Whew! Three big season opening races went down this weekend, and they had a distinctly European flavor to them, with current and former Swiss National Champs fighting for the wins in Seattle and Michigan, and Italians winning in Maryland. See the race reports on the races in Michigan and Maryland below.
Page Doubles at Michigan DoubleCross, Barnholt Takes Day 1
From our friends at Midwest Cycling Group, Joe Lekovish reports from day 1 of the Michigan Double Cross (photo by Steve Balough)
Saturday, Sept 22 – Davisburg, MI
On a hot and dry day in SE Michigan CX World Championships silver medalist Jonathan Page delivered a convincing win against a very deep elite men’s field. In the Elite Women’s field Kerry Barnholt took the lead from VeloBella-Kona racer Anna Milkowski and ride from the front all the way to the finish.
The Elite Men’s field at DOUBLE-CROSS Day 1 was stacked with talent, with Jonathan Page, Steve Tilford, Greg Reain, Adam Myerson, Chris Jones, Tristan Schouten, Brent Prenzlow, and Michael Mueller lining up.
From the gun a ferocious pace was set with a select group of 10-12 being sorted out from the large field of 50+ racers. A momentary lull as the leaders came through the start finish saw Nerac Pro Cycling racer Chris Jones put in a powerful attack, immediately drawing out Canadian CX Champion Greg Reain, Jonathan Page and former Swiss CX National Champion Michael Mueller. These four would race together for several laps.
About 1/2 through the race Jonathan Page put in a tremendous surge on the uphill wooded section, pulling Mueller with him. These two would continue to lead through the remainder of the race. At the finish a bobble by Mueller on a tricky off camber 120 degree turn opened the door for Page to surge ahead and secure the win by 15 seconds.
Later that evening the top elite racers from the event attended an informal open house, answering questions from the crowd, signing autographs and posing for photographs.
Day 2: Page takes the win again, riding with Mueller to the finish. More details to come.
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Frattini and Popovic Take Season-Opening Wins at Charm City
Mid Atlantic Scene Report by Marc “Faticus” Vettori
September 23, 2007; Baltimore, MD, USA:
Over 412 riders from around the Mid Atlantic converged upon Druid Hill Park, nestled in the heart of Baltimore, Maryland for the official kick-off of the Bikereg.com MABRA Cyclocross series. The event, part of thecountry’s fastest growing cyclocross series, has become the annual kick-off for the ‘cross season in the Mid-Atlantic Region.
Hosted by Team C3-Sollay.com, the unseasonably warm temperatures marked the opening of the 2007 cross Season. The course rolled around the beautiful grounds of Druid Hill Park, and forced riders off the bike four times per lap, twice with artificial barriers, once through a sandpit and once around a “natural barrier”. Featuring tight cornering, and open power sections, it was a challenging loop designed by Chris “Sven”
Nystrom and Kris Auer that benefited riders possessing strong technical skills.
In the Elite Women’s race Carolyn Popovic riding for Team C.I.C.L.E. won a hotly contested race, carving her way through the elite women’s field and taking a direct path to the top of the podium. Erica Yozellof the Fort Factory Team took second place honors as Jessica Hill of Trail’s End Cycles brought home the bronze medal. C3-Sollay.com rider Lisa Vible, the defending Bikereg.com MABRA women’s champion, was fourth.
In the Elite Men’s race, the Italian powers that are Davide Frattini and Luca Damiani of Colavita/Sutterhome presented by Cooking Light team, charged to the front with C3-Sollay.com teammates Andy Wulfkuhle and Weston Schempf in tow. A mid-race attack by Schempf was successful in splitting up the Italians. Two laps later Frattini launched his own attack, and opened a small gap on Schempf that he was able to keep to claim the victory. Home town hero Schempf would take the second step on the podium, followed by Damiani, and Dan Wilson riding for Monster Heath Cycling in fourth.
Greg Ferguson, Mid-Atlantic cross legend and Fort Factory rider, won the Elite Masters race, followed by Blair Saunders, of Henry’s Bikes and Mike Yozell, also from the Fort Factory team.
The next stop on the BikeReg.com MABRA Championship series will be next week at the Ed Sander Memorial Cyclocross in Buckeystown, Maryland on September 30, 2007.
Complete results will also be published on charmcitycycling.com shortly.
Press Contact Information: BikeReg.com MABRAcross Series
Ken Getchell, Media Director: [email protected]; 610-397-1950
