Editor's note: BicycleNorthwest is looking for individuals who would like to contribute race reports in the future. We hope to eventually be able to cover all race categories for our readers and racers. If you would like to contribute, please e-mail us at info[at]bicyclenorthwest[dot]com

SCC Series Finals: (Would You Believe!!??) Stevenson Takes It!

KELLEY CREEK, WA - The final race of the Seattle Cyclocross Series was this past weekend. While we are still waiting for coverage of the event to come in, here is a 'highlights reel' from reader Dessa. Enjoy! (and if you have photos or want to write about the race send it our way!).

SCC Series #8: Stevenson Coasts to Victory

Words and pictures by F. Joe Hamilton
November 25, 2007

SOUTH SEATAC, WA- The seventh installment of the Seattle Cyclocross Series was held today under clear skies with plenty of sun. The only thing falling from above was jet wash from the never ending departure of commercial airliners. But that didn't phase any of the riders in the Men's 1/2 category race. The talented field also included a special guest appearance of northwest native Tyler Ferrar.

The courseincluded the usual sandy singletrack that South SeaTac is famous for. Notable obstacles in the course were two tough run-ups and one barrier section. The course also included a lengthy section of deep sand for riders to navigate through. However, changing things up from previous races the start was held at the at the base of the second run-up and fields headed up a small paved section into a hard left, then down toward the finish on the infield. It made for a long paved start reaching some incredible speeds.

The holeshot came from none other than Ferrar (Cofidis) who beat out local favorite Russell Stevenson (BRI) for honors. Hot on the trail were Toby Swanson (BRI), Aaron Schooling (ertc), Ryan Iddings (Lapierre) and Sean Worsech (Rad Racing NW). Ferrar's starting advantage was soon nullified by the skills and finesse of Stevenson, Swanson and Iddings who dropped the rest of the bunch mid-way through the first of eight laps.

Halfway through the race the field was strung out around the course with the three up front taking pulls and trying to make something happen. Iddings certainly had his hands full facing the two BRI riders and relentlessly tried in vain to break free.

Meanwhile, the race for fourth and fifth place, about thirty seconds behind the front three, was between Eric Emsky (Rad Racing NW), Schooling, and Worsech. The three hung together and put some distance between themselves and a group of Rad Racing kids who were hot on their trail. The sand inevitably decided their fate as Worsech was forced off the bike at one point, allowing Schooling to pull clear. Emsky was also able to capitalize on the mishap.

By the final lap nothing could stop the front three and midway through Iddings attacked. The attack was countered by Stevenson at the remount of the second run-up as he put in his own attack to leave the other two to fend for themselves. Stevenson immediately opened a gap and rolled leisurely across the line. Swanson and Iddings fought it out to the very end in an exciting finish with Swanson taking second by a wheel.

Washington State Cyclocross Championships

By Nick Barile and Joe Hamilton
November 18, 2007

Photos By Scotty and Nick Barile

BREMERTON, WA- The Washington State Cyclocross Championships took place this past weekend in Bremerton, just an hour's ferry ride from the downtown Seattle waterfront. The Pro/1/2/3 Women were warming up for their race early, and It was shaping up to be a heated competition. There was only five of them at the start, all of whom were fairly evenly matched.

Today's course featured a long, soft section that posed a challenge for all the racers. After riders battled through the mud, they ground over a short, steep riser that caused the legs and lungs to burn. This section was no problem however for Kristen Cambell in the Cat. 3 women's race.

"After a few laps I was able to get in a rhythm and make up ground on the two ladies in front of me in the hard mud section," said Campbell. Although Campbell made it look easy, judging by the look on most of the racer's faces, the early parts of the course were painful.

After the mud and hill, the course snaked down to the barrier section where riders tackled a double-board, followed by a fast remount into a hard corner. In the Cat. 1/2 field, all five ladies hit the first half of the course hard and a selection was made right away. A Velo Bella rider established a gap on Tela Crane (Rad Racing) and Ingrid Spies (Recycled Cycles), with the rest of the field trailing close behind. Unfortunately half way through the race, the leader broke her chain and was forced to pit with the lead.

Crane and Spies took advantage of the opportunity and opened the throttle, dropping their competition. Spies, looking for her second win of the season, was motivated to make the State Champion title her own. Crane, who was fresh off a victory yesterday in Bellingham's Cyclocrazed series, was feeling confident as well.

"My tires were hooking up in the slippery corners well so I decided to put in an attack on that part of the course," said Crane. "Besides, my brother Ian, who was late getting here and didn't even see me race, told me that if I didn't have the guts to attack, and take the chance to loose it all, I would never win."

So the attack went down the way Crane had planned and the result was victory as she came in twenty seconds in front of Spies, who was still hot on her tail despite the attack. It was a truly exciting race.

