind.
With 6 laps to go, the race was man-on-man between Phillips and Johnston, with Johnston moving ahead when Phillips had to swap bikes due to a mechanical. Johnston maintained the lead with 3 laps to go. At 1.5 laps remaining, Phillips pulled ahead to definitively beat Johnston by half a minute and claim the state title.
Phillips competed in the Georgia Cross Series wearing the Zaxby's cycling jersey. Phillips was the multi-sport athlete for the Zaxby's cycling team during the 2001 season.
In September of this year, Phillips finished 17th overall and first in his age group at the Powerman Zofingen Duathlon in Zofingen, Switzerland. He will turn professional in January, when the new duathlon licenses are issued.
Cyclocross is a fledgling sport in Georgia and the American South. The Georgia Cross Series was begun in 2000 by James Tomko, and receives primary sponsorship from Subaru and Verge Sports.
"I wanted to race 'cross, and there were only a few races," said Tomko. "So I worked with different teams and groups to get five races together last year. This year we had six, and next year we're shooting for eight."
Phillips confirmed that cyclocross is taking off in the South, and said the caliber of racers is getting better even though the athlete pool is still relatively small.
"Cyclocross is a growing sport in the South. There are more and more people finding it and discovering that it's fun. Some of those people are pretty talented and make the field tougher, which is good," he said. Phillips will represent Georgia as the state champion in the 2001 Cyclocross National Championship to be held December 14 through 16 in Baltimore, Maryland.
"I didn't do the national championships last year, so this will be my first year to race with the super big dogs," said Phillips. "I don't really know what to expect. I think if I have a perfect race, I can maybe get in the top 15, but I really don't know."
Tina Cyr kindly supplied these pictures from Athens.
Category A (Elite Men) John Phillips 267 pts James Hyatt 232 Frank Mathews 172 Andy Johnston 144.5 Robert Giannini 128.5 Category B (Master's Men) Daryll McKenzie 329.5 pts Lamar Mauney 233.5 Brad Harper 195 Mike Huckaby 134 Dub Smith 97.5 Category C (Category 4 & 5 Men) Jody McDanal 219 pts Jerrod Dorminey 189.5 Andrew Guthrie 177.5 Brad Rogers 125 John Cheaves 107.5 Women Lisa Ropke 290 pts Kim Budde 188 Nicole Messenger 142 Trish Albert 106 Jan Andrews 101.8