Peak Season mudfest

Todays race was a truly muddy ending to a relatively dry season. When the fairgrounds get steady rain for a week or so things get very sludgy. Seems to me we used to have races like this every season but it has been a long time since conditions have been this wet in a Nor-Cal 'cross race. This was good for some but disaster for others. While I do not have all the results I do know that Kevin Crossley rode to 3rd in the mens A race, his best finish ever at that level. Ariel Brown from Boulder, Colorado-yes, we have a team mate in Colorado- rode to 5th. Eric Higlander got 7th in one of his stronger rides for the year.

Here's Kevin on the podium juggling his winnings alongside 2nd place finisher and county champion Justin Robinson.

Alex and Scott decided to ride single speed and got 3rd and 1st. Scott wone the county championship as well. Alex also rode the 35 A race and finished 2nd.

Here's Eric feeling the pain at the top of one of the two run-ups..


This is Ariel Brown. He hopes to race here more next season. I sposored Ariel in 1992 as a junior. He still has his original bike.

Here's Alex in his second race of the day clearly feeling the hurt.

Kevin Crossley in his race in a solid third place for the whole hour.

CCCX final fort Ord

The rain finally arrived on 1-17-10 to the Santa Cruz cyclocross scene after what was a very dry season. The CCCX final race is usually a smaller turnout than the races before the nationals but the fields were pretty large as a lot of people wanted to get in one muddy race before hanging up the 'cross bike until next season. Kathleen Bortolussi and Michelle Perez got 2nd and 3rd overall in the series and capped off a season of good rides.
In the womens elites , Jill Fattor finished 3rd for the season with Stella Carey finishing 5th.

Here's something you don't see very much-two sponsors on the podium. Yes, that is Jeff Traugott in his first full season of cyclocross getting 2nd overall for the series and I barely hung onto 4th .

Scott Chapin showed that he was the most consistant of anyone in the CCCX mens elite field and really had no challenger close on points. Jason Rahlwes did a good final ride to get 5th for the series.

For the day , Justin Robinson, Dave Wyandt and Scott Chapin finished in that order , besting a strong field in the muddy conditions.

Stella Carey once again on the podium, 3rd for the day in the womens elite race with a strong ride .

Brett Lambert showing once again that a broken thumb can't keep him off the bike.

Here's one more shot of the 45 B podium with Jeff and I holding the plaques.

A random hitch hiker on Scott's helmet.

Surf City final aptos high

The Surf City final provided a real tough test for all the riders and the mens A race even had the national champion Tim Johnson to set the pace. In the single speed catagory Sean Coffey rode strong and wound up second overall for the series with consistant riding all season. Dave Wyandt sealed up his win in the series finishing third on the day behind Johnson and the two Jaques-Mayne brothers, all of them professionals.

Aaron Kereluk rode well and finished in the top ten along with Scott Chapin, Josh Snead and Aaron Odell.

Brett Lambert rode with a splint on his broken thumb and preserved his podium spot for the series .

Kathleen Bortolussi and Michelle Perez got 2nd and 3rd for the series in the womens master 35+ catagory and won the traditional last race beer in the process.

The national champ took time out to pose for pictures with the locals. Tim is a class guy and stuck around the race until all the podium presentations were done and the parking lot was nearly empty.

Stella Carey won the overall in the elite womens division-she didn't expect it but the rest of us were not too surprised....Stella gets on the top step every year.

The Wolf triumphs in the overall and shares the podium with Josh Snead and Aaron Kereluk. If it weren't for injuries and some folks unable to make all the races, this podium would have been swept by the team. All in all, I would say that HRS/Rock Lobster was the team that showed up and really made it a race every weekend.