The Next feature race was the Men's cat 3 race. The field seemed to be smaller than usual, however there was no lack of speed. From the gun, Alki/Rubicon's Craig Fowler gassed it and took the whole-shot to lead going into the first corner.

He lead the field around the first lap and then rode his competitors off his wheel by progressively increasing the speed over the remaining laps. A spectator and "A" racer Alex Wilson, was not surprised at Fowlers efforts.

"Craig is very good technically on a cyclocross bike, he choses good lines and uses the difficult terrain to his advantage," said Alex. It looked like Fowler was taking a chapter out of Russell "The Muscle" Stevenson's book with the valiant solo effort off the front. Craig calmly rolled in to the finish giving the cameras the Vinokurov two fist victory pump.

The Super-fast Dude's Race

The Men's Cat. 1/2 race saw Russell "The Mustache" Stevenson (BRI) take the holeshot, followed closely by the freshly-upgraded Benny Swedberg (Rad Racing NW), Toby Swanson (BRI), and Ryan Iddings (Lapierre). The front of the race was brutally fast and by the end of the first lap Swedberg fell off the lead pace. The dynamic duo of Swanson and Stevenson took control of the race and and never looked back.

By the third lap the race was all but finished as the racers were strung out around the course. The BRI duo powered through the soft mud holes that swallowed other men up to their nipples with ease. In chase was Iddings all by himself with no one in sight either behind, or in front of him. His solid efforts kept him out of trouble and eventually gained him a podium spot. Other riders were left to fend for themselves and some came around the start/finish with plenty of mud in places suggesting that staying upright was a bit of a challenge.

The finishing lap saw Swanson put an attack on his teammate that proved to be the decisive move. "He [Stevenson] and I race against each other out there - we don't soft pedal," claimed Swanson.

As the two BRI riders came out of the woods and into the open field, Swanson dug deep and opened a small gap on Stevenson just prior to the first of the two soft sections. That didn't sit well with Stevenson who nearly closed the gap in a single breath as they approached the barriers. Once over the barriers, the second mud section caused a slight bobble and nearly got the best of Swanson. However, it was enough for him to stay clear and get the victory. An applauding Stevenson crossed the line in second and a trailing Ryan Iddings crossed in third.

"I felt good out there today. I look up to Russell as my teammate and mentor," said Swanson, still breathing hard after his victory. The efforts of both riders made for an exciting finish.

Race Report: SCC #5 at Donida Farm

Berg and Stevenson Pull it off Again

By F. Joe Hamilton
Photos also By F. Joe Hamilton

AUBURN, WA- The Seattle CyclocrossSeries, Race Number Five took place at Donida Farm, an eighty acre horse facility just south of the city of Auburn. The facility was in a beautiful setting and the fall colours set a serene backdrop for some great 'cross racing. The weather proved not to be much of a factor with some early morning mist, but the remainder of the day was partly sunny and very mild. The setting was a great place to spend a late fall Sunday.

The course included some freshly-cut sections through a nearby woods, a bunch of bone-jarring grassy sections, a quick steep climb, and a nice little run-up. The finish was along a gravel road that allowed for some high speeds before heading back into the woods. There was only a single barrier this week, but it was strategically placed near a small ditch to create a longer obstacle.

The Cat. 1/2 Women's race was led by Kristi Berg (Redline Bicycles) from the whistle. She pushed the tempo hard and never looked back. In chase was Recycled Cycles' Ingrid Spies who came within a few short seconds of Berg but was never able to latch on and plan an attack. By the finish Berg had opened more than thirty seconds of ground over Spies. The remainder of the women's field was strung out along the course and there was no real groupings to speak of.

The Cat. 1/2 men's race saw Russell Stevenson (BRI) with the whole-shot followed by youngsters Sean Warsach (Rad Racing NW) and Toby Swanson (BRI) who immediately opened a small gap on the peloton. The field was absent Ryan Iddings (Lapierre) and Nick Weighall (Rad Racing NW) this week who both raced the USGP races last week and may be taking a bit of a break.

By the second lap, Swanson had pulled clear of Warsach and joined Stevenson. The dynamic duo began working together smoothly. "We aren't out there soft pedaling. We push each other pretty hard," claimed Stevenson. Whatever they do it works. "It was tough out there, Russ and I just rode away," said a hard-breathing Swanson after the finish. By the middle of the nine lap feature they had amassed nearly a minute on Warsach, who was alone but riding well and putting in some great out-of-the-saddle efforts.

Stevenson, sporting a beautiful brand spankin' new Colnago C-50 steed, eventually took the finishing honors but not without a fight. The two came down the home stretch neck and neck and put on a show in an exciting finish to an otherwise tame race.

Race Report: SCC Series #4

Spies and Swanson are the Victors of the Knapp-time Run-up

By F. Joe Hamilton and Nick Barile
Photos by Nick Barile
October 29, 2007

TACOMA, WA- It was another warm and sunny day for the Seattle Cyclocross Series, race number four, at Fort Steilacoom Park. The course was similar to the Rad GP, held in late September, with some minor variations. One such addition was the inclusion of a lengthy peagravel-lined climb that wasn't steep, but it put some burn in the legs as riders mashed on the pedals to get up. The course also included the dreaded "Knapp Time" run-up where riders shoulder their steeds for an impressive hundred-foot-plus vertical haul. The rest of the course wound around the park and finished on a short section of pavement.

The Women's Elite race was dominated by veteran 'crosser Ingrid Spies (Recycled Cycles). Ingrid hit it hard right out of the gate gapping the field behind her. She said she was able to really put the power down and take the most time on the downhill section and on the long uphill grind as well. Behind her, Tela Crane (Rad Racing NW) was chasing hard and holding her ground. Crane came fresh off a big win racing Bellingham's local Cyclocrazed, number two (Muerto Cross), on Saturday. Tired legs didn't seem to slow her down as she held on for second.

Spies' gap on the competition began to grow as the race progressed and her experience shined as she showed her skills in the technical sections of the course. It was also clear she knew exactly how to dose her efforts over the whole race. "It was a really fun race today," said Spies, "I really like this course, it's one of my favorites. It's too bad Kristi [Berg] (Redline) wasn't here today though, she is fun to race with and always pushes the competition to the next level."

the Men's Elite race was all BRI, to put it lightly. The explosive team of Toby Swanson, Russell Stevenson who was incognito, Loren Hansen, and Ian Mackie led the race from the start. The four riders jockeyed back and forth leading the train around the course. This lead group amassed a sizable gap that was never less than ten seconds.

"We never even planned on doing that. We never talked about it before the race," said Hansen regarding the team efforts. Even if it was not planned it proved unbeatable.

By the middle of the event Swanson and Stevenson pulled clear of the other two riders. "It was essential that Loren take one for the team, and put a sting in late," joked Stevenson about the team's performance. The Mackie Hansen duo worked together putting in good efforts and not giving up any ground.

Putting in a commanding chase was Rich McClung (Hagens-Bermann) coming within a few short seconds of catching the Hanson/Mackie duo. Following McClung was Rad Racing NW's Sean Warsach. The two riders, who were some seconds apart, put in good efforts to reel in the BRI riders.

BRI has been dominating the SCC Scene this year. With the absence of Nick Weighall (Rad Racing NW), who was racing the first round of the USGP's in Kentucky (he placed third on Sunday!), one has to wonder if others are going to be stepping it up and challenging the BRI throne in upcoming races. It will surely be an exciting finish to the series! Stay tuned!

Race Report: SCC #3

Berg and Stevenson Make it Two in a Row

By F. Joe Hamilton
Photos by F. Joe Hamilton
October 21, 2007

BONNEY LAKE, WA- The third stop of the Seattle Cyclocross Series was Kelly Creek; a small farm located in the creek's floodplain that's currently bursting with pumpkins. The course was straightforward this week; no run-up, one set of double barriers, and a single log obstacle. The real challenge was the abundance of soft peat-like ground to get over and many lengthy straight sections that kept riders on the gas the whole day.

The Women's 1/2 field was once again dominated by Kristi Berg (Redline) while Ingrid Soles (Recycled Cycles) offered a strong chase. The long straight sections of the course allowed Berg to open a sizable gap early and hold it all the way to the finish. Soles dug deep to try and catch Berg but was not able to make up the over thirty second advantage.

The Men's 1/2 race saw the first showdown between young Nick Weighall (Rad Racing) and Russell Stevenson (BRI), both previous series race winners. Early in the race a group of five formed that included Weighall, Stevenson and teammate Toby Swanson, and Ryan Iddings (Lapierre). Sean Warsach (Rad Racing), originally with the group, slipped off the back early as the intensity was turned up. Then, each rider took turns attacking again and again.

On lap two of ten, Weighall attacked hard, taking Stevenson and Iddings with him, opening a few seconds advantage over Swanson. It was short lived. Within a lap and a half the four were back together again. At lap five Weighall again attacked, this time shaking Swanson and Iddings. The group again was back together in a short amount of time.

With four to go Swanson opted to bunny-hop the log obstacle, stumbling and costing valuable time. The group of three sped on and forced Swanson into hard chase mode. "It was a beginner maneuver, I should've just kept running it," stated Swanson.

About that time Stevenson and Iddings lost Weighall, who simply ran out of gas - literally! "I hit the wall. I just didn't have anything left," stated a disappointed Weighall after the race. He spent the remainder of the race trying to lug his bike around the unforgiving course and finished well down in the field. A tough break for the aggressive youngster who is scheduled to race the USGP 'cross down in Kentucky this upcoming weekend.

