Sunday, January 7, 2001 -- Richmond, VA
Virginia Cyclo-Cross Series #4
Story and photos by Dana Harshberger
[Details]
[Coverage]
[Overall Results]
[Pic Set 1]
[Pic Set 2]
[Pic Set 3]
[Pic Set 4]
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Temperatures warm up in Richmond
Old Man Winter must have forgotten to get up on Sunday, as
temperatures were unseasonably warm for the fourth and final race in
the Virginia Cyclo-Cross series. Racers once again, found themselves
at the historic and beautiful Chimborazo Park in downtown Richmond.
The course was almost the same at the last time, but included the
addition of a short, steep run-up, (or ride up, for some of the
strong!) Many riders commented on how they really liked the addition.
Word has it that race promoters
Chip Atkins and
Gary
Morgan said that more than likely, it would be a permanent
addition!
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CX Downhill Action
Starting at 10am was the "C" race. For 30 minutes the Juniors and
Citizens battled it out. In the Junior Category, it was
Greg
Wittwer (son of 40+ Fred) for first.
Parker Bird and
James Wakeman valiantly chased him. For the Citizens,
Eric
Marshall came out ahead of
Kevin Crouch and
Peter
Sugar. Looking at the series winners,
Eric Marshal and
Greg Wittwer got top honors.
At 11am, was the 45-minute "B" race. Pedaling strong in women's
action was
Jessie Peil (W&M), who was just coming off a 2-week bike
hiatus. Noting her breakfast of smoked salmon; Miss Piel overcame
some minor chain problems to use her usual strategy of staying up with
the men to propel her over the line. Next in line were
Heidi W and
Alma Wert. In addition to today's win, Jessie also captured the
series title.
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Banking through the turn
Men's 40+ saw some strong shows as well with
Fred Wittwer (Extreme
Sports) doing his usual stuff. Going off the gun strong, Fred
started to feel the hurt and decided to keep a steady pace.
Mr. Wittwer found that his strong climbing skills helped him gain time
on his competitors. In series action, it was Mr. Fred Wittwer taking
the overall.
Gary Huffman gave
Jim Carlson and
Bill Helwig a
run for their money in the Men's 50+ scene. For the series, Jim
Carlson went home with the trophy.
In the Men's B category
Simon Green (Ashby Street Bicycles) was
passing out the hurt to
Brian Wakeman and
James Connell.
Charming Mr. Green noted that his 'breakfast of champions' consisted
of pasta and eggs. He did admit that it is difficult to stomach early
in the day, but that it helps with energy later on. (Special note to
Sim on's mom: thanks for the ginger, I think it did help my cold!)
Also of note was Delaney Vance who did battle with the course on a
single speed he threw together the night before!
George Shultz
took the series.
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Proof that CX is non-discriminating
On to the A men! Beginning at 1pm, the starting line was daunting!
Glancing around at the competition, one saw a beautiful floral print
dress at the line. Yes, folks, it was feisty
Ryan McKinney, who wore
said floral frock throughout the race. Can we say
cyclo-cross-dressing? An exciting race was under way with the
perpetual strong houses
Bill McCarrick,
Jeremiah Bishop and
aforementioned Mr/Ms McKinney leading the way. Misfortune fell to
McCarrick when about halfway through the 2nd lap, he took a hit to his
tire. He finished out the lap and switched to his mountain bike at
the pit area. About this time as well,
John Worthington
unintentionally missed a turn off, and shortened his lap. Race
promoters were on top of things and held him at the finish line for an
amount of time that they felt would have been the time needed to
complete the part of the course Worthington missed. Continuing on,
Worthington kept riding strong and fast. At the end of the race, the
promoters had a race meeting with the top 5, and in a wonderful show
of sportsmanship of the racers (Worthington offered to DQ himself) and
fairness of the promoters; an acceptable solution was worked out for
all. In the end, Jeremiah Bishop (K2/NuSunn), Brian Ralston
(Sobe-Headshock), and Ryan McKinney (W&M) took top honors. Mr. Bishop
also captured the series win as well.
Many thanks should go out to not only Chip Atkins and Gary Morgan the
promoters, but also Rick Bevels, who played groovy tunes for the
spectators, called an excellent play-by-play, and also managed to run
a trivia game, with prizes! Thanks also to all those who came out to
ride and also to cheer on the riders! See you next year.