By Buck Walters
Nine members of the Skylands Cycling Cyclocross team traveled to Providence, Rhode Island, for the California Giant Berry National Cyclocross Championships, held in Roger Williams Park, December 15-17, 2006. The weather was nothing short of spectacular, especially compared to last years direct hit by a powerful nor'easter which dumped close to a foot of snow on the same venue as the races were in progress. This year was sunny, temperatures were in the low fifties, and the track was firm and fast.
In the elite men's race, national mountain bike champion Ryan Trebon, riding for the Kona team, took a commanding lead on the second lap. Using the hilly sections of the course to open a twenty second gap, Trebon, recently returned from racing in Belgium, held off a strong chase group consisting of defending national champ Todd Wells, USGP champ Tim Johnson, Jelly Belly's Jeremy Powers, Jonathan Page and Kona teammate Barry Wicks. With two laps to go, Trebon's lead was over thirty seconds, and the dispirited chase group began to think about second place. Trebon cruised in for the victory, and Jonathan Page out sprinted Todd Wells for second.
Earlier in the day, Skylands 13-14 year old double state champ Matt Spinks went hard from the gun, out of the saddle for the entire 350 meter uphill blacktop start, and took the coveted "hole shot" from the 35+ rider field. Turning off the road into the first corner, Spinks caught a tire on the curb and went down. Uninjured, but with a flat tire, the Skylands rider made a quick bike change in the pit and started the long journey back into contention. Next lap, Spinks changed back to his regular bike, only to encounter difficulties shifting, requiring yet another bike change. With the assistance of the Skylands pit mechanic, 16 year-old Cody Kapetanakis, Spinks changed bikes quickly and smoothly, losing little time. After a crash, a flat and three bike changes, Matt continued to work his way back on a borrowed bike.
At the front, a three-man group of western riders had formed with Matus Kriska of North Carolina holding onto fourth, over thirty seconds behind. With a lap and a half to go, Matt Spinks caught the next pair of chasing riders, Ryan Packard of Arlington, Massachusetts and J.D. Fette of Woodinville, Washington, and was now in contention for the fifth podium position. The tiring Spinks struggled to hang onto Packard and Fette, and entered the final straightaway behind by two bike lengths. Cyclocross is a sport where, unlike most others, the outcome is often determined by the sheer will of the participants. The blood and mud-stained Spinks, fighting exhaustion and riding a borrowed bike, rose from the saddle and commanded his weary body to accelerate up the finishing straight.
Rocking back and forth, the red faced Spinks slowly closed the gap on Ryan Packard, passing him with just over fifty meters to go, running out of real estate before he could catch Fette, who hung onto a four second gap for fifth place and the final medal.
In the Men's 15-16 event, Cam Mancuso, who finished fifth at last years snowy cross nationals in the 13-14 group, took 17th place, riding for the Skylands/ACT sub-team. Skylands members Erik Kristiansen and Andrew Logiudice, racing in the highly competitive elite U19 and U23 categories, respectively, placed 26th and 38th, respectively. Max Mancuso, also a veteran of last year's Providence blizzard-fest, was 8th in the 10-12 division.
In the masters fields, Vin Mancuso, father of Max and Cam, placed 86th in the jam-packed masters 40-44 event. Bruce Kristiansen logged in at 125th. Mark Salazar was 129th in the 35-39 event. Mancuso, Salazar and Kristiansen are all in their first year of cross racing, having started the season on borrowed bikes under the Skylands Cycling "Twenty racers-Five Bikes" loaner program.
Masters competition in cyclocross is often divided into "elite" and "B" categories at the higher levels of competition. That was the case in Providence, and Salazar, Mancuso and Kristiansen all chose to enter the elite masters races on Friday, December 15, 2006. More experienced Skylands riders Paul Walsh and James Furman, on the other hand, chose to enter Sunday's "B" masters event, which, despite its designation, is nonetheless highly competitive. Walsh took 53rd place in the B 35+ event and Furman finished 90th.
Cyclocross, considered by many to be the most exciting of all bike racing disciplines, is by far the most popular among spectators. More than 10,000 spectators converged on Roger Williams Park for this years national championships. And surprisingly, last years attