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November 25, 2000
Bike Authority Cyclocross #3
Bay Village, Ohio
Report and Results from Mike Woods
The third race of the Bike Authority Cyclocross Series went off on 11/25/00 in Bay Village, OH. A total of 38 riders contested the three classes of races; cash prizes will be awarded to the top point winners in the A race series, with prizes for the B and C series winners. The new "north" course, with Lake Erie as a backdrop, is the most recent addition to the expanded BACX schedule. The track made use of City land north of Lake Road, not far from the Rose Hill course used two weeks ago.
The weatherman did not disappoint as conditions mimicked those found in Europe at this time of the year. When asked if the weather approximated Belgian 'cross weather, pro 'crosser Jen Dial (in SHORTS, mind you), demurred. "More like Switzerland!," said she as she went to work with the "A" racers during a steady rain. Snow covered the course in variable depths; these areas were quickly turned into ice or run right down into the grass. Some competitors were lost to the competition due to frozen cleats (PAM--the butter flavor--appeared to be the best rememdy to ice and Bay Village clay), and those that remained were challenged by cleats that did not clip and chains that chose to take the day off, to say nothing about riders going sideways down towards the lake... All in all, a classic day of cyclocross!
The B and C group were started first, with a 30 second lead given to the B riders to aid scoring. Toledo's Matt Thourot (Maumee Valley Wheelmen) and his break companions turned in some of the fastest times of the day. In a combination of raw power and technical skill, Thourot powered away from the pack, leaving the race for second to Scott Hoffman (Team Burn) and John Eldred (PDQ), with Andre Goldstein (Bike Source/2nd Sole) and James Sarks (Maumee Valley Wheelmen) following distantly. Thourot eventually lapped the field only to lose concentration on his last lap, crashing heavily for the second time into the first set of barriers. The traffic had turned the footing into icy patches in some of the running sections. Nevertheless, he finished just behind the remaining five, a lap up on them. Second place went to Hoffman, who played cat and mouse with Eldred for at least 10 laps, taking the sprint through the woods and the short road section to the finish line in front of the PDQ rider. Goldstein cruised in shortly after, with a spirited contest for fifth between Sarks and PDQ's John Hayden, with Sarks winning by a tire width. Julie Lewis turned in a gutsy performance with a 13th place showing, the first woman finisher. The top five men and first woman took home medals for their efforts.
In the C race, Henry Hauerstein (Eddy's) is getting to be fixture at the top of the leader board. He powered away from the field to take home the first place medal. Ray Chester (Medina Cty. BC), Kevin Kimmich, and Charles Marquardt medalled for their efforts. Kathy Jo Rufener finished with a smile for her second triumph in two weeks of finishing a cyclocross race as the first woman.
The A race started with a blast as Paul Martin (Navigators) sprinited away with Ernesto Marenchin (Speedgoat). Probably due to the sketchy conditions--the rain started 30 minutes into the race--the riders separated, essentially time trialling the course; there were no heated battles for the top five places. As expected, series leader Martin kept a comfortable margin on series #2 rider Marenchin, a new rider for NE Ohio, and a transplant from the Pittsburgh area. Another rider that took the trip in from Toledo was Andy Hague (Saturn of Toledo), who lost 3 minutes to the Navigators pro rider over the nearly hour-long race--a very credible performance. Oxford's Andrew Frey (Natural Health Concepts) toughed out a fourth place finish in the elite field. South Euclid's Brian Stern (PDQ) did well to hold onto fifth place, which will move him up in the overall standings. Jen Dial (Independent Fabricators) hung in for 9th and the woman's medal. The Euro-trained 'crosser edged out some very strong competitors from the road and offroad disciplines, prompting one of them to thank her for the "ample dose of humble pie" that she had dished out for them on this particular day.
Team Burn would like to thank the City of Bay Village for hosting the two BACX races so far (the last will be BACX #6 at Reese Park). Take a look at the complete schedule at:
truesport.com/Bike/2000/burncxseries.htm
Look to Truesport to post the overall results for the series soon! Next race is at Copley on 12/10/00 (back to the cash awards)--same location as BACX #1![zzbottom2001.htm]
A Place Name Team No. Laps Time Points 1 Paul Martin Navigators 187 17 55:23 30 2 Ernesto Marenchin Speedgoat 185 17 57:40 27 3 Andy Hague Saturn of Toledo 203 17 58:39 25 4 Andrew Frey Natural Health Cncpts. 202 17 59:02 23 5 Brian Stern PDQ 186 16 55:35 21 6 Joe Fritsch Dean/Vigor 201 16 55:48 19 7 Marty Gulaian Team Impossible 183 16 57:00 17 8 Brent Evans Color Me Safe 154 16 57:32 15 9 Jen Dial* Independent Fabrications 204 16 58:01 30 10 Jim Baldesare Go Mart 184 16 58:48 13 11 Erin Ford Team Burn 200 15 56:09 11 12 Dave Chernowski Team Columbus 188 14 58:15 10 *first woman Of 12 Starters, 12 finished B Place Name Team No. Laps Time Points 1 Matt Thourot Maumee Valley Whlmn 170 11 48:14 30 2 Scott Hoffman Team Burn 176 10 47:42 27 3 John Eldred PDQ 148 10 47:43 25 4 Andre Goldstein Bike Source/2nd Sole 160 10 48:00 23 5 James Sarks Maumee Valley Whlmn 171 10 48:08 21 6 John Hayden PDQ 174 10 48:08 19 7 Diffenbacher, Brian Team Burn 161 10 48:45 17 8 Mark Bergman Orrville Cycling 168 10 48:52 15 9 Martin Whitehouse PDQ 172 10 49:16 13 10 Royden Kern unattached 166 10 49:26 11 11 Scott Main Maumee Valley Whlmn 169 10 49:42 10 12 Derek Wilford Team Burn 177 10 49:48 9 13 Julie Lewis* Team Burn 6 10 50:35 8 14 Jack Turner unattached 175 10 50:36 7 15 John Satory Bike Club 173 10 53:00 6 16 Paul Salipante Square Wheels 178 9 51:28 5 17 Bobby Lambrix Metroparks Marauders 181 9 55:00 4 Ed Hoffmeier unattached DNF Tim Edwards Team Burn DNF *first woman Of 19 Starters, 17 finished C Place Name Team No. Laps Time Points 1 Henry Hauerstein Eddy's 164 8 33:52 30 2 Ray Chester Medina County Bike 165 8 36:03 27 3 Kevin Kimmich unattached 167 8 38:13 25 4 Charlie Marquardt unattached 180 8 38:28 23 5 Kathy Jo Rufener unattached 179 6 35:18 21 Brian Schneider Team LEW DNF Tom Thompson Team LEW DNF Of 7 Starters, 5 finishers