December 12/05 7:41 am - 'Cross World Cup, Frischi Report, U.S. 'Cross Nationals

Posted by Editor on 12/12/05
 

'Cross World Cup #6 - Igorre, Spain

1 Bart Wellens (Bel) Fidea Cycling Team 58:01
2 Petr Dlask (Cze) at 0:59
3 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Lampre - Caffita 1:17
4 John Gadret (Fra) Jartazi Revor 1:32
5 Sven Vanthourenhout (Bel) Rabobank 1:41
6 Erwin Vervecken (Bel) Fidea Cycling Team 1:47
7 Klaas Vantornout (Bel) 1:50
8 Sven Nijs (Bel) Rabobank 1:54
9 Richard Groenendaal (Ned) Rabobank 1:55
10 Bart Aernouts (Bel) Rabobank 2:18
11 Martin Zlamalik (Cze) 2:32
12 Arnaud Labbe (Fra) Auber 93 3:52
13 Steve Chainel (Fra) 3:55
14 Vladimir Kyzivat (Cze) 4:09
15 Martin Bina (Cze) 4:22
16 Gerben De Knegt (Ned) 4:26
17 Simon Zahner (Sui) 4:29
18 Wilant Van Gils (Ned) Team Skil - Moser 4:42
19 Christian Heule (Sui) Stevens Racing Team 4:57
20 Tim Van Nuffel (Bel) 5:06
21 David Rusch (Sui) 5:28
22 Francis Mourey (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 5:46
23 Thijs Al (Ned) B&E Cycling Team 5:56
24 Camiel Van Den Bergh (Ned) Stevens Racing Team 6:43
25 David Derepas (Fra) Jartazi Revor 7:07
26 Malte Urban (Ger) Stevens Racing Team 7:54

at 1 lap
27 Vaclaf Metlicka (Svk)
28 Isaac Suarez Fernandez (Esp)
29 Bart Dirkx (Ned)

at 2 laps
30 Jose Antonio Diez Arriola (Esp)
31 Oscar Vazquez Crespo (Esp)
32 Santiago Armero Sanchez (Esp)
33 Erlantz Uriarte Okamika (Esp)

DNF Wim Jacobs (Bel) Fidea Cycling Team
DNF David Seco Amundarain (Esp)
DNF Jokin Irazola Asua (Esp)
DNF Unai Yus Kerejeta (Esp) Bouygues Telecom
DNF Davy Commeyne (Bel) Mrbookmaker - Sports Tech
DNF Radomir Simunek (Jr) (Cze) Mrbookmaker - Sports Tech


Frischknecht Report

Thomas Frischknecht has sent a report on his World Cup 'cross season thus far (photos courtesy Thomas Frischknecht):

World Cup Wetzikon, Switzerland

Only 10 kilometres away from my home, this was my first race against the big guys in the scene. Tough, I already lost before the race even started. Missing the first 3 world cup races put me in a hopeless starting position. With my 66th place in the world ranking list, I had to start out of the last row. This was the first time in my career I was so far back a start. And it sucks. Even though I had not the best legs the morale was good with the great support I got from the crowd. I moved up to about 17th place before I ripped off my rear derailleur, which forced me to run to the next pit zone. The morale was gone. And I finished in disappointing 26th place. If you wonder why I ripped my derailleur, you might wanna take a closer look at the pictures...

Photo 1
Photo 2

The race was muddy as hell!

World Cup Milano, Italy

Again, I was way back at the start line. Knowing I had an hour of chasing a Belgium-Dutch rat gang ahead of me, on the first lap I "moved up" to 35th place. This time not only the moral was good, the legs turned well too. The course was flat as Holland, but on very slick terrain, which I really liked. For the first third of the race I had better lap times as the leaders, moving up fast.

Tough, by the time I was getting close to top ten, the pace at the front of the race picked up too and I never made it all the way up to the leaders. Anyway, an 11th place in a world cup gives me some hope, that on a good day, if I can start in the front again, I'm still able to get close to the podium.

I skipped the world cup in Spain due to the high travel expenses, which doesn't help my starting position. Also I don't know if I compete in the coming Belgium world cups, which are on the 26th and 31st of December. For the Belgium and Dutch riders with no travel, these dates might work. But for someone with a family like me, I prefer to spend Christmas and New Year's Day with my family instead in some Belgium hotel.


U.S. 'Cross Nationals
Courtesy USA Cycling

Providence, R.I - USA Cycling awarded two national titles to men named Wells on Saturday as Todd and his younger brother Troy each rode to convincing wins on day two of the Liberty Mutual U.S. National Cyclo-cross Championships.

In the weekend's main event, 29-year-old Todd Wells (GT-Hyundai/Durango, Colo.) captured his second career elite men's national cyclo-cross championship, validating his 2001 victory with a solid ride over runner-up Ryan Trebon (Kona-Les Gets/Corvallis, Ore.) and three-time defending champion Jonathan Page (Liberty Mutual/Northfield, N.H.).

Earlier in the day, 21-year-old Troy Wells (TIAA-CREF/Durango, Colo.) narrowly edged six-time national champion Jesse Anthony (Clif Bar/Beverly, Mass.) in the U23 race.

In Saturday's other major category, Daniel Summerhill (Englewood, Colo.) gave the TIAA-CREF squad its second national title of the day with a win in the junior men's 17-18 race.

Summerhill's and the Wells brothers' victories each earned them automatic nominations to represent the United States at the 2006 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships next January in the Netherlands.

After a brutal day weather-wise on Friday, Saturday saw milder temperatures and a snow-packed course that catered to the talents of Todd Wells. Wells led from start to finish in the hour-long race and was seriously challenged by only Trebon, a rising star in the sport, and Page, a well-respected veteran on the international cyclo-cross circuit.

Halfway through the race, Page dropped off the pace and later cited a mild case of food poisoning suffered on Friday as a potential factor in his performance.

Women
1 Katie Compton
2 Ann Knapp
3 Maureen Bruno-Roy
4 Rhonda Mazza
5 Melissa Thomas
6 Barbara Howe
7 Georgia Gould
8 Brigette Stoick
9 Amy Wallace
10 Josie Beggs

Men
1 Todd Wells (GT Hyundai) 59:03
2 Ryan Trebon (Kona) at 0:14
3 Jonathan Page (Liberty Mutual) 1:52
4 Adam Craig (Giant/Pearl Izumi) 2:13
5 Tim Johnson (cyclocrossworld.com-louisgarneau) 3:11
6 Barry Wicks (Kona) 3:34
7 Erik Tonkin (Kona) 4:33
8 Tristan Schouten (Trek/VW) 5:00
9 Mark McCormack (Clif Bar) 5:16
10 Jonathan Baker (Primus Mootry Racing) 5:34


Team Cyclocrossworld.com-Louis Garneau Report
Courtesy Millman Media

Overcoming enough bad luck to frustrate even the most experienced rider, Team Cyclocrossworld.com-Louis Garneau's Tim Johnson rode to an incredible fifth-place finish in Saturday's 2005 Liberty Mutual U.S. Cyclocross National Championships in Providence, Rhode Island. After getting a great start in the Elite Men's race Tim flatted on the first lap. Upon getting his spare bike out of the pit, he promptly tore the cleat out of his shoe, leaving the cleat stuck in the pedal for the rest of the race.

Tim negotiated the technical and demanding course with one leg tied behind his back, almost, and moved through the Elite field to grab the final podium position. In Sunday's Liberty Cup race, with one leg a whole lot sorer than the other, Tim showed what might have been, finishing a strong second behind newly crowned National Champion Todd Wells (GT-Hyundai). Mastering the course's many muddy chicanes and opening up the throttle on the road sections, Tim chased down Adam Craig (Giant) midway through the race to get silver. While he had hoped for more from the weekend, Tim remained upbeat about his 'cross experience in 2005.

"Obviously I would have liked to have had a clean race on Saturday," said Tim, "But that's 'cross racing and it's going to happen. Still, I showed that I had good form and that with a different set of circumstances I could have done something special. It was a great weekend of racing, great to have Nationals back on the East Coast, and for the whole season I finished no worse than fifth in any race. That's a solid year for sure. And I couldn't have done it without Stu Thorne at Cyclocrossworld.com and the whole team at Louis Garneau. Having the support of so many good team sponsors made my comeback as good as it could be. I had a blast."

With her Canadian National Title already in hand, Team Cyclocrossworld.com-Louis Garneau's Lyne Bessette was honored for her overall excellence in cyclocross with an invitation to race in Sunday's Liberty Cup, the only woman to get such an invitation. Coming off a somewhat disappointing 11th place finish at her World Cup debut in Italy, Lyne raced for several laps before the trans-Atlantic travel caught up with her and sent her to showers early.

"I wish I'd raced better in Milan," said Lyne. "I got a very good start but didn't stay on the intensity like I should have. You can't do that at the World Cup level, the other riders are too good. But I learned a lot from it and I'm glad I went. When I go back at the end of December I'll be much better prepared for sure."

While Tim's 2005 cyclocross campaign is over, Lyne continues her World Cup race schedule later in December.