Anthony, Wicks and Staley Score 'Cross Titles
Portland, Ore. (December 13, 2003)—The 2003 U.S. National Cyclo-cross Championships continued today under steady rains and cool temperatures as several events were again contested at the Portland International Speedway in Portland, Ore. Today’s feature event, the men’s U-23 race, was as exciting and competitive as predicted when Jesse Anthony (Beverly, Mass) claimed the stars and stripes jersey in a thrilling victory ahead of Alan Obye (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Hot Tubes teammate Zak Grabowski (Lafayette, Colo.).
As the cyclo-cross community awoke to a steady rain that failed to diminish throughout the day, it was evident that the day’s events would belong to those who hail themselves as powerful riders. With each passing event the course deteriorated, resulting in soupy and muddy conditions that the nation’s best espoir athletes would have to churn through in search of a national title. With the rain still falling at the 3:00pm start time for the espoir men, they set off to give the crowd the most dramatic race of the weekend thus far.
Immediately after the gun went off, a blistering pace was set as David Fleischauer (Olympia, Wash.) played the role of the rabbit for much of the first lap. As the 50 minute timed event unfurled, the pace never lightened up and by the start of the second lap, Obye had taken over the pace setting on the front of a strong field and opened up a small gap through the more technical sections of the 0.6 mile course. The strongest reaction to Obye’s effort came from Troy Wells (Western Park, N.M.), younger brother of perennial cyclo-cross star, Todd Wells (Durango, Colo.), when he quickly bridged the gap to Obye. Behind, Grabowski and Anthony hit the gas and created the winning selection as the Hot Tubes duo made contact with Obye and Wells. Shortly afterwards, Wells fell off the pace, leaving the trio of Obye, Grabowski and Anthony to duke it out for the win. An attack from Grabowski just before the completion of the fourth lap left him with a temporary lead that was quickly answered by a counterattack from Obye. With a half lap remaining in the race, Obye held a slight advantage over Anthony, but as the two crested the last set of barriers and remounted their bikes, the race for the finish line was on. Anthony attacked as the duo entered the final section of hairpin turns that lead to the finish, creating an insurmountable lead with 200 meters to go. The win gave Anthony his first national title in the U-23 ranks.
“I’m extremely happy”, said Anthony afterwards, who added an espoir national championship to go with his four junior national titles. “I’ve been planning for this race all season and Zak and I were able to pull it off. I couldn’t have done it without him.”
Earlier in the day, hometown favorite, Barry Wicks (Oregon State University), rode away from the rest of the men’s collegiate field as he claimed the collegiate national title by 1’34” over Matt Shriver (Fort Lewis College). After a conservative start, Wicks put the hammer down near the end of the first lap and never looked back, steadily increasing his lead with every flip of the lap cards. The mountain bike pro who rides for the Kona Clarks team during the fat tire season claimed his first ever U.S. National Championship.
“I didn’t know who was strong in the beginning of the race”, Wicks said afterwards. “I just rode slow to start in order to get a feel for it. I felt pretty good so I attacked on the backside of the course on the first lap and that was pretty much it. It’s nice to be out front on a course like this in these conditions. I’m from around here and race in this weather all the time, so I sort of had a home field advantage.”
Shriver’s second place finish contributed to the overall Omnium title for Fort Lewis College who took the team title ahead of the University of Colorado and the University of New Hampshire who took second and third respectively.
Keeping the theme of impressive rides, Larssyn Staley (Beaverton Ore.) rode to an equally convincing win in the Junior Women’s 15-18 category. Staley, who decided the day before to race, put 54 seconds into Karen Amundson (Woodinville, Wash.) and now boasts 10 junior national titles to her name.
In other junior racing action, Stephanie White (Bedford, N.H.) won the Junior Women’s 10-14 category, ten seconds ahead of runner-up, Danielle Haluman (Denver, Colo.).
In the Junior Men’s ranks, Luciano Worl (Woodinville, Wash.) claimed the Junior Men’s 10-12 title, Alex Coelho (Loveland, Colo.) took home the national championship in the Junior Men’s 13-14 class, and Tejay Van Garderen (Missoula, Mont.) rode to a win in the Junior Men’s 15-16 race.
The day also featured some competitive Master’s racing as Richard Feldman (Ketchum, Idaho) claimed his second consecutive Master Men’s 30-34 title. In the Master Men’s 35-39 race, James Coats (Seaside, Calif.) outrode Andy Applegate (Ashville, N.C.) by nine seconds in one of the closest and most exciting races of the day to take home a stars and stripes jersey. Mark King (Bend, Ore.) won the Master Men’s 40-44 class.
In women’s competition, Marianne Stover (Portland, Maine) rode to a national championship in the Master Women’s 30-34 category, and Lori Cox (San Jose, Calif.) took home the title in the Master Women’s 35-39 ranks.
The U.S. National Cyclo-cross Championships conclude on Sunday with the elite men’s and women’s categories. Photos from completed events are available at www.usacycling.org/gallery.
SATURDAY’S RESULTS (Top 5 in each category)
U-23 Men
1. Jesse Anthony (Beverly, Mass.)
2. Alan Obye (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
3. Zak Grabowski (Lafayette, Colo.)
4. Troy Wells (Western Park, N.M.)
5. David Fleischauer (Olympia, Wash.)
Collegiate Men
1. Barry Wicks (University of Oregon)
2. Matt Shriver (Fort Lewis College)
3. Chris Jung (University of Colorado)
4. Andrew Wulfkuhle (Kutztown University)
5. Cory Burns (University of New Hampshire)
Collegiate Omnium
1. Fort Lewis College
2. University of Colorado
3. University of New Hampshire
Junior Women’s 15-18
1. Larssyn Staley (Beaverton, Ore.)
2. Karen Amundson (Woodinville, Wash)
3. Rebecca Much (Chicago, Ill.)
4. Tela Crane (Sammamish, Wash.)
5. Lauren Trull (Greensboro, N.C.)
Junior Women’s 10-14
1. Stephanie White (Bedford, N.H.)
2. Danielle Haluman (Denver, Colo.)
3. Taylor Bogliou (Sammamish, Wash.)
4. Kayla Woolcock (Portland, Ore.)
5. Patty Roper (Portland, Ore.)
Junior Men’s 15-16
1. Tejay Van Garderen (Missoula, Mont.)
2. Bjornk Selander (Hudson, Wisc.)
3. Alex Howes (Golden, Colo.)
4. Chance Noble (Camarillo, Calif.)
5. Tucker Olander (Alma, Mich.)
Junior Men’s 13-14
1. Alex Coelho (Loveland, Colo.)
2. Collin Samaan (Fair Oaks, Calif.)
3. Daniel Summerhill (Englewood, Colo.)
4. Evan Schmitt (Roslyn, Wash.)
5. Bryson Sewell (Los Alamos, N.M.)
Junior Men’s 10-12
1. Luciano Worl (Woodinville, Wash.)
2. Benny Swedberg (Kent, Wash.)
3. Ethan Maier (Yakima, Wash.)
4. Ben Beaston (Aloha, Ore.)
5. Brian Jorgensen (Bend, Ore.)
Master Men 30-34
1. Richard Feldman (Ketchum, Idaho)
2. Shannon Skerritt (Portland, Ore.)
3. Matt Kraus (Cambridge, Mass.)
4. Brandon Dwight (Boulder, Colo.)
5. Jay Noonan (Whelerton, Mont.)
Master Men 35-39
1. James Coats (Seaside, Calif.)
2. Andy Applegate (Ashville, N.C.)
3. Todd Hoefer (Aptos, Calif.)
4. Charles Storm (Cary, N.C.)
5. Will Black (Houston, Texas)
Master Men 40-44
1. Mark King (Bend, Ore.)
2. Mark Noble (Oxnard, Calif.)
3. Gunnar Shogren (Morgantown, W.V.)
4. Emilio Cervantes (San Marcos, Calif.)
5. Dennis Farrell (Littleton, Colo.)
Master Women 30-34
1. Marianne Stover (Portland, Maine)
2. Katrina Davis (Sandy Hook, Conn.)
3. Heather Szabo (Lafayette, Colo.)
4. Sinead Fitzgibbon (Sea Harbor, N.H.)
5. Stella Carey (San Francisco, Calif.)
Master Women 35-39
1. Lori Cox (San Jose, Calif.)
2. Suzanne king (Bend, Ore.)
3. Dorothy Wong (Altapena, Calif.)
4. Amy Hunter Dillinger (Columbia City, Ore.)
5. Danielle Crandall (Seattle, Wash.)
About USACycling
Recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Union Cycliste Internationale, USA Cycling promotes American cycling through its 45,000 members and 2,000 annual events. USA Cycling associations include the National Bicycle League (BMX), National Off-Road Bicycle Association (mountain bike), U.S. Cycling Federation (road/track) and the U.S. Professional Racing Organization (professional men's road). For more information, contact Director of Communications Andy Lee at (719) 866-4867 or visit www.usacycling.org.
As the cyclo-cross community awoke to a steady rain that failed to diminish throughout the day, it was evident that the day’s events would belong to those who hail themselves as powerful riders. With each passing event the course deteriorated, resulting in soupy and muddy conditions that the nation’s best espoir athletes would have to churn through in search of a national title. With the rain still falling at the 3:00pm start time for the espoir men, they set off to give the crowd the most dramatic race of the weekend thus far.
Immediately after the gun went off, a blistering pace was set as David Fleischauer (Olympia, Wash.) played the role of the rabbit for much of the first lap. As the 50 minute timed event unfurled, the pace never lightened up and by the start of the second lap, Obye had taken over the pace setting on the front of a strong field and opened up a small gap through the more technical sections of the 0.6 mile course. The strongest reaction to Obye’s effort came from Troy Wells (Western Park, N.M.), younger brother of perennial cyclo-cross star, Todd Wells (Durango, Colo.), when he quickly bridged the gap to Obye. Behind, Grabowski and Anthony hit the gas and created the winning selection as the Hot Tubes duo made contact with Obye and Wells. Shortly afterwards, Wells fell off the pace, leaving the trio of Obye, Grabowski and Anthony to duke it out for the win. An attack from Grabowski just before the completion of the fourth lap left him with a temporary lead that was quickly answered by a counterattack from Obye. With a half lap remaining in the race, Obye held a slight advantage over Anthony, but as the two crested the last set of barriers and remounted their bikes, the race for the finish line was on. Anthony attacked as the duo entered the final section of hairpin turns that lead to the finish, creating an insurmountable lead with 200 meters to go. The win gave Anthony his first national title in the U-23 ranks.
“I’m extremely happy”, said Anthony afterwards, who added an espoir national championship to go with his four junior national titles. “I’ve been planning for this race all season and Zak and I were able to pull it off. I couldn’t have done it without him.”
Earlier in the day, hometown favorite, Barry Wicks (Oregon State University), rode away from the rest of the men’s collegiate field as he claimed the collegiate national title by 1’34” over Matt Shriver (Fort Lewis College). After a conservative start, Wicks put the hammer down near the end of the first lap and never looked back, steadily increasing his lead with every flip of the lap cards. The mountain bike pro who rides for the Kona Clarks team during the fat tire season claimed his first ever U.S. National Championship.
“I didn’t know who was strong in the beginning of the race”, Wicks said afterwards. “I just rode slow to start in order to get a feel for it. I felt pretty good so I attacked on the backside of the course on the first lap and that was pretty much it. It’s nice to be out front on a course like this in these conditions. I’m from around here and race in this weather all the time, so I sort of had a home field advantage.”
Shriver’s second place finish contributed to the overall Omnium title for Fort Lewis College who took the team title ahead of the University of Colorado and the University of New Hampshire who took second and third respectively.
Keeping the theme of impressive rides, Larssyn Staley (Beaverton Ore.) rode to an equally convincing win in the Junior Women’s 15-18 category. Staley, who decided the day before to race, put 54 seconds into Karen Amundson (Woodinville, Wash.) and now boasts 10 junior national titles to her name.
In other junior racing action, Stephanie White (Bedford, N.H.) won the Junior Women’s 10-14 category, ten seconds ahead of runner-up, Danielle Haluman (Denver, Colo.).
In the Junior Men’s ranks, Luciano Worl (Woodinville, Wash.) claimed the Junior Men’s 10-12 title, Alex Coelho (Loveland, Colo.) took home the national championship in the Junior Men’s 13-14 class, and Tejay Van Garderen (Missoula, Mont.) rode to a win in the Junior Men’s 15-16 race.
The day also featured some competitive Master’s racing as Richard Feldman (Ketchum, Idaho) claimed his second consecutive Master Men’s 30-34 title. In the Master Men’s 35-39 race, James Coats (Seaside, Calif.) outrode Andy Applegate (Ashville, N.C.) by nine seconds in one of the closest and most exciting races of the day to take home a stars and stripes jersey. Mark King (Bend, Ore.) won the Master Men’s 40-44 class.
In women’s competition, Marianne Stover (Portland, Maine) rode to a national championship in the Master Women’s 30-34 category, and Lori Cox (San Jose, Calif.) took home the title in the Master Women’s 35-39 ranks.
The U.S. National Cyclo-cross Championships conclude on Sunday with the elite men’s and women’s categories. Photos from completed events are available at www.usacycling.org/gallery.
SATURDAY’S RESULTS (Top 5 in each category)
U-23 Men
1. Jesse Anthony (Beverly, Mass.)
2. Alan Obye (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
3. Zak Grabowski (Lafayette, Colo.)
4. Troy Wells (Western Park, N.M.)
5. David Fleischauer (Olympia, Wash.)
Collegiate Men
1. Barry Wicks (University of Oregon)
2. Matt Shriver (Fort Lewis College)
3. Chris Jung (University of Colorado)
4. Andrew Wulfkuhle (Kutztown University)
5. Cory Burns (University of New Hampshire)
Collegiate Omnium
1. Fort Lewis College
2. University of Colorado
3. University of New Hampshire
Junior Women’s 15-18
1. Larssyn Staley (Beaverton, Ore.)
2. Karen Amundson (Woodinville, Wash)
3. Rebecca Much (Chicago, Ill.)
4. Tela Crane (Sammamish, Wash.)
5. Lauren Trull (Greensboro, N.C.)
Junior Women’s 10-14
1. Stephanie White (Bedford, N.H.)
2. Danielle Haluman (Denver, Colo.)
3. Taylor Bogliou (Sammamish, Wash.)
4. Kayla Woolcock (Portland, Ore.)
5. Patty Roper (Portland, Ore.)
Junior Men’s 15-16
1. Tejay Van Garderen (Missoula, Mont.)
2. Bjornk Selander (Hudson, Wisc.)
3. Alex Howes (Golden, Colo.)
4. Chance Noble (Camarillo, Calif.)
5. Tucker Olander (Alma, Mich.)
Junior Men’s 13-14
1. Alex Coelho (Loveland, Colo.)
2. Collin Samaan (Fair Oaks, Calif.)
3. Daniel Summerhill (Englewood, Colo.)
4. Evan Schmitt (Roslyn, Wash.)
5. Bryson Sewell (Los Alamos, N.M.)
Junior Men’s 10-12
1. Luciano Worl (Woodinville, Wash.)
2. Benny Swedberg (Kent, Wash.)
3. Ethan Maier (Yakima, Wash.)
4. Ben Beaston (Aloha, Ore.)
5. Brian Jorgensen (Bend, Ore.)
Master Men 30-34
1. Richard Feldman (Ketchum, Idaho)
2. Shannon Skerritt (Portland, Ore.)
3. Matt Kraus (Cambridge, Mass.)
4. Brandon Dwight (Boulder, Colo.)
5. Jay Noonan (Whelerton, Mont.)
Master Men 35-39
1. James Coats (Seaside, Calif.)
2. Andy Applegate (Ashville, N.C.)
3. Todd Hoefer (Aptos, Calif.)
4. Charles Storm (Cary, N.C.)
5. Will Black (Houston, Texas)
Master Men 40-44
1. Mark King (Bend, Ore.)
2. Mark Noble (Oxnard, Calif.)
3. Gunnar Shogren (Morgantown, W.V.)
4. Emilio Cervantes (San Marcos, Calif.)
5. Dennis Farrell (Littleton, Colo.)
Master Women 30-34
1. Marianne Stover (Portland, Maine)
2. Katrina Davis (Sandy Hook, Conn.)
3. Heather Szabo (Lafayette, Colo.)
4. Sinead Fitzgibbon (Sea Harbor, N.H.)
5. Stella Carey (San Francisco, Calif.)
Master Women 35-39
1. Lori Cox (San Jose, Calif.)
2. Suzanne king (Bend, Ore.)
3. Dorothy Wong (Altapena, Calif.)
4. Amy Hunter Dillinger (Columbia City, Ore.)
5. Danielle Crandall (Seattle, Wash.)
About USACycling
Recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Union Cycliste Internationale, USA Cycling promotes American cycling through its 45,000 members and 2,000 annual events. USA Cycling associations include the National Bicycle League (BMX), National Off-Road Bicycle Association (mountain bike), U.S. Cycling Federation (road/track) and the U.S. Professional Racing Organization (professional men's road). For more information, contact Director of Communications Andy Lee at (719) 866-4867 or visit www.usacycling.org.
This Article Published December 13, 2003 For more information contact:
