SSCXWC 2016: A Fitting End of an Era

The wildfire known as the Singlespeed World Championships (SSCXWC) roared into Portland this weekend for its tenth edition, fueled by the most pre-event hype in its history. Those flames were further fanned when the community got wind that Trek was bringing its best-known evangelist, living cyclocross legend Sven Nys. The firestorm of SSCXWC doesn’t just make for a raucous cyclocross race. It changes the sport. Remove the ability to shift gears in cyclocross and social and sporting norms follow the missing cogs and chainrings into the spare parts bin.

Do so under the six letter authority of a championship, and toss in a gold bathing suit and a permanent tattoo and you’re certain to end up defying all conventions. Drop bars and skinny knobbies? Who cares. Pit bike and crew? Stay home. No contact from the spectators? Only if you’re really lucky. Pre-scout the fastest lines? Throw them out and put on a show. Race to win? Even that’s not always the goal.

The Sequel Returns to the Original Director

As the final stuck-in-the-mud car exited the Kruger’s Farm parking lot, after Mother Nature did her part to make sure participants and fans drove home sober, the 10th edition of the SSCXWC finished just as the first one in 2007 did, with a pile of dirty one-gear bikes, and much of the Portland cycling community and a few hundred singlespeeders from throughout the world eager to look through their digital photos to confirm whether everything they just witnessed and experienced was real.

In many ways, SSCXWC founder Dani Dance and her team brought the 10th edition back to its original roots of an event based on racing, with a few unexpected twists. Although the large number of participants made reenacting the qualifying time trial of 2007 impossible, racers had to still pass a test of speed through the one-lap qualifying heats to make the finals, and if such an attempt wasn’t successful, push their way in through several short last-chance qualifying sprints.   Holeshot races replaced one-lap last-gasp mass start heats, dual slalom heats were subbed in for aerobar coasting races, and the surprise reverse call-ups from nine years ago became selective hiding and burying of top racers’ bikes, but the original spirit of 2007 was there. The infamous event has certainly morphed over the years, as it passed between cities and promoters, and as a result, some argue, became decidedly less race-oriented and more of a course-cutting shortcut to the closest beverage hand-up, with Saturdays filled with leisurely city tours, pixie bike races and feats of strength. These evolutions, save for an optional  “I’m Feeling Lucky” qualifying potato sack race, were largely gone. Nys was in town to race his bike after all, and feats of strength would be needed on Sunday just to make forward progress in the thick mud of Kruger’s Farm and stay out of his way.

Defending a Streak, and Ending an Unwelcome One

Anyone on Sunday thinking the organizer’s motto stating “We’re going to Make Singlespeed Racing Racing Again” was just lip service probably didn’t see Nys pre-walking the course, or Jessica Cutler dialing in her ride and trying to get a proper warm-up. Both had plenty of motivation to put in good rides. Nys had a full Trek Bicycle media team documenting his every move, and flew from Belgium just for the weekend, not to rub shoulders with weekend warrior racers stopping at course-side watering holes, but to inspire them by riding through the watering holes and representing sponsor Trek in the process. Meanwhile, Cutler was tired of wondering what could have been after one-gear championship cyclocross races. Despite recent retirement from professional racing, Cutler made it known that the 2016 SSCXWC was her top priority “A race of the season” and she was out for redemption after three straight podiums in the singlespeed race at the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships, including two back-to-back silver medals. Yet she knew as with any race, it was the unknowns that represented the most danger, whether in the form of inflatable shark-infested waters, head-hunting mud-covered exercise balls, the naked distraction of dollar hand-ups, or perhaps some recent Stanford grad who had been racing Women’s B races just two years ago but now was on a Cross Crusade Elite Women’s tear.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNn94HSApf8/?tagged=sscxwcpdx

While the winner of the last four SSCXWC editions, Adam Craig, played it cool, helping out with the event and getting philosophical and a bit spacey, he admitted to Cyclocross Magazine, “I mean Sven sorta stressed me out. I was pretty worried about Nys. Sven can ride. Have you seen him ride?”

