September 14/09 11:58 am - We Need More Cowbell `Cross: Results and Photos

Posted by Editoress on 09/14/09
 

We Need More Cowbell `Cross presented by cxfever.com,  September 12th at Bugoyne Woods, St Catharines ON

Photos by John Safka www.cyclingphotos.ca

The third year for this event saw almost 100 riders take to the line for the three starts. The riders were met with a beautiful day and a UCI calibre course that was set in a flat open grassy area with a small run up, well except for Mike Garrigan- who managed to ride it.

The first start was the cat 3/4 and M3 men and cadets. The winner of the race was Chris Ellefson of the Evil Empire Handle Bars CC; look for Chris to jump up to elite in the coming races.  In second place was resident weight weenie and Hub Cycle superstar Jeff Moote. The M3 race was won in a close battle by Eric Sanders over Paul Beit and professional stunt bicyclists Neil Armstrong. The cadets had only 2 entrants with the youngest being 12 year old Stefan Milosevic. Ben Perry of Coach Chris took the win, and I must say Stefan took the smart rider award by finding the only hole in the tape to create a nice little short cut ( yes we noticed little guy).

The 11:30 start saw the M2 and elite/master women take to the line. The M2 had the biggest category and the race saw a group of 8-10 riders in pack. In the end the group finally splintered and had Mike Kew take the win.
   The women had a total of 10 starters in the combined master elite field. This was the first race that had the Hub Bicycle barrier prime. Brianna “whole shot” Illingworth took home the huge cash prize but had to settle for second to Hub cycles Melissa Bun. Lori Koffman took the win over a hard charging Aly Armstrong.  The under 19 saw some blistering laps and some impressive speed from winner Evan McNelly.
The last start had the elite men (13) and the M1 (18) on the line. In the M1 race Peter Mogg, current Canadian over 30+ champ, took the a hard fought win over Dan Staffo and Andrew Croutch, with usually front runner Dave Dermont in 4th. This was one of the best battles of the day and if not for a late race slide Croutch would have made in a 3 way battle for the line.

The elite race was strung out on the first lap by Mike “hot pants” I mean hot lap Garrigan who once again showed impressive speed to take the Hub Cycle Barrier prime.  However, the race remained tight with Isaac Smith, Nathan “Euro Mullet” Chown and upcoming fashion designer Guy VanKrimpen together after lap one.  The group stayed together with a few small efforts here and there for one more lap. On Lap 3, Chown decided to burn his only match and threw down the TV time attack in front of the crowd. The only problem was there was no TV and he blew up soon after. Mike answered the attack and continued with a strong surge on the back side. Chown and Garrigan stayed with each other for one more lap until Mike, who was bunny hopping the uphill barriers distanced his pursuer. Chown was heard saying on the course “Why the %&%* did I put these barriers here” Mike then continued to put time into the field for the next 5 laps and showed good speed and excellent technical skill to take the win. Chown limped in for 2nd with Isaac “too cool to pick up my prize” coming in for a solid 3rd.
 The kids race had over 10 starters and they were all winners, the smiles on their faces were awesome. Riley Chown won best nap award at the race followed closely by her brother Casey who took home the course destruction prize.

The day went smooth and I hope all had a good time. I would like to thank the sponsors and supporters of the race who made making the event possible

Cyclocross Fever
Sheldon Pest Management
Handlebars C.C
Turkstra Lumber
City of St.Catharines
Guru Bicycles Canada
Vellendtech
Super Feet Insoles (awesome for cross)
St.Catharines Cycling Club

And special thanks to all the volunteers and members of the St.Catharines Cross Crew who helped with set up, tear down and course design, you know who you are.

Report courtesy organizer