November 4, 2000
Copley, OH

Team Burn Cyclocross #1
(Bike Authority Cyclocross Series)

Paul Martin photo by: Stephan Heibel

The first race of the Bike Authority Cyclocross series took place at Boughton Farm in Copley, OH on a beatiful fall day. Racers commented postitively on the design of the racecourse, noting that some fairly technical sections added to the fun of this offroad race.

In the A race, resident pro riders Paul Martin (Navigators) and Dave Walker (SoBe/Headshock) duked it out during the first lap, with Walker taking an early lead. At the first set of barriers, however, Martin cleared the obstacles, cleanly hurdiling the barriers, while Walker tried to ride over them, and wasn’t as successful as he would’ve liked. At that point, Martin gained a gap which Walker would not be able to close, though the two were in shouting distance for the whole hour plus a lap. The duo would end the race as it started after the barriers, Martin taking top honors by just under a minute.

Barely 18 seconds behind Walker was E.J. Sigety (Speedgoat), well-known to riders who take the trip to Pennsylvania’s Month of Mud MTB and CX contest. Sigety nearly overtook Walker at those first barriers, but the SoBe pro was able to slowly put distance on him during the course of the race. Roughly 1:20 later came factory rider Erin Ford (Trek/VW), whose mountain biking skills shown well on the course’s rough ground. Less than a minute later was Ernesto Marenchin, another top PA contender also known for using single speed bikes. All in all, five pro riders were dualing it out for the series prizes, and all were nearly within three minutes of each other. The only real duel was between master Rudy Sroka (Team Burn) and pro Brian Kenney (Gary Fisher) for 6th and 7th place -- who traded leads until the last set of barriers on the last lap, with Brian winning by a small margin. All this made it very exciting for the spectators who cheered on the competitors. Two ladies competed with the guys in the A race, with Eddy’s pro Tiffany Kenney outpacing collegiate standout Megan Cancoby for the win.

Brent Evans, Brian Kenny and Rudy Sroka photo by: Stephan Heibel

The B race saw a dogfight between the top three finishers, again separated by a small distance. Team Burn riders Scott Hoffman and Tim Edwards worked with Andre Goldstein (Bike Source/2nd Sole), Jack Turner and Stephen Heibel to separate themselves from the field. That accomplished, the five rode together as a group until the pace picked up after the 30 minute point. At that point, Hoffman, Edwards and Goldstein pulled away from their breakaway companions. On the final lap, Hoffman turned up the jets and separated from the other two, leaving Goldstein to launch an attack on Edwards, which gave him a 15 second gap at the finish. Heibel and Turner managed to hold their positions in the field for 4th and 5th, respectively. Julie Lewis held off Jane Evely (and half the men’s field) for the ladies’ win, Jane retiring midway through the race due to a mechanical.

The C race, run specifically for benefit of beginning racers, was held concurrently with the B race. Henry Hauerstein, riding for Eddy’s, completed 6 laps for the class win, with Kevin Kimmich finishing on the same lap. Russ Marx (LEW), Terry Mangan, and Matt Wunderle finished 1 lap down from the leaders.