“I mean Sven sorta stressed me out. I was pretty worried about Nys. Sven can ride. Have you seen him ride.” -Adam Craig

Riding with Intent

Every attendee of a Singlespeed Cyclocross World Championships event has his or her own reasons or making the trip, whether it’s to watch and further the shenanigans, have a few drinks with friends, compete against some of the top one-gear ’crossers in the land, put on a good show for sponsors, or simply overdose on a reminder of the fun-oriented aspects of the sport that might have escaped the weekly training and racing routine and points hunt. Most attendees’ intentions were revealed once the ceremonial hatchet was buried, the torch was lit and the Le Mans start kicked off the championships. Others telegraphed their priorities when presented with opportunities to grab a cotton candy hand-up, jump the shark, or grapple with an unruly fan.

While Nys powered through the knee-deep lake on his bike, Craig took to the ramp and bristled when asked if he could ride through the lake like Nys. “No, No, No. Because I was jumping in, he was skipping the jump to pedal, and I wasn’t willing to make that sacrifice,” Craig told Cyclocross Magazine. https://www.instagram.com/p/BNne1OuB1q7/?tagged=sscxwcpdx Even though his fifth-straight victory was on the line, he also wasn’t willing to sacrifice the opportunity to even the score with one of his fans: https://www.instagram.com/p/BNnuKYph4Ay/ Nys was feeling the SSCXWC spirit, grabbing a dollar hand-up and a beer, but he was riding, powering a big 42×17 gear in the thick mud. He poured the beer over his head, and tried to lead or stay locked on Craig’s wheel, and for much of the race, appeared to do so with some ease. “Yeah, he was riding,” Craig recalled. “That dude can ride, which was cool for me to see, fun for me to see as a fan.” He also got beer and mud-covered exercise balls thrown in his face, but unlike his reaction to an infamous beer-throwing incident in Europe, Nys embraced the hop-laden face wash. “It’s a very good atmosphere and everybody is in a very good mood,” Nys told Cyclocross Magazine. “It’s amazing to be part of this event. They are yelling and throwing beer but that’s part of the game.”

“It’s amazing to be part of this event. They are yelling and throwing beer but that’s part of the game.” -Sven Nys

Part of the game, at least on an official basis after Rapha-Focus swept the titles in 2011 in San Francisco but skipped the ink, is to get a winner’s tattoo. Speculation started the instant it was disclosed that Nys may be attending the event whether the Belgian would be the first European to proudly wear such branding, but flying under the radar was Englishwoman Angharad Porteous, now working for Nike after earning a Stanford degree. Porteous, an avid golf fan, might have been worried about the appropriateness of a dirty event’s winners mark in the clubhouse.

She kept Cutler in sight, but after a string of impressive Portland cyclocross victories, wasn’t fueled by the same runner-up motivation that the leader had. Cutler pushed her 39×19 gear to finally land on the top step of a singlespeed championship race.

I've won a couple races in my career but this one is the only one that's ever mattered. #sscxwc #sscxwcpdx16

— jessica cutler (@jessica_cutler) December 4, 2016

There’s No Debate

The singlespeed community and one-gear curious will debate for years as to whether gifts were given or ink was avoided, and even Cyclocross Magazine’s team of three on the ground couldn’t agree as to how hard certain racers tried to win or not win. Creative captioners couldn’t either: What most people do agree on is that it doesn’t matter.  “I [enjoyed being] in this race and I [would] love to come back also,” Nys said after his race, and stressed on social media that the goal was fun.

Second place @sscxwcpdx16. It's not about winning. It's about having fun.@TrekBikes

— Sven Nys (@sven_nys) December 4, 2016

As well as partaking in Portland cyclocross culture:

No words #sscxwcpdx16 pic.twitter.com/KDWyYAALYC

— Sven Nys (@sven_nys) December 4, 2016

SSCXWC Chaos Says Ciao for Now

It’s off to Italy for 2017, as founder Dance alluded to, placed in the hands of a crew that has already demonstrated the ability to balance racing with good times. After that? Perhaps in Belgium. Nys thought about the suggestion, and liked the idea. “They are not used to an event like this, but I think it’s possible,” he said. “We have some crazy people in Belgium also. We have the culture of cyclocross so…” Where in Belgium could it land? “My place,” said Nys, referring to his GP Sven Nys in his hometown of Baal held every January 1. Would you make the trip to ring in the New Year with Sven Nys, fellow singlespeeders and a hundred thousand fans?

