Mother Nature Decided to Make Spooky Cross Extra Spooky © Corey J Keizer
Irvine, CA – The long week of rains gave Southern California a dose of real ’cross racing this week for the Third Annual Spooky Cross, Round 5 of the SoCalCross Prestige Series presented by H2O Overdrive. There was something for everyone during this night of festivities. With 500 participants from children, to dogs, to top European professional road racers, this year’s Spooky Cross set a new record. Pro Tour racer Chris Horner tested his road fitness against MTB Olympian Sid Taberlay and multi-time 4-cross MTB world champion Brian Lopes.
The event started with the first ever Kids & Canines Costume Race. The canines joined in to make the circus complete. From there the kids headed off to carve pumpkins and the top three were chosen to sit on the Spooky Cross podium blocks! But, as the skies darkened and the moisture filled the air, the Spooky Cross course went from a sticky course of long straights and few technical sections, to a slick mess that challenged racers through the night. As the moon came out, so did the freaks of the costume race, smoke machines and hard-hitting action of the Elite racers as they slid around the greasy course.
Elite Women:
The women saw the return of Coryn Rivera (Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty12) to the local seen this week as she has taken a little break from the bike after a long road season to recharge her batteries for ’cross. And it showed once the gun fired. From the first turn it was the youngest in the Elite field, Alexis Ryan (Team SoCalCross), who took the holeshot and cranked out the lead pace. Rivera stayed patient in second with Alexis leading the way. There was a strong group of six women together. Through the first barrier there was some commotion and the SDG Factory rider Amanda Schaper dropped her chain after being tangled by riders through the hurdles. Alexis held the lead and the group was down to five while Schaper worked hard to get back on.
Rivera said, “After the first lap, I had an instinct to take the front, so I attacked and weaved my way around the course.” After a while she finally looked back to see it was just Megan Elliot (Black MTN Cycles) behind her with Kendall Ryan (Team SoCalCross) not too far back. Rivera held her pace and was focused, sprinting out of every corner and carrying her speed through each lap. With three laps to go, Elliot took the lead until they passed through the start/finish, and Rivera made her move on the road to take the lead again. She was putting the pressure on and all she had to do at this point was make the fewest mistakes and continue to flow around the course. One to go, Rivera was still on the front and held it for her first win of the season. Elliot took a comfortable second, with Kendall Ryan third, Alexis Ryan fourth, and Allison Mann (Rock N’ Road) rolling in to round out the top five.
Elite Men:
From the start it was the two most talented bike handlers in the field, Sid Taberlay (Sho-Air) and Brian Lopes (Ibis/Oakley), railing their way through the first corner with a large group of hungry riders chasing through the slop. Gary Douville (Platinum) took the lead on the first lap and set the pace for the first two. The crowd was looking for Chris Horner (RadioShack), but the messy conditions left him tangling with riders as he worked his way toward the front. Douville continued his charge leading a group of 10 off the front, and people were going nuts for junior Morgan Ryan (Team SoCalCross) as he was comfortably riding in the lead group.
Taberlay and Lopes passed through the third lap with Brent Prenzlow (Celo Pacific-B&L) in third as Douville dropped back from the huge effort. On lap four, Horner was riding to the front group and he passed Taberley and Lopes for the lead. The effort was impressive, and he did not stop. Horner was continuing to smash the pedals, opening a huge gap that stuck to the finish. Taberlay tried to close the gap leading the chase with Lopes in tow. But, Lopes would not leave his wheel as he was holding on for the solid finish. The two rode in for second and third. In the last two laps Brandon Gritters (Rock N’ Road) came off the back of Prenzlow as he attacked on a muddy run-up and was able to hold off Gritters for the remainder of the race, giving Prenzlow fourth with Gritters rounding out the top five.
