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2002 98over.com North Carolina Championship Series Final

Jackson Park, Hendersonville, NC, December 8, 2002

NC Cyclocross Series Finale Makes for Speedy Cycling, Standings Shakeups

By Dahron Johnson

Even though clouds hung low, racers' and spectators' spirits ran high as the final race of 2002 98over.com North Carolina Cyclocross Championship Series rolled onto the familiar grounds of Jackson Park in Hendersonville. Fortunately for the 62 racers and many spectators, the skies held their precipitation in check, and it became quickly evident fast racing was to be the rule of the day. Held on the home turf of series organizer Tim Hopkin, the course bore all the marks of his imprimatur, with at least a dozen off-camber turns, slick mud sections, and flat, open road sections. As with most of the races in the series, the long course in Hendersonville-which in the past featured at least one run-up and three or four sets of barriers-had only two barrier sets and a former run-up now made ridable. With the equal balance of technical challenges and speedy sections, though, the course demonstrated that the layout requirements and restrictions now stipulated by both the USCF and UCI do not necessarily mean making an off-road criterium. The 1.7-mile route provided a fitting end to a series that has long served as a beacon in the South for what cyclocross is, and should be, about.

With tenth-ranked U23 rider Ryan Trebon off to the West to test his mettle and prepare for the National Championships to be held in Napa, California this coming weekend, the Men's A racers thought their task would be only to sort out the final overall standings for the series. They were quickly disabused of that notion. Of course, all the usual suspects were present: Cycling Spoken Here's Charlie Storm and Daniel Doub, Cycle De Oro/NorthState Chevrolet's Colin Barry and Rich Harper (though notably missing last year's second ranked rider, Peter Hymas), and Andy Applegate of the new Carolina Cyclocross Association/Trek team. Nudging up to the start line, though, was an out-of-town guest: Rad Racing Northwest's Toby Swanson, former US National Cyclocross team member, and currently ranked twentieth in the U23's. Even those superlatives don't do him full justice, as Swanson has made the journey to only one of the eighteen UCI-ranked races this season, focusing instead on running them ragged in the Pacific Northwest. And with the word spreading of how Swanson kept Applegate at bay the day before in the state championships, the A racers knew there would be no rest on this day.

No sooner had the whistle blown did the mayhem begin. With the athletes' adrenalin on high, the pack scorched up the short opening pavement section together-not a problem, except that the road was immediately followed by a wide, ultra-slick turn that deceived riders into thinking they could ride though it broader than single file. Racers went down, and in the aftermath, the splits that were to remain in place for the rest of the race had been created. At the lead came Swanson, Storm, and Applegate. Behind them, spaced out but still in sight of one another were Doub, Barry, Morgan, and Harper, with Degele and Lindsay Wilson College's Chris Herndon still in the mix. Swanson slowly started to pull away from the others, and over the course of the ensuing 55 minutes pushed hard every lap, increasing his gap to a comfortable winning margin. Charlie Storm and Applegate, though, were still engaged in one of their epic battles. In the end, it appeared that Applegate's double gold medal winning efforts of the day before finally caught up with him, and Storm finished the season with a strong second place. Applegate did not let up, though, until he crossed the finish line, and while he may have ended up third on the day, his solid performance throughout the seven race series earned him second place in the series, with 786 points to series victor Storm's 1002.

Behind them, the racing was far from over, as Cycles De Oro teammates Barry and Harper work for each other paid off in the end. Early in the race, when Harper started falling off the pace, Barry held up to make sure Harper stayed with them. It was good that he did, for in the last lap of the race, Harper took the helm on the fast road section on the backside of the course, towing Barry within sight of Asheville Bicycle Racing's Jason Morgan. Target acquired, Barry poured everything he had into the last half of the last lap, and by the time they crested the final run/ride-up only 200 meters from the end, the two were neck-and-neck. As they came through the triple barricades 100 meters from the finish, Morgan was just ahead of Barry. Barry, however, was not to be denied, and came around Morgan in a dramatic sprint that had spectators and fellow racers hollering at the top of their lungs. Harper, his work done, came in some moments later in seventh, with Daniel Doub just ahead of him.

Points races and out-of-state interlopers also provided plenty of excitement in the Women's A event. With Asheville Bicycle Racing's Cara McCauley, Earthfare's Adrienne Brown, and Lauren Trull of the Carolina Cyclocross Association/Trek team only separated by eighteen points, the series title hung in the race's balance. As if that weren't enough to intensify things, Independent Fabrications' Lisa Ropke, up from Woodstock, Georgia, decided to join the fray. Ropke strung things out almost immediately, with repeat state and national champion Trull in hot pursuit. Behind them, McCauley and Brown kept in close contact. Ropke's early efforts, though, showed on her face and in her rocking style by the closing lap, and when Trull was made aware of how close she was-around 15 seconds-she redoubled her efforts. In the end, Trull ran out of room in her unsuccessful chase, and had to settle for second on the day. McCauley crossed the line only moments later, and when the final points were tallied, she managed to eke out the series overall win by five points, with 474 to Trull's 469. Trull's road season teammate Brown took fourth in the race and third in the overall.

The series leader for the Master's 35+ category coming into the weekend, Dr. Rob Moran of Cycling Spoken Here, was unable to attend the day's event, and his absence opened a window for Sandhill Cycling Club's Marcus Jones to take the overall victory if he could manage to take first or second on the day. However, with Michael Scholtz of DeFeet Racing setting a torrid pace from the start, Jones had his work cut out for him. It quickly became apparent that Scholtz, who had won two weeks earlier in Pinehurst, was on a mission. Mouth agape and out of the saddle crossing the line for each lap, it was obvious he did not want to give Jones a chance to come around him. Isolated, Jones fought hard every lap, and with the absent Moran's teammate John Baxter right behind him, Jones could not afford to make a mistake. In the end, Scholtz took the win, which also earned him sixth overall-a respectable place, considering he only participated in four of the seven events. Jones managed to hold off Baxter, and as a result, took the 35+ series title as well.

Jones' grin when presented with the winner's trophy belied his realization that victory had come by the most fortunate type of luck. His primary rival for the overall title, Dr. Moran, had the misfortune of being on call this race day, giving Jones the opportunity to take the overall title despite having placed behind Moran in all other series events. While the two-year long series tradition of having every race count toward the overall awards consistency-Jones, after all, did finish in the top five in all races-and promotes attendance, one should also ask whether it, in the end, accurately reflects the season-long performance of the athletes competing for their categories' top awards.

In the event, though, there were series places still be decided. Behind the Scholtz/Jones/Baxter trio, another points battle was in full swing. Cycles De Oro/NorthState Chevrolet's Michael Satterfield and Inland Construction's Jim Edwards were tied for fourth on points, and the pride at stake in this duel might as well have made that overall ranking the yellow jersey. Edwards had finished ahead of Satterfield in the first two events of the series, but Satterfield had edged him out in the next four races, setting up the day's battle. On his side, Satterfield had his loyal teammate Lonnie Brooks there to assist, and once again, De Oro teamwork made the difference. With the three all together halfway through the race, Brooks launched an attack. This allowed Satterfield to sit back and mark Edwards' every move. Brooks had one of the best races of his season, riding by himself 11 seconds ahead of the pair, and more importantly, acting like a carrot for Edwards. In the end, and just as in the A-men's race, the battle for fourth came down to the last ride-up and barriers. Satterfield and Edwards charged up the short, steep, hill side by side. Then, Edwards bobbled at the top, forcing him to put a foot down. Satterfield quickly took advantage of his competitor's misstep, but Edwards was right back on his wheel by the barriers. The effort to catch back on, though, left him short on breath, and while he came through the obstacles quickly, Satterfield had a crucial step on him as they hopped back on the bikes. As Satterfield charged away, Lonnie Brooks was there to seal the deal. When Brooks arrived at the finish line, he stopped just short of it and waited. Then, when Satterfield flew across the line, Brooks simply stepped over it, putting another place between his teammate and Edwards. The tactic assured Satterfield a series fourth place by 12 points over Edwards, and Brooks' fifth on the day helped push him into seventh for the series.

Injuries from the previous day's state championship races defined the Masters 45+ event. Hearts Racing's Randy Shields, who was 7-0 on the season-including his gold-medal ride on Saturday-had somehow pulled a calf muscle dismounting the bike after Saturday's event. Hobbling but undeterred, Shields still lined up at the start on Sunday, intent on protecting his series title. With Shields only needing to finish to preserve his lead, OLP's Arthur Reaves and Albert Mills of Alamance Bike Club/Elon Bike shop saw their chance for an elusive victory. The two had been finishing just ahead or just behind each other, and while Shield's injury was unfortunate, it allowed the exciting Reaves/Mills duel to come to the fore. As Shields gingerly stepped over the barriers, Reaves and Mills surged ahead. In the end, Reaves took first on the day, pulling away from Mills in the race's closing minutes. Randy Shields' brother, Kerry, kept up his brother's high standards, taking third. When Randy finished the line in last place, he had not only won the 45+ title, but also the renewed respect of his fellow racers for the valiant effort he put forth. Again, though, the situation was forced by requiring racers to complete all events; did Shields really need to ride in such obvious pain to protect what he had already earned by racing an otherwise flawless season?

Continuing the day's tradition of tight racing, the B Men's event put on display riders so evenly matched that the top four stayed within 10 feet of each other for all but the final two laps. Spicing up the action, though, was another points battle. Boone Bike & Touring's Shaw Brown, third overall heading into Sunday's race, trailed Timothy "Bo" Glenn of Cycling Spoken Here by only ten points. To jump ahead of Glenn, though, Brown would need to finish two places ahead of him. With Glenn's teammate Taylor Jones only needing to finish to take the overall victory, the pre-race odds seemed in Glenn's favor, as Jones had openly promised to ride in his support. As the race unfolded, though, it became quickly apparent that Glenn's legs were not responding well to the challenge, yo-yoing off the back of a group that included Brown, Jones, and Cycle De Oro/NorthState Chevrolet's Dahron Johnson. With Johnson effectively unable to move up any further in the series rankings, he and Brown made an in-the-moment combine. If Johnson could continue to stay ahead of Glenn, then Brown needed only to finish just ahead of them both to secure a second overall. As it turned out, they needed to do little work themselves. With Jones grinding away in a large gear, the high pace hurt his already struggling teammate Glenn. As Jones pulled away, Glenn continued to fade, and Brown rode hard all the way to the finish. Johnson, who had slipped off Brown's pace, managed to pull back within just a few bike lengths, yelling up to Brown that second was his. Johnson then sat up, keeping an eye open for Glenn, and coasted through the final meters for third on the day.

Patricia Durrell of Sandhills Cycling Club proved winning battles doesn't necessarily mean winning wars, though she managed to do both this day. Durrell, who was leading the B-women's series despite not having taken a single victory, corrected that omission by finishing first in Hendersonville. Behind her came Asheville Bicycle Racing's Janet Trubey, who was, as it were, two-for-two in twos: second on the day, and second overall. The steadily improving Lochwood Racing's Shannon Goff came in third, and took the final podium spot in the series as well. Juniors series rivals, the unattached Sam Falgout and Fit To Be Tried's Daniel Dinkins, met for their final series duel, the results of which caused a last-day switch of series leaders. Dinkins' six-point advantage coming into the day was not enough to hold Sam Falgout at bay. Dinkins, whose second place in the previous day's medal races hinted that he might not be up to par, had another off day finishing third. Falgout took the win, and with it, the overall title-Dinkins finished in second, only three points behind. Sneaking in between the two for second on the day was Bicycle Shed racer Ed Buress. Finally, Nicholas McGowan, riding for Bicycle World and up from the North Carolina coast, took the day's victory in the C-men's event. It being his only race of the series, though, he was no threat to second place finisher and series winner, Carolina Cyclocross Association/Trek's Chris Wade. His main rival for the series top spot, Jay Walsh of Paul's Racing, had a rough day of it, finishing in seventh, but still came out with enough points to hold onto a series second place. Cycles De Oro/NorthState Chevrolet racer Matthew Skeen rounded out the day's top three, but it was still not enough to best the third overall of Cycling Spoken Here's David Matyjasik. Matyjasik took the last trophy place by a mere 4 and a half points over Skeen, who had only competed in four of the series events.