“They are not used to an event like this, but I think it’s possible. We have some crazy people in Belgium also.” -Sven Nys

As overnight rain turned to snow and covered up the tracks of the 2016 event, the torch has been burned to the ground and its ashes, just like Nys, are on a long flight to Europe. It’s been a fun, crazy North American ride. Lee Slone and Andrew Yee contributed to this report. See our SSCXWC 2016 men’s championship photo gallery here and our SSCXWC 2016 women’s championship photo gallery here. Full results below and here.

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2016 SSCXWC Men's Results - Singlespeed Cyclocross World Championships, Portland, Oregon (PDX)

Pl	Num	Name	Laps
1	1	Adam Craig	4
2	578	Stan Nice	4
3	450	Stephen Ettinger	4
4	617	Scott Chapin	4
5	466	Rotem Ishay	4
6	366	Sean Babcock	4
7	456	Parker Bloom	4
8	371	Cody Cupp	4
9	387	Steven Beardsley	4
10	370	Ryan RINN	4
11	358	Spencer Powlison	4
12	414	James Williams	4
13	509	Michael Gallagher (G-Force)	4
14	289	Paul LaCava	4
15	600	Lucas Strain	4
16	352	Ben Guernsey	4
17	511	Alex Martin	4
18	538	T Rex	4
19	310	Cliff Eslinger	4
20	492	Brian Kesselman	4
21	535	Timothy JOSLIN	4
22	242	Dylan Stucki	4
23	245	Kolben Preble	4
24	171	Colin Frazer	4
25	580	Scott Daubert	4
26	267	Lucas Clarke	4
27	14	curbwzrd	4
28	413	Spence Gerber	4
29	403	Jacob Huizenga	4
30	314	Great White (Mitch) Hammer (Trux)	4
31	383	Richard Knutson	4
32	524	Jimmy Volcano Esquire	4
33	194	Rainier Schaefer	4
34	533	Joshua Liberles	3
35	506	Fred Mills	3
36	579	Micah Moran	3
37	560	Kristopher Auer	3
38	507	Carter Warren	3
39	480	Alex Marganski	3
40	230	Nick Stroud	3
41	319	Rory JACK	3
42	587	dace lawler	3
43	634	Dax Massey	3
44	175	Alistair Hardy	3
45	499	Cam Smith	3
46	11	Hagai Tavori	3
47	620	Mark Scott	3
48	448	Brian Lynch	3
49	364	Charles Christianson	3
50	418	Zack Phillips	3
51	307	Sean A Carline	3
52	277	Scott Barker	3
53	303	Brian Myers	3
54	359	Sean Corey	3
55	324	Nick Bennette	3
56	421	Greg MacDonald	3
57	216	Joe Santos	3
58	446	Halldor Gunnarsson	3
59	322	Pete Groblewski	3
60	385	ZZ Über	3
61	391	Joey Martinez	3
62	229	Danny Weikel	3
63	692	Stephen Kincaid	3
64	510	Derik Archibald	3
65	312	Steve Black	3
66	477	Anthony Broadman	3
67	283	Christian Reed	3
68	292	Sean Gibson	3
69	378	Matt Fox	3
70	179	Steve WASMUND	3
71	586	Ian Brown	3
72	597	Sterling Quinn	3
73	224	Kyle aka ginger spanky Ireton	3
74	628	Kellian Rusk	3
75	321	Alex Strandell	3
76	248	Cody Phillips	3
77	222	Jason Hendrickson	3
78	449	Benjamin Farver	3
79	9	Kristopher Celtnieks	3
80	568	Bryan Smith	3
81	262	Clay Anselmo	3
82	514	Billy Bergen	3
83	203	Hans Van Housen	3
84	440	Ryan Barrett	3
85	503	Clayton Webb	3
86	293	Lucas Seibel	3