Gallery:
Full Results:
| Men 1/2/3 | |||||||
| Pos | No. | Name | Club/Team | Class | Laps | Total Tm | Diff |
| 1 | 15 | Christopher HORNER | Team RadioShack | Men Cat 1/2 | 9 | 56:41.6 | |
| 2 | 29 | Sid TABERLAY | Sho-Air/Specialized | Men Cat 1/2 | 9 | 56:55.0 | 13.386 |
| 3 | 69 | Brian Lopes | Men Cat 1/2 | 9 | 56:56.7 | 15.069 | |
| 4 | 21 | Brent PRENZLOW | CELO PACIFIC / B&L | Men Cat 1/2 | 9 | 57:19.2 | 37.566 |
| 5 | 43 | Brandon Gritters | Rock N Road | Men Cat 1/2 | 9 | 57:31.0 | 49.366 |
| 6 | 25 | Morgan RYAN | Men Cat 1/2 | 9 | 57:47.3 | 01:05.7 | |
| 7 | 1 | John BAILEY | Bailey Bikes | Men Cat 1/2 | 9 | 58:10.9 | 01:29.4 |
| 8 | 3 | John BEHRENS | Bailey Bikes | Men Cat 1/2 | 9 | 58:15.0 | 01:33.4 |
| 9 | 47 | Anton Petrov | SDG Factory | Men Cat 1/2 | 9 | 59:01.9 | 02:20.3 |
| 10 | 49 | Kyle Gritters | Rock N Road | Men Cat 1/2 | 9 | 59:18.2 | 02:36.6 |
| 11 | 7 | Eric COLTON | The TEAM | Men Cat 1/2 | 9 | 59:31.1 | 02:49.5 |
| 12 | 9 | Gary DOUVILLE | Men Cat 1/2 | 9 | 59:39.9 | 02:58.3 | |
| 13 | 62 | Mark Noble | Franco | Men Cat 1/2 | 9 | 00:06.2 | 03:24.6 |
| 14 | 40 | James Walsh | B&L Bikes/Celo Pacific | Men Cat 1/2 | 9 | 00:33.2 | 03:51.6 |
| 15 | 5 | Frederick BOTTGER | SDG Factory Team | Men Cat 1/2 | 9 | 00:38.3 | 03:56.7 |
| 16 | 39 | Oliver Hutchinson | Helens | Men Cat 3 | 9 | 01:24.1 | 04:42.5 |
| 17 | 54 | Cody Phillips | ShoAir | Men Cat 3 | 9 | 01:30.1 | 04:48.5 |
| 18 | 27 | Jason SIEGLE | Bike Religion | Men Cat 1/2 | 9 | 02:06.1 | 05:24.5 |
| 19 | 42 | Doug Barnett | Camarillo Bike Co. | Men Cat 1/2 | 9 | 02:07.3 | 05:25.7 |
| 20 | 65 | Lance Voyles | Giant | Men Cat 3 | 9 | 02:28.2 | 05:46.7 |
| 21 | 4 | Ben BERTIGER | Men Cat 3 | 9 | 02:29.5 | 05:48.0 | |
| 22 | 35 | Alex Darville | Echelon Santa Barbara | Men Cat 3 | 9 | 02:36.9 | 05:55.3 |
| 23 | 61 | Chance Noble | Ca Giant Specialized | Men Cat 1/2 | 9 | 02:42.9 | 06:01.3 |
| 24 | 63 | Eric Christenson | SDG Factory Team | Men Cat 1/2 | 9 | 02:43.7 | 06:02.1 |
| 25 | 44 | Ryan Weeger | Celo Pacific | Men Cat 3 | 9 | 03:01.9 | 06:20.3 |
| 26 | 31 | Ted WILLARD | Men Cat 1/2 | ||||
| 27 | 26 | David SHEEK | SDG Factory | Men Cat 1/2 | 9 | 03:31.4 | 06:49.8 |
| 28 | 80 | Men Cat 3 | 9 | 03:31.7 | 06:50.1 | ||
| 29 | 55 | Vu Le | Men Cat 3 | ||||
| 30 | 41 | Colby Weber | Metal Mtn | Men Cat 1/2 | 8 | 57:00.6 | 1 Lap |
| 31 | 36 | Timothy SPARKS | METAL MTN | Men Cat 1/2 | 8 | 57:00.9 | 1 Lap |
| 32 | 67 | Men Cat 3 | 8 | 57:07.4 | 1 Lap | ||
| 33 | 30 | Griffith VERTICAN | Bear Valley Bikes | Men Cat 3 | 8 | 57:09.0 | 1 Lap |
| 34 | 50 | Alex Boone | Pablove | Men Cat 1/2 | 8 | 57:13.3 | 1 Lap |
| 35 | 81 | Garnet Vertican | Men Cat 1/2 | 8 | 57:30.1 | 1 Lap | |
| 36 | 70 | John VanDyke | Men Cat 3 | ||||
| 37 | 64 | Dean Lihou | Mudfoot | Men Cat 3 | DNF | ||
| 38 | 20 | Jett PINK | Men Cat 1/2 | ||||
| 39 | 46 | Matt Snow | Surf City Cyclery | Men Cat 3 | 8 | 58:42.7 | 1 Lap |
| 40 | 18 | Bryan KWAN | Men Cat 3 | 8 | 59:05.4 | 1 Lap | |
| 41 | 34 | Andrew Dickinson | Celo Pacific | Men Cat 1/2 | 8 | 59:05.7 | 1 Lap |
| 42 | 51 | Philip Monell | Trek | Men Cat 3 | 8 | 59:16.4 | 1 Lap |
| 43 | 48 | Jay Ku | The TEAM | Men Cat 3 | 8 | 59:51.8 | 1 Lap |
| 44 | 2 | Christopher BASSETT | Mafia Racing | Men Cat 3 | 8 | 59:55.6 | 1 Lap |
| 45 | 13 | Jason HARDY | I Beer LA | Men Cat 3 | 8 | 00:06.6 | 1 Lap |
| 46 | 59 | Roger Rilling | Stoller | Men Cat 1/2 | 8 | 00:13.2 | 1 Lap |
| 47 | 19 | Ryan MERLIN | Men Cat 3 | 8 | 00:14.1 | 1 Lap | |
| 48 | 37 | Dan Breyer | Celo Pacific / Focus Bikes | Men Cat 3 | 8 | 00:43.4 | 1 Lap |
| 49 | 60 | TJ Ferrara | Above Category | Men Cat 3 | 8 | 00:52.4 | 1 Lap |
| 50 | 52 | Nick Ducharme | Mafia Racing | Men Cat 3 | 8 | 00:55.4 | 1 Lap |
| 51 | 56 | Jeffrey Do | Jenson USA | Men Cat 3 | 8 | 01:19.9 | 1 Lap |
| 52 | 32 | Christopher WOODRUFF | CICLE | Men Cat 3 | 8 | 01:59.8 | 1 Lap |
| 53 | 45 | Andrew Juskeits | Giant Bicycle | Men Cat 3 | 8 | 02:06.3 | 1 Lap |
| 54 | 53 | Justin Anderson | 1 Beer L | Men Cat 3 | 8 | 02:19.8 | 1 Lap |
| 55 | 6 | Mark COLTON | Team C.I.C.L.E | Men Cat 3 | 8 | 02:33.1 | 1 Lap |
| 56 | 28 | Matt SMITH | San Diego State University | Men Cat 3 | 8 | 02:42.6 | 1 Lap |
| 57 | 33 | Eric Bierman | Men Cat 1/2 | 8 | 02:45.5 | 1 Lap | |
| 58 | 22 | Christopher QUIGLEY | Ritte Van Vlaanderen | Men Cat 3 | |||
| 59 | 58 | Fritz White | Two Wheels One Planet | Men Cat 3 | 7 | 56:46.9 | 2 Laps |
| 60 | 38 | Doug Hall | The TEAM – SoCalCross | Men Cat 3 | 7 | 56:57.4 | 2 Laps |
| 61 | 12 | Radford HALLMAN | USC Triathlon | Men Cat 3 | 7 | 57:36.5 | 2 Laps |
| 62 | 14 | Kenneth HILL | TEam SC Velo | Men Cat 3 | 7 | 57:51.0 | 2 Laps |
| 63 | 23 | Adam RAKUNAS | TTS Racing | Men Cat 3 | 6 | 59:35.5 | 3 Laps |
| 64 | 17 | Sean KNEALE | Men Cat 3 | 7 | 04:55.0 | 2 Laps | |
| Women 1/2/3 | |||||||
| Pos | No. | Name | Club/Team | Class | Laps | Total Tm | Diff |
| 1 | 127 | Coryn RIVERA | Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12 | Women Cat 1/2 | 5 | 35:17.9 | |
| 2 | 124 | Megan ELLIOTT | Black Mountain Bicycles | Women Cat 1/2 | 5 | 35:47.0 | 29.042 |
| 3 | 129 | Kendall RYAN | Team CICLE | Women Cat 1/2 | 5 | 36:11.5 | 53.535 |
| 4 | 128 | Alexis RYAN | The TEAM – SoCalCross | Women Cat 1/2 | 5 | 36:29.1 | 01:11.2 |
| 5 | 142 | Allison Mann | Rock N Road | Women Cat 1/2 | 5 | 36:46.5 | 01:28.6 |
| 6 | 130 | Amanda SCHAPER | SDG Factory | Women Cat 1/2 | 5 | 37:07.3 | 01:49.4 |
| 7 | 125 | Nancy KLINGER | Women Cat 3 | 5 | 37:23.8 | 02:05.9 | |
| 8 | 136 | Christina Probert | The TEAM – SoCalCross | Women Cat 1/2 | 5 | 38:12.1 | 02:54.1 |
| 9 | 135 | Jill Sisamis | Team Duke | Women Cat 3 | 5 | 38:58.7 | 03:40.8 |
| 10 | 139 | Meghan Blades | Giant | Women Cat 3 | 5 | 38:58.9 | 03:41.0 |
| 11 | 134 | Sarah Brodsky | Bicycle Johns Serious Cycling | Women Cat 3 | 5 | 39:13.4 | 03:55.5 |
| 12 | 132 | Dorothy WONG | The TEAM SoCalCross | Women Cat 1/2 | 5 | 39:39.4 | 04:21.5 |
| 13 | 131 | Rebecca SIEGEL | The Team | Women Cat 3 | 5 | 40:13.5 | 04:55.5 |
| 14 | 138 | Beatriz Rodriguez | SC Velo | Women Cat 1/2 | 5 | 41:36.3 | 06:18.3 |
| 15 | 141 | Brooke Warner | Women Cat 3 | 5 | 43:13.5 | 07:55.5 | |
| 16 | 137 | Anna Dvorak | Bear Valley Bike | Women Cat 3 | 4 | 35:37.4 | 1 Lap |
| 17 | 143 | Kim Kiunke | The TEAM – SoCalCross | Women Cat 3 | 4 | 35:55.3 | 1 Lap |
| 18 | 133 | Virginia Clark | Women Cat 3 | 4 | 36:53.7 | 1 Lap | |
| 19 | 126 | Annette PADILLA | Women Cat 1/2 | 4 | 40:15.2 | 1 Lap | |
| 20 | 126 | Annette Padille | Celo Pacific | Women Cat 1/2 | |||