With the victors donned in their champion's vests, donated by Sandhills Cycling Club, and astride their Thompson seatposts-a last minute prize given by the Georgia-based manufacturer-the 2002 98over.com North Carolina Cyclocross Championship series draws to a close. All the best to those representing North Carolina in the National Championships this coming weekend in Napa, California. Just remember, when you get back, don't put that cross bike in storage just yet! The five-race, three-weekend Winter Cup arrives in January, so keep those canti's lubed. As always, full details on the series, or anything else North Carolina cyclocross, can be found at www.nccyclocross.net. Happy holidays, stay safe, and speedy racing!

Results

A Men - 16 riders
 
1 Toby Swanson (Rad Racing Northwest)                              55.41
2 Charles Storm (Cycling Spoken Here)
3 Andy Applegate (Carolina Cyclocross Association/Trek)
4 Colin Barry (Cycles De Oro/NorthState Chevrolet)
5 Jason Morgan (Asheville Bicycle Racing Club)
6 Daniel Doub (Cycling Spoken Here)
7 Rich Harper (Cycles De Oro/NorthState Chevrolet)
8 Chris Herndon (Lindsay Wilson College)
9 John Degele (East Carolina Velo)
10 Martin Visser (Nantahala Outdoor Center)
11 Josh Conner (Lindsay Wilson College)
12 James Wilson (Earthfare)
13 Tim Hopkin (Asheville Bicycle Racing Club)
14 Chris Livergood (Bike Zoo)
15 TJ Behm (Baby Dolls Racing)
16 Jarik Saleh (Kelly Bikes)
 
A Women - 6 riders
 
1 Lisa Ropke (Independent Fabrications)                            39.41
2 Lauren Trull (Carolina Cyclocross Association/Trek/Earthfare)
3 Cara McCauley (Asheville Bicycle Racing Club)
4 Adrienne Brown (Earthfare)
5 Hope Ann Snyder (Paul's Schwinn)
6 Maureen Chambers (Franklin Street Cycles)
 
Masters 35+ - 8 riders
 
1 Michael Scholtz (DeFeet Racing)                                  41.03
2 Marcus Jones (Sandhills Cycling Club)
3 John Baxter (Cycling Spoken Here)
4 Michael Satterfield (Cycles De Oro/NorthState Chevrolet)
5 Lonnie Brooks (Cycles De Oro/NorthState Chevrolet)
6 Jim Edwards (Inland Cycling)
7 Chip Cooney (DeFeet Racing)
8 John Kuenck (Sandhills Cycling Club)
 
Masters 45+ - 8 riders
 
1 Arthur Reaves (OLP Racing)                                       46.57
2 Albert Mills (Alamance Bike Club/Elon Bike Shop)
3 Kerry Shields (Hearts Racing)
4 Dale Bryant (Sandhills Cycling Club)
5 Dean Lyons (Boone Bike & Touring)
6 Charles Patnode (Sandhills Cycling Club)
7 Steve Baker (Spin Cycle)
8 Randy Shields (Hearts Racing)
 
B Men - 6 riders
 
1 Taylor Jones (Cycling Spoken Here)                               43.24
2 Shaw Brown (Boone Bike & Touring)
3 Dahron Johnson (Cycles De Oro/NorthState Chevrolet)
4 Timothy "Bo" Glenn (Cycling Spoken Here)
5 Donald Taylor (Unattached)
6 Tyler Crabtree (Harrell's Bicycle)
 
B Women - 3 riders
 
1 Patricia Durrell (Sandhills Cycling Club)                        27.29
2 Janet Trubey (Asheville Bicycle Racing Club)
3 Shannon Goff (Lochwood Racing)
 
C Men - 12 riders
 
1 Nicholas McGowan (Bicycle World)                                 29.19
2 Chris Wade (Carolina Cyclocross Association/Trek)
3 Matthew Skeen (Cycles De Oro/NorthState Chevrolet)
4 David Matyjasik (Cycling Spoken Here)
5 Ross Douglas (Baby Dolls Racing)
6 Mark Scholtz (DeFeet Racing)
7 Jay Walsh (Paul's Racing)
8 Howard Parsons (Tarheel Cyclists)
9 Robert DeRose (Thomson Components)
10 Dave Stanbridge (Unattached)
11 Jim Smalley (Paul's Racing)
 
Juniors - 3 riders
 
1 Sam Falgout (Unattached)                                         30.00
2 Ed Burress (Bicycle Shed)
3 Daniel Dinkins (Fit To Be Tried)

Final overall series standings

Men's A
 
1 Charlie Storm         1002 pts
2 Andy Applegate         786
3 Ryan Trebon            708
4 Daniel Doub            674
5 John Degele            634
6 Colin Barry            578
7 Peter Hymas            550
8 Jason Morgan           534
9 Rich Harper            454
10 Timothy Hopkin        358
11 James Wilson          355
12 Greg Becker           266.5
13 Derek Powers          216
14 Michael Ventola       181
15 Toby Swanson          180
16 Mark Rogerson         171.5
17 Rob Moran             132
18 Dan Miller             94
19 Perry Lee              85.5
20 Eammon Lanigan         85.5
21 Jason Laxton           82
22 David Larkins          81.5
23 Chris Herndon          78
24 Martin Visser          66
25 Josh Conner            63
26 Chris Livergood        54
27 TJ Behm                51
28 Philip Kielty          36
29 Ben Early              36
30 Jim Taylor             28.5
31 Basil Moutsopoulo      28.5
32 Jarik Saleh            28.5
33 Michael Scholtz        19
34 Bobby Byrd             19
 
Men's B
 
1 Taylor Jones           432 pts
2 Shaw Brown             328
3 Bo Glenn               320
4 Dahron Johnson         250
5 Jarrett Deerwester     180
6 Randy Dailey           165
7 Andrew Oishi           162
8 Kevin Hall             144
9 Wayne Stone            141
10 Mike Lockhart         141
11 Daniel Ingram         130
12 Dana Johnson          114
13 Randy Dockery          81
14 David McLean           81
15 Wes Dickson            60
16 Donald Taylor          57
17 Tyler Crabtree         51
18 Thomas Straughn        42
19 Bill Pressly           39
20 Aaron Brown            34
21 Tim Jackson            27
22 Linf Dempsey           26
23 Scott Sadler           21
 
Women's A 
 
1 Cara McCauley          474 pts
2 Lauren Trull           469
3 Adrienne Brown         452
4 Hope Ann Snyder        332
5 Maureen Chambers       257
6 Amber Krieger          120
7 Sylvia Hiller          114
8 Alisha Little           99
9 Lisa Ropke              90
10 Candice Blickem        60
11 Patricia Pinner        48
12 Beverly Robinson       42
 
Women's B
 
1 Patricia Durrell       240 pts
2 Janet Trubey           199
3 Shannon Goff           155
4 Annette Bednosky       144
5 Amber Krieger           75
6 Connie Ingram           51.5
7 Daniele Staskal         40.5
8 Anne Bolyea             40
9 Amy Hannon              31.5
10 Peggy Reed             28.5
11 Cassandra Perkins      27
12 Teresa Garrett         25.5
 
Master's 35+
 
1 Marcus Jones           437 pts
2 Rob Moran              432
3 John Baxter            363
4 Michael Satterfiel     310
5 Jim Edwards            298
6 Michael Scholtz        288
7 Lonnie Brooks          246
8 Guy Spiher             211
9 John Koenck            147
10 Chip Cooney            89
11 Bill Pressly           82
12 Michael Ventola        81
13 Charlie Storm          81
14 David Neumann          72
15 Joe Largay             55
16 Martin Visser          48
17 Mike Culpepper         45
18 Chuck Russell          43
19 David Tsai             42
20 Danny Greene           40
21 Scott Hill             39
22 Mike Beaman            39
23 Randy Murray           36
24 Mark Griffin           30
25 Charles Campbell       24
26 Michael Purser         21
27 Kyle Tompkins          18
28 Carl Griewisch         12
 
Master's 45+
 
1 Randy Shields          489 pts
2 Arthur Reaves          465
3 Albert Mills           426
4 Dale Bryant            366
5 Kerry Shields          285
6 Dean Lyons             253
7 Andrew Aamon           248
8 Charles Patnode        216
9 Steve Baker            191
10 Howard Hesterberg     163
11 David Fuller          125
12 Jeep Barrett          101
13 Kenneth Johnson        78
14 Lynn Reed              39
15 Robert Welsh           39
16 John Slivka            26
 
Men's C 
 
1 Chris Wade             235.5 pts
2 Jay Walsh              176
3 David Matyjasik        136.5
4 Matt Skeen             132
5 Dave Stanbridge        117
6 Ken Riggsbee           114.5
7 Shawn Tew               97
8 Howard Rhyne            96.5
9 George Santucci         91.5
10 Steve Levine           76.5
11 Bryan Thomas           72
12 Robert Prestwood       50.5
13 Ross Douglas           46.5
14 Nicolas McGowan        45
15 Dennis Grooms          40.5
16 Ray Brooks             26.5
17 Matt Erh               25.5
18 Mark Scholtz           25.5
19 Jim Smalley            21
20 Howard Parsons         19.5
21 Jack West              19
22 Robert DeRose          18
23 Sean Wehr              17
24 Tim Dupree             17
25 Jeff Hambleton         16.5
26 Joseph Lion            15
27 Ken Peeples            13.5
28 Greg Trazier           13
29 Don Barton             13
30 Daniel Bailey          12.5
31 Gary Dowd              12
32 Tyrone Payne           12
33 Chuck Wallace          11
34 Doug Deaton            11
35 Ron Steele             10.5
36 Walt Philipson          9
37 John Mueller            9
38 Russell Lesko           9
39 Richard Smiley          7
40 Trace Owen              7
41 Sean McAndrew           7
42 Justin Forbes           5.5
43 Miles Efron             1.5
44 Todd Spain              1.5
45 Robert Gamble           1.5
46 Tom Ricketts            1.5
47 Christopher Garre       1.5
48 Dale Harrell            1.5
49 Kristin Garau           1.5
50 Paul Depenning          1.5
51 Bob Lowery              1.5
52 William Adams           1
53 Keith Bell              1
54 Mark Ernst              1
55 Ron Smith               1
56 Richard Mann            1
57 Mike Troup              1
 
Juniors 
 
1 Sam Falgout            228 pts
2 Daniel Dinkins         225
3 Travis Liverman         40.5
4 Michael Thomas          40.5
5 Ed Burress              40.5
6 Patrick Sessoms         36
7 Richard Valenziano      31.5
8 Steven Valenziano       28.5
9 Kyle Branyon            28.5
10 Justin Hicks           21

Previous results from the USA