It was then Stevenson and Iddings taking turns at the front. That, however, wasn't going to fair well for Stevenson. It was only a short time before he threw in a dagger-like attack that Iddings couldn't hold. He quickly opened a gap. Iddings dug deep and rode very aggressively to make up time, but couldn't muster enough to catch Stevenson.

The race was then Stevenson's to win or lose; with Iddings and Swanson still chasing hard he relentlessly turned on the gas. He kept the blistering pace up and it paid off handsomely. He scooted across the line for his second victory of the SCC Series. Iddings and Swanson followed suit at second and third respectively.

SCC #2 Women's Report: Berg, Crane and Mann are Tops at EHS

Series Leaders Show Who's Boss

By Milk Barile
October 16, 2007

SEATTLE, WA- The ladies of cyclocross took to the dirt sunday at high noon for SCC's second series race at Evergreen High School in good old Sea-Town. It was surprisingly sunny and warm on Sunday which made it seem awkward to have the cross bike underneath you rather than that perfectly clean and pristine road bike that you never ride in the rain. The good conditions definitely seemed to raise a lot of spirits and speeds in the women's field of 30+ racers.

The Elite women were set to take on five laps of the long and challenging course which included two run-ups, an uphill barrier section, two techy downhill, off-camber sections and a whole lot of other tasty cross candy.

The strongest of the women separated themselves right from the get go as Redline's Kristi Berg, Rad Racing's Tela Crane, and Avanti/Ti Cycles Nicola Mann took a gap early. The three ladies distances themselves from the rest of the field and one another for that matter as Kristi gapped Tela, and Tela gapped Nicola. They seemed to all settle three laps in and began really picking up the pace the last two laps of the contest.

Kristi came across the line 54 seconds ahead of the chasing Tela Crane and another 18 seconds back to Nicola Mann. Coming in a close fourth was Group Health's Jadine Riley and rounding out the top five was Amber Itle.

The top four women of the day coincidentally are the top four women in the series thus far in that respective order so no one overtook any spots this week. Maybe next week we will see some attacking of the leaders as the battle for the Elite Women's series title continues.

Stevenson Demolishes Field at SCC #2

Bad Start was No Matter of Contention

By F. Joe Hamilton
photos by Nick Barile

SEATTLE, WA- The second race of the Seattle Cyclocross Series, sponsored by FSA and REI, was held at Evergreen High School in south Seattle. The day was warm and sunny with temps hitting the mid 60's, not your typical day for racing cyclocross, but a beautiful fall day and a complete 180 from the opening SCC race.

This week the Men's 1/2 field was absent young gun Nick Weighall, but gained powerhouse Russell Stevenson (BRI), who was showing the field that he can dominate despite a shaky start. "This is my first series race, so I was like third or fourth row. I slipped on my pedal, hit the fence, hit someone's wheel, I was like 30th place going around the track." That position was not an acceptable place.

Stevenson added, "that [bad start] was like instant rage. I used the first lap to catch everybody." His efforts proved to much for the rest of the field to hold off as he took the lead and never looked back.

With four laps to go Sevenson's lead was extended to over one minute. With Stevenson off the front, the real race was placed in the hands of a small chase group of three including Ryan Iddings (Lapierre), Toby Swanson (BRI), and Sean Warsech (Rad Racing). Ian Mackie (BRI) was trapped in no man's land of fifth place putting in efforts to bridge the gap up to the group of three. Each took turns pulling each other around the course trying to close on the rocketing Stevenson and fend off the rest of the group.

With three laps to go Iddings dug deep and attacked the chase group. It paid off handsomely as the group was splintered. Iddings then had his work cut out for him as he tried to close on Stevenson. Swanson and Warsech battled it out for third place as neither was able to shake loose the other.

In the end, Stevenson crossed the finish line with plenty to celebrate as he demolished the field. Iddings crossed in second place, not able to make up much time. Third went to BRI teammate Toby Swanson.

"Cold beer and days at Whistler," Stevenson proclaimed as he rode off from the interview. Perhaps this was the secret to his success at SCC #2. Sounds like a winning combination!

Weighall Takes Slogfest at SCC #1

By F. Joe Hamilton
Photos by Sean Brandenburg

SNOHOMISH, WA - ...And so there was rain. Rain that never let up until the last lap of the Men's Cat 1/2 field at the first race of the Seattle Cyclocross Series held at Valley View Middle School just south of Snohomish. The race was a sloppy mess, but that didn't hold back Nick Weighall from taking an early lead and holding it all the way through the race.

At the gun riders stood on the throttle and made their way around the muddy running track and headed into some singletrack in the woods. Once out of the woods riders hit the open ground of the baseball fields. The course offered two double barriers -one that doubled as a short run-up, and also a longer run-up section- all packed into a relatively short course. The course may have been short distance-wise, but riders found themselves struggling to turn ultra fast lap times with all the treacherous mud and standing water.

However, all this was a matter of perspective as the wet course was no match for Weighall, "I felt great. Good course, surprisingly tacky; it hooked up really good. I had a few close calls, but kept it upright."

Early on, the race saw Weighall and Toby Swanson (Benaroya) both together with Ryan Iddings (Lapierre) in chase. The rest of the field, including local cyclocross legend Dale Knapp, fought it out for position and by mid-race most places had been decided.

"Toby [Swanson] was out there killin' it," added Weighall regarding that point early in the race when two rode together for a short time. The power of Weighall was inevitably a bit too much for Swanson though and the course got the better of him.

"I was just trying to chase [Weighall]. I got tired and sloppy, fell down a few times, but they were like slow motion crashes. Besides that, it was just awesome!" explained a wet and muddy Swanson who was all smiles after the race.

In third place was Iddings, chasing hard but unable to make up much ground on the two leaders. Iddings, who has a top ten focus at nationals in December, was digging deep but couldn't muster enough to close the gap on Swanson.

"Yeah it was really wet, cold. I kind of rode steady since it's still September," stated Iddings on just trying to put in some good effort and stay upright.

By the end of the race the field was spread out all over the course. The ten lap feature did a number on many riders who had mechanicals due to all the mud.

"I did one bike change, my drive-train was kinda clickin' away, with like three to go" added Weighall. Other riders pulled out of the race as flatted tubulars, broken chains, and beaten drive-trains got worked by the early-season rains of late September.

Editor's note: Occasionally, we will get the chance to cover events outside of our region (i.e.- 'Cross Vegas). When these opportunities arise, we will do our best to spotlight the participation of Northwest athletes.

Third Time's a Charm for Trebon at 'Cross Vegas

Northwester finally beats Swiss Champ

By Sean Brandenburg
September 27, 2007

LAS VEGAS, NV- As could've been expected, an all-star field that again featured Northwest Ents Ryan Trebon and Barry Wicks, Swiss National Champ Christian Huele, Lightspeed Maxxis' Geoff Kabush, and Jeremy Powers of Cyclocrossworld.com. The course however, was long and spread out over several soccer fields and so the action was a little slow after the initial selection was made.

The lead group was as big as 10, and as small as two as Trebon and Huele again made it personal. Half-way through the last lap, Trebon attacked hard on a short but steep knoll; only Huele could go with him. The two rounded the last corner with Huele tight on Trebon's wheel. But Trebon would not be denied victory again and was able to put a bike-length between him and the man who had beat him twice last weekend.

Trebon crossed the line with his arm raised and with Huele rolling in for second. Trebon's partner who had laid down several blazing attacks to soften the field had to sprint against Jeremy Powers for third place and just missed the final podium spot.

In the women's race, Cyclocrossworld.com's Lyne Bessette took the gold with U-23 national 'cross champ Katie Compton (Spike Shooter) taking the runner-up spot. Luna Chix Katerina Nash rounded out the podium. Bessette and Compton made quick work of the field going off the front immediately. They continually built their lead while Nash did her best to chase them down. But her efforts were futile as Bysette and Compton were way too strong. Bessette would eventually pull away from Compton for a strong solo victory.

Portland's Double-'cross duo of Wendy Williams and Sue Butler were also in attendence and put up excellent results against world-class competition. Williams was in the first chase group behind Nash and finished in 7th place. Butler headed up her chase group just behind Williams' and finished in the top-twenty. Also in attendence was Vancouver B.C.'s Kelly Jones who rode most of the race on her own, picking off rider after rider for a top-twenty finish as well.

Men:
1. Ryan Trebon, Kona-YourKey Mortgage, 58:28
2. Christian Heule (Swi), Stevens Bicycles, 58:28
3. Jeremy Powers, Cyclocrossworld.com, 58:30
4. Barry Wicks, Kona-Your Key Mortgage, 58:30
5. Jonathan Page, Sun Web-Pro Job, 58:36
6. Geoff Kabush (Can), Team Maxxis, 58:52
7. Jonathan Baker, Primus Mootry, 58:52
8. Davide Frattini (I), Colavita-Sutter Home, 58:52
9. Tim Johnson, Cyclocrossworld.com, 58:53
10. Christopher Jones, Nerac, 59:02

Women:
1. Lyne Bessette (Can), Cyclocrossworld.com, 45:31
2. Katie Compton, Spike Shooter, 46:08
3. Katerina Nash (Cz), Luna, 46:44
4. Georgia Gould, Luna, 46:53
5. Alison Sydor (Can), Rocky Mountain, 47:08
6. Kelli Emmett, Team Giant, 47:08
7. Wendy Williams, River City Bicycles, 47:08
8. Mary McConneloug, Kenda-Seven Cycles, 47:08
9. Shelley Olds, California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized, 47:22
10. Wendy Simms (Can), Kona-YourKey Mortgage,

Rad Racing Gran Prix of 'Cross

Click on the thumbnails below (opens in a popup)...

Rad Racing GP Race Report

By Nick Barile
September 27, 2007

STEILACOOM PARK, TACOMA, WA- Another surprisingly nice day in the Northwest this late into September and the Rad Racing GP was on like donkey kong. Each of the past two years the Rad GP, hosted by the Rad Racing Junior Development Team, was a part of the Crankbrothers GP of Cyclocross Series. Unfortunatley the series is visiting some other cities this year but the Rad Cup was apart of this year's UCI calender, so a bunch of the heavy hitters showed up to race.

The Starcrossed hangover had hopefully worn off by the time three p.m. rolled around for the start of the Masters 1/2 race. Not much to report on this contest mainly because it was dominated by the current Masters National Champion out of Idaho, Richard Feldman. He broke away from the group durring the first lap on the back side of the course. After the "Knapp-Time Run-Up" he steadily increased his lead each lap after that.

Other notable performances in the masters race came from Redline's Matt Hill who chased Feldman solo for the entire seven laps and finished just under a minute down. Local favorite Dale Knapp finished 5th, 1'25" off the pace after having worked the grave yard shift and not sleeping the night before. Not Bad.

The Elite women's race was a tight battle between Starcrossed winner Wendy Williams of River City Bicycles, Rachel Lloyd of the Proman/Paradigm team and Wendy Simms (Kona). The three ladies fought it out in front of the rest of the competition. Simms suffered an unfortunate mechanical on lap three when she rolled a tubular off her rim and was immediately off the pace. She chased hard the rest of the race to come within 33 seconds of 2nd place finisher Williams. But is was Rachel Lloyd who fended off all the rest for a solo victory in one of the northwest's toughest courses.

The last race of the day came at four p.m. and featured the UCI Elite Men. Favorites included the Kona Factory Racing boys, with a combined height of over 27 feet: Barry Wicks and Ryan Trebon who were here Starcrssed the day before. Also racing again was Swiss National Champ Christian Huele, Vancouver B.C.'s Geoff Kabush of the Maxxis Team, Cliff Bar's Todd Wells, and Andy Jacques-Maynes of Cal Giant Strawberries. The race was fast, that's all I can say. These guys are the best in the world at what they do so it was truly a pleasure to watch them work.

Kabush put in the first attack on the run-up. I could see this coming a mile away seeing as though his race at Starcrossed was cut short by a rolled tubie on the first lap of the race. The field of guys behind Geoff did not seem to appreciate his enthusiasm so early in the race as they all had their bitter beer faces on while they sprinted up the "Knapp Time." A group of four formed off the front with the usual cast of characters, Wicks, Trebon, Huele, and Kabush. The first of the shattered chase groups had Jacques-Maynes and Wells leading the charge, but they were ultimately unsuccessful in catching the leaders.

So it was down to four.

Kabush was the first to fall off the pace due to his initial hard effort to weed out the field in the early laps. Next to get dropped was Wicks after attacking Christian Huele over and over again. Trebon and Heule were set to duke it out at the line again as they snaked through the lower grass feild section. You could see the tension between the two of them as they shadowed each other.

Neither of these two wanted to loose this one. The Swiss Champ and the U.S. Champ head to head, again. It was symbolic of the American-Swiss War of 1982. It was very short and you may have never of heard about it. Or is that what they want you to think? Hmmm....

I digress.

The two leaders rounded the final corner and Huele led out the final charge to the line. Trebon tried to come around him at the finish but went just a little too late and Huele won by half a packet of Swiss Miss. Nice work boys. Way to put on a show.

Maybe Ryan Can Beat Heule at Cross Vegas. We will have to see.

Over 2,000 spectators came out to watch the madness and mayhem at Marymoor Park on Saturday. The day began at 2:00 p.m. with the lower category men's, women's and master's riders, followed by the main event at 7:00pm. The moment everyone had been waiting for began with a bang as northwest favorites and Kona riders Ryan Trebon and Barry Wicks exploded out of the gate. continue reading...

Copper Cross: Stevenson leads Benaroya to 1-2-3 Charge

By F. Joe Hamilton
September 17th, 2007

The Benaroya Research Institute Cycling Team made its presence known in the Cat 1/2 men's race today at Copper Cross. The notoriously sandy course at South Sea-Tac was set up by AVA/Counterbalance and included a notable series of three short, loose, and steep ascents followed by a few short miles of singletrack. It was also the first rainy day for 'cross racing this season, but the sands of South Sea-Tac readily soaked it up, leaving the course less dusty, but just as challenging.

The Cat 1/2 men's field contained some talented riders but they were proven to be a bit sluggish as an attacking Russell Stevenson got the hole-shot. Right from the gun Stevenson was out front setting a blistering pace.

"I just wanted to avoid the bottleneck," Stevenson recalled, referring to the portion of the course that contained the sandy run-ups. And avoid it he did. Others were not so lucky as many riders, including other fields earlier that day, had problems navigating the section.

By the end of the first lap there were two groups, Stevenson and teammate Toby Swanson, followed by a hard charging group of five which contained three more Banaroya team members. The advantage was merely a few seconds, but by the end of the race it would grow to almost 35 seconds.

By lap four of nine Stevenson was completely alone and riding his own race. Teammates Toby Swanson and Loren Hansen, riding 8 seconds back, had joined forces and managed to splinter the chase group. The remaining group of three, including Dan Neyens - the lone Hagens Berman rider - were at 18 seconds back.

"Of course, we wanted to catch Russ," stated Swanson of working well with teammate Hansen, but ultimately they chose to play it tactically safe and work on damage control.

The only change up in the top was when a Lapierre rider, who started strong, slipped back a few places and never regained ground. Benaroya kept the Hagens Berman rider in check for the remainder of the race.

"This is our home turf, we raced here all summer on Wednesday nights" said Stevenson referring to the summer Wednesday night mountain bike races.

The familiarity with the park showed as the Benaroya crew claimed four of the top five slots. If Benaroya continues to make showings such as these, they are going to be strong contenders at upcoming UCI and SCC Series races this fall.

"When you race from March until December you have to take time off," said Stevenson, referring to how he toned back his riding during the month of August to refocus in anticipation of the cyclocross season. All three riders, Stevenson, Swanson, and Hansen, expressed a certain zest for making a presence at next Week's Star Crossed in Redmond.

Things Get a Little Crazy at Cyclocrazed # 1

Weighall and Lyndon-Griffith are Winners at Silver Lake

By Sean Brandenburg
September 8th, 2007

SILVER LAKE STATE PARK, WA- A small number of cyclo-crazies turned out for the first race in the three-part Bellingham-based Cyclocrazed series. The men's A race was a one-man show as Rad Racing's 20-year-old phenom Nick Weighall demolished a small field, and nearly himself. The action was tight until about half-way through the first lap when Weighall outmaneuvered the only rider still in front of him through a three-barrier series of turns. From that point on, it was a Weighall highlight reel as he entertained spectators by bunny-hopping barriers, grabbing dollar bills, and crashing.

"The course wasn't too bad. It was windy, and there were good barriers" said Weighall describing the only two things that stood between him and a solid victory.

The most entertaining point of the morning's race came when B's race winner and BicycleNorthwest columnist F. Joe Hamilton set a dollar bill prime station at the second barrier of the afore mentioned three-barrier section. Hamilton placed a dollar bill in his rear pocket and as riders cleared the barrier, they had the opportunity to make a buck by yanking it from his jeans. After one lap of encouragement, Weighall was the only rider to take a shot at the prime and had to earn his dollar the hard way as he lost control and hit the dirt.

"I just got out there into the tall grass" he recalled. But it was no matter as his lead was so large, he had plenty of time to remount and laugh it off.

In the race for second that took place about one la behind Weighall, Bellingham's Jeff McConaughy (Jack's Bicycle & Fitness) powered to the silver spot. It was a solid result for McConaughy who was out on his cross bike for the first time this year.

"If there was a bigger group here, I might not have done so well" said McConaughy, who also plans on doing Sunday's Mount Baker Hill Climb.

The Cyclocrazed series continues next month on the 27th. We'll see if McConaughy and Weighall show up to secure more points.

The women's A race was a two women show as last week's third and fourth place winners battled it out for the victory at Cyclocrazed # 1. Byrne Specialty Gas's Beth Lyndon-Griffith and Sugoi/Cannondale/Bontrager rider Kelly Jones duked it out for for the win while racing with the Men's A group. But unlike last week, Jones wasn't able to get the better of Lyndon-Griffith as the course was more suited to the former road racing star.

"The course was great for me because there were no run-ups" said Lyndon-Griffith. "It was flat, power ride. My kind of course".

Jones on the other hand, prefers a more technical course, saying that she would have faired better had there been a run-up or some single track. But the long straights and lack of technical features weren't all that made it difficult to keep pace with Lyndon-Griffith. Jones also had a slightly amusing tactical mistake to deal with.

Jones' friend and carpool-mate Steve Cork (Escape Velocity) had also entered the race, and so the pair became a makeshift team. The only problem was that they had made no plans to ride as a team and Cork unknowingly led out Lyndon-Griffith to a big gap over Jones during the first lap. Hopefully he won't have to walk back to B.C., but the two laughed about the goof after the race, and were happy to be here tuning up for tomorrow's first B.C. Cross Cup race.

09/03/07: Skerrit, Berg are Labor Day Cross Champs

By Sean Brandenburg
September 3, 2007

SEATAC, WA- Sunny skies and jet wash warmed cross racers at South Seatac Park on Labor Day, and like the weather, the racing was hot. In the Men's A race three riders took off like jets from nearby Seattle Tacoma International. Vanilla Bike's tasty twosome of Shannon Skerritt and Molly Cameron took off with Rad Racing's Nick Weighall, and half way through the first of six laps, the trio already had a small gap on the field. Behind them, small groups would work in vain for the rest of the race to try to stay in touch.

Skerrit was clearly the strongest rider today but his ride was not easy. The sinewy Vanilla Bikes rider had to overcome first-lap jitters as he went down over the course's only barriers. "The course was dry and bumpy." said Skerrit, adding that it "was your typical south Seatac in September". But even though Skerrit was familiar with the course, he likely could not have predicted the day's double scoop of Vanilla. His barrier miscue may have been caused by the fact that he had just built up his Vanilla team bike the night before. And he wasn't the only Vanilla racer scrambling to get ready for today's race.

Last night, Skerrit's teammate Molly Cameron wasn't sure if he'd even be able to race today. Cameron was suffering from food poisoning and wasn't able to keep down food. He did his best to make it hard on the competition by attacking as soon as Skerrit went down over the barriers, but his stomach was still in knots from the night before. Cameron said that the dry, loose conditions made the course hard to navigate, and he briefly dropped down to fifth place. "I stayed there and did my best to ride for Shannon and then I found a rhythm and was able to make my way back up there".

By the third lap, Skerrit had a 15 second gap on Nick Weighall, while Cameron was hot on Weighall's tail at 10 seconds. By the fourth lap, it appeared that Cameron and Weighall were racing for second place as Skerrit was holding his gap steadily. But that would change in a matter of little more than seven minutes.

As the leaders came around for the fifth lap, Skerrit had widened his lead to 30 seconds over his teammate and Weighall. But the Rad Racer went down midway through the lap in a tight turn, and though he was able to quickly remount, the damage was done. The next and final time through the start/finish, Skerrit still had his 30 second lead over his teammate, but Cameron was able to turn Waighall's miscue into a 15 second gap over third place. When all was said and done, Skerrit crossed the finish line in 45:40, with Cameron following 30 seconds later. Weighall rounded out the podium shortly after Cameron crossed the line.

The action was just as exciting for the four lap Women' A race.

As in the men's race, a fast foursome flew the coup on the pack right from the get-go. Bridgette Stoick (River City Cycles), Kristi Berg (Redline Elite), Kelly Jones (Sugoi/Cannondale/Bontrager) and Beth Lyndon-Griffith (Byrne Specialty Gases) opened up a small gap half-way through the first lap. By the second go-round Stoick and Berg had set off on their own with Jones and Lyndon-Griffith following in third and fourth places respectively. And although they remained a relatively tight group, things would change at the half-way point in the race.

"I took off at the start/finish as we came around to start the [third] lap" said Kristi Berg with a big smile. She was able to get a gap and hold off her rivals with the help of a mistake-free final lap. But despite her well-timed move, the outcome of the Women's race was not as evident as early as was the Men's.

In order to notch her first Cross win of the season, Berg had to hold off hard charging River City Cycles rider Bridgette Stoick. Stoick was hot on Berg's tail for all of the last two laps but couldn't quite close the gap. And rounding out the podium was Canada's Kelly Jones (Sugoi/Cannondale/Bontrager).

Jones said this was a great first race for her as she tunes up for the British Columbia cross series, and Starcrossed later this month. "The competition was tight, and I was trying to pace myself because I normally have a hard time doing that", she said. She looks to be in great form for her home series and looked impressive as the only woman rider to clean the first run-up without dismounting on all four of her laps.

All in all, both races were exciting to watch. If this was any indication as to how the rest of the cross season will go, we're all in for an exciting series.

NW Regional Cyclocross Schedule 2007

When	Race	Where
Let us know of any other events you'd like to see on here!
Nov 17th	Cyclocrazed #3: Tractor Cross	Bellingham, WA
Nov 17th-18th	USGP of CX #3 and #4	Trenton, NJ
Nov 18th	WA State CX Champs	Bremerton, WA
Nov 18th	Cross Crusade #7	Hillsboro, OR
Nov 25th	SCC #8	South SeaTac, WA
Dec 1st-2nd	USGP of CX #5 and #6	Portland, OR
Dec 9th	SCC FInal	Kelly Creek, WA
Dec 12th-16th	US CX Nats	Kansas City, KA
Jan 26th-27th	UCI CX World Champs	Treviso, IT

NW Cyclocross Links

Links	Region
We know there are links we missed... send them our way!
SeattleCyclocross.com	Seattle, WA
Cyclocrazed.com	Bellingham, WA
CrossCrusade.com	Portland, OR
Oregon Bicycle Racing Assn: OBRA.org	Oregon
Cross on the Rocks	Vancouver Island, BC
CyclingBC.net	British Columbia

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