87	411	Sven MacAller	3
88	526	Andreas Hagen	3
89	517	Dieter Laskowski	3
90	111	Tony Kic	3
91	589	Marc Ouellette	3
92	354	Martin Fuss	3
93	521	Doug Graver	3
94	591	Steve Sevilla	3
95	457	Mike Udelhofen	3
96	545	John Stambaugh	3
97	447	Josh Patterson	3
98	219	Zack Hewell	3
99	191	Craig Harrison	3
100	338	tyler boucher	3
101	602	Timmy McAfoos	3
102	441	Shane Beers	3
103	251	Nat Johnson	3
104	396	Collin Van Slyke	3
105	525	Aaron Barcheck	3
106	513	Trevor Lane	3
107	550	Damien Salerno	3
108	341	Matthew HORNLAND	3
109	369	Scott Heather	3
110	424	Spencer Maughan	3
111	275	Jose French	3
112	476	Andrew Morrison	3
113	237	Aaron Radspinner	3
114	465	John Gulick	3
115	416	Forest Wilson	3
116	467	Robert Jackson	3
117	263	Paul Sasseville	3
118	5	John Graham	3
119	173	Adam Sklar	3
120	206	Daimeon Shanks	3
121	395	Hahn Rossman	3
122	270	Maxwell Kullwasi	3
123	444	Sam Zivin	3
124	195	Derek Yarra	3
125	574	Florent Carriere	3
126	247	CJ Bryan	3
127	611	Alex Work	2
128	372	Giancarlo DALLE ANGELINI	2
129	427	Darrin Seeds	2
130	376	Gabriel Linn	2
131	350	Jeremy Russell	2
132	384	Lee Slone	2
133	160	Kip Zwolenski	2
134	569	Michael McGovern	2
135	328	Patrick Croasdaile	2
136	618	Iago Garay	2
137	558	Tad Hodgert	2
138	502	Andrew Demeter	2
139	196	KENT SANCHEZ	2
140	408	Aaron Erbeck	2
141	386	Dave Roth	2
142	462	Carl Anton	2
143	274	Aaron Huebner	2
144	430	Robbie Douangpanya	2
145	530	James Underwod	2
146	343	Lt. Hamster Style	2
147	287	Gavin LaFave	2
148	445	Donavan Miller	2
DNF	570	Frank Hammond	2
DNF	6	Jason Bavuso	2
DNF	7	Gregory Heath	2
DNF	228	Brendan Lehman	2
DNF	234	Andrew Howe	2
DNF	308	Christian Folk	2
DNF	349	Joe Huber	2
DNF	365	Jobe Handy	2
DNF	367	Rhys Haydon	2
DNF	392	Paul Valentine	2
DNF	420	Matthew Slaven	2
DNF	422	Drew MacKenzie	2
DNF	559	Jay Drasher	2
DNF	567	Ted Clausen	2
DNF	340	Jim Bowes	2
DNF	469	Blake Crouch	2
DNF	113	Andrew Erickson	2
DNF	519	Abel Tomkinson	1
DNF	226	Cody Goodman	1
DNF	460	Jason Bogan	1
DNF	435	Christopher Igleheart	1
DNF	536	Mike Keller	1
DNF	348	Erik Borghoff	1
DNF	8	Peter Eby	1
DNF	13	Patrick Monteith	1
DNF	165	Aaron Amin	1
DNF	177	Brad Nelson	1
DNF	190	Brandon Harrison	1
DNF	202	Michael Brazel	1
DNF	261	Nat Pellman	1
DNF	271	Jordan Krema	1
DNF	272	Jeffrey Anderson	1
DNF	317	Tyler Smith	1
DNF	379	Eddy Bach	1
DNF	389	Slate Olson	1
DNF	394	James Rennie	1
DNF	429	sebastian boyington	1
DNF	432	Jason Britton	1
DNF	436	kyle von Hoetzendorff	1
DNF	471	Jim Wood	1
DNF	475	Aidan Sullivan	1
DNF	478	Joey Mullan	1
DNF	496	Bryan Harding	1
DNF	498	Jeff Johnston	1
DNF	564	Cody Riggs	1
DNF	577	Cameron Vander Stoep	1
DNF	619	Josh Lewis	1
DNF	623	Curtis Inglis	1
DNF	626	Landon Masterfield	1
DNF	259	Benjamin Popper	1
DNF	546	Brad Hunter	1

2016 SSCXWC Men's Results - Singlespeed Cyclocross World Championships, Portland, Oregon (PDX)

Pl	Num	Name	Laps
1	1	Adam Craig	4
2	578	Stan Nice	4
3	450	Stephen Ettinger	4
4	617	Scott Chapin	4
5	466	Rotem Ishay	4
6	366	Sean Babcock	4
7	456	Parker Bloom	4
8	371	Cody Cupp	4
9	387	Steven Beardsley	4
10	370	Ryan RINN	4
11	358	Spencer Powlison	4
12	414	James Williams	4
13	509	Michael Gallagher (G-Force)	4
14	289	Paul LaCava	4
15	600	Lucas Strain	4
16	352	Ben Guernsey	4
17	511	Alex Martin	4
18	538	T Rex	4
19	310	Cliff Eslinger	4
20	492	Brian Kesselman	4
21	535	Timothy JOSLIN	4
22	242	Dylan Stucki	4
23	245	Kolben Preble	4
24	171	Colin Frazer	4
25	580	Scott Daubert	4
26	267	Lucas Clarke	4
27	14	curbwzrd	4
28	413	Spence Gerber	4
29	403	Jacob Huizenga	4
30	314	Great White (Mitch) Hammer (Trux)	4
31	383	Richard Knutson	4
32	524	Jimmy Volcano Esquire	4
33	194	Rainier Schaefer	4
34	533	Joshua Liberles	3
35	506	Fred Mills	3
36	579	Micah Moran	3
37	560	Kristopher Auer	3
38	507	Carter Warren	3
39	480	Alex Marganski	3
40	230	Nick Stroud	3
41	319	Rory JACK	3
42	587	dace lawler	3
43	634	Dax Massey	3
44	175	Alistair Hardy	3
45	499	Cam Smith	3
46	11	Hagai Tavori	3
47	620	Mark Scott	3
48	448	Brian Lynch	3
49	364	Charles Christianson	3
50	418	Zack Phillips	3
51	307	Sean A Carline	3
52	277	Scott Barker	3
53	303	Brian Myers	3
54	359	Sean Corey	3
55	324	Nick Bennette	3
56	421	Greg MacDonald	3
57	216	Joe Santos	3
58	446	Halldor Gunnarsson	3
59	322	Pete Groblewski	3
60	385	ZZ Über	3
61	391	Joey Martinez	3
62	229	Danny Weikel	3
63	692	Stephen Kincaid	3
64	510	Derik Archibald	3
65	312	Steve Black	3
66	477	Anthony Broadman	3
67	283	Christian Reed	3
68	292	Sean Gibson	3
69	378	Matt Fox	3
70	179	Steve WASMUND	3
71	586	Ian Brown	3
72	597	Sterling Quinn	3
73	224	Kyle aka ginger spanky Ireton	3
74	628	Kellian Rusk	3
75	321	Alex Strandell	3
76	248	Cody Phillips	3
77	222	Jason Hendrickson	3
78	449	Benjamin Farver	3
79	9	Kristopher Celtnieks	3
80	568	Bryan Smith	3
81	262	Clay Anselmo	3
82	514	Billy Bergen	3
83	203	Hans Van Housen	3
84	440	Ryan Barrett	3
85	503	Clayton Webb	3
86	293	Lucas Seibel	3
87	411	Sven MacAller	3
88	526	Andreas Hagen	3
89	517	Dieter Laskowski	3
90	111	Tony Kic	3
91	589	Marc Ouellette	3
92	354	Martin Fuss	3
93	521	Doug Graver	3
94	591	Steve Sevilla	3
95	457	Mike Udelhofen	3
96	545	John Stambaugh	3
97	447	Josh Patterson	3
98	219	Zack Hewell	3
99	191	Craig Harrison	3
100	338	tyler boucher	3
101	602	Timmy McAfoos	3
102	441	Shane Beers	3
103	251	Nat Johnson	3
104	396	Collin Van Slyke	3
105	525	Aaron Barcheck	3
106	513	Trevor Lane	3
107	550	Damien Salerno	3
108	341	Matthew HORNLAND	3
109	369	Scott Heather	3
110	424	Spencer Maughan	3
111	275	Jose French	3
112	476	Andrew Morrison	3
113	237	Aaron Radspinner	3
114	465	John Gulick	3
115	416	Forest Wilson	3
116	467	Robert Jackson	3
117	263	Paul Sasseville	3
118	5	John Graham	3
119	173	Adam Sklar	3
120	206	Daimeon Shanks	3
121	395	Hahn Rossman	3
122	270	Maxwell Kullwasi	3
123	444	Sam Zivin	3
124	195	Derek Yarra	3
125	574	Florent Carriere	3
126	247	CJ Bryan	3
127	611	Alex Work	2
128	372	Giancarlo DALLE ANGELINI	2
129	427	Darrin Seeds	2
130	376	Gabriel Linn	2
131	350	Jeremy Russell	2
132	384	Lee Slone	2
133	160	Kip Zwolenski	2
134	569	Michael McGovern	2
135	328	Patrick Croasdaile	2
136	618	Iago Garay	2
137	558	Tad Hodgert	2
138	502	Andrew Demeter	2
139	196	KENT SANCHEZ	2
140	408	Aaron Erbeck	2
141	386	Dave Roth	2
142	462	Carl Anton	2
143	274	Aaron Huebner	2
144	430	Robbie Douangpanya	2
145	530	James Underwod	2
146	343	Lt. Hamster Style	2
147	287	Gavin LaFave	2
148	445	Donavan Miller	2
DNF	570	Frank Hammond	2
DNF	6	Jason Bavuso	2
DNF	7	Gregory Heath	2
DNF	228	Brendan Lehman	2
DNF	234	Andrew Howe	2
DNF	308	Christian Folk	2
DNF	349	Joe Huber	2
DNF	365	Jobe Handy	2
DNF	367	Rhys Haydon	2
DNF	392	Paul Valentine	2
DNF	420	Matthew Slaven	2
DNF	422	Drew MacKenzie	2
DNF	559	Jay Drasher	2
DNF	567	Ted Clausen	2
DNF	340	Jim Bowes	2
DNF	469	Blake Crouch	2
DNF	113	Andrew Erickson	2
DNF	519	Abel Tomkinson	1
DNF	226	Cody Goodman	1
DNF	460	Jason Bogan	1
DNF	435	Christopher Igleheart	1
DNF	536	Mike Keller	1
DNF	348	Erik Borghoff	1
DNF	8	Peter Eby	1
DNF	13	Patrick Monteith	1
DNF	165	Aaron Amin	1
DNF	177	Brad Nelson	1
DNF	190	Brandon Harrison	1
DNF	202	Michael Brazel	1
DNF	261	Nat Pellman	1
DNF	271	Jordan Krema	1
DNF	272	Jeffrey Anderson	1
DNF	317	Tyler Smith	1
DNF	379	Eddy Bach	1
DNF	389	Slate Olson	1
DNF	394	James Rennie	1
DNF	429	sebastian boyington	1
DNF	432	Jason Britton	1
DNF	436	kyle von Hoetzendorff	1
DNF	471	Jim Wood	1
DNF	475	Aidan Sullivan	1
DNF	478	Joey Mullan	1
DNF	496	Bryan Harding	1
DNF	498	Jeff Johnston	1
DNF	564	Cody Riggs	1
DNF	577	Cameron Vander Stoep	1
DNF	619	Josh Lewis	1
DNF	623	Curtis Inglis	1
DNF	626	Landon Masterfield	1
DNF	259	Benjamin Popper	1
DNF	546	Brad Hunter	1