November 20/05 10:25 am - Canadians Win in US 'Cross

Posted by Editor on 11/20/05
 

Wicks, Bessette Ride Big Wins at Surf City
Courtesy USGPC

Blasted dry by a scorching November heat wave, the Watsonville Fairgrounds, just outside Santa Cruz, Calif., hosted Surf City Cyclocross, round five of the 2005 Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross on Saturday. Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com-Louis Garneau) and Barry Wicks (Kona) won the Elite Women's and Men's races, respectively, on a course that seemed more mid-summer than near-winter.

Bessette won her 12th consecutive race of the 2005 cyclocross season, though it proved her tightest as fellow Canadian Wendy Simms (Kona) came within a handful of seconds of dethroning the reigning queen of North American 'Cross. As she has all year, Bessette dashed off the front of the Elite Women's field on the first lap, but Simms used her well-honed mountain bike skills to ride several of the hills that Bessette chose to run. The resulting time gain allowed Simms to take back precious seconds nearly every lap, coming within a paltry five ticks of catching Bessette outright. But the savvy Canadian champion kept cool under the hot afternoon sun, cementing win #12 and the overall U.S. Gran Prix title in the process. Georgia Gould (Kona) rounded out the top three. Bessette also won the FOCUS First Lap Competition on the day, pocketing the $100 prize.

Always a fast starter and a regular on the podium, Wicks unleashed his best 'Cross race of the year, leading the Elite Men's event from start to finish. As his teammate Simms had done in the earlier race, Wicks rode all the course's hills, opening his margin back to the rest of the field to some 45 seconds. A chase duo of Todd Wells (GT-Hyundai) and Mark McCormack (Team Clif Bar) set out after Wicks but the effort proved fruitless. Wells managed to shed McCormack in the closing laps to finish second for the third race in a row. Carl Decker (Giant) passed a fading Tim Johnson (Cyclocrossworld.com-Louis Garneau) with less than two laps to go, but fifth place was good enough for Johnson to pull on the overall Series leader's jersey. Wicks added the FOCUS First Lap Competition prize to his race win.

The 2005 Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross concludes November 20 in San Francisco California.

2005 Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross Race #5
Surf City Cyclocross, Watsonville, Calif.

Elite Women
1. Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com-Louis Garneau)
2. Wendy Simms (Kona)
3. Georgia Gould (Kona)
4. Christine Vardaros (Velo Bella)
5. Melissa Thomas (Toyko Joe's-GoLite)
6. Rhonda Mazza (Team S&M-Vanilla)
7. Josie Beggs (Starbucks)
8. Ann Knapp (Kona)
9. Bridgett Stoick
10. Maureen Bruno Roy (Independent Fabrication)

Elite Men
1. Barry Wicks (Kona)
2. Todd Wells (GT-Hyundai)
3. Mark McCormack (Team Clif Bar)
4. Carl Decker (Giant)
5. Tim Johnson (Cyclocrossworld.com-Louis Garneau)
6. Andy Jacques-Maynes (Giant Strawberries-Specialized)
7. Eric Tonkin (Kona)
8. Jesse Anthony (Team Clif Bar)
9. Alan Obye (FOCUS)
10. Matt Shriver (Kona-Easton)


North Carolina Grand Prix #1 - Hendersonville, North Carolina

Women
1 Tara Ross (Can) Diet Cheerwine
2 Cara McCauley
3 Betsy Schauer
4 Melanie Swartz
5 Samantha Williams

Men
1 Jon Hamblen
2 Bart Gillespie
3 Jed Schneider
4 Michael Cody
5 Tristan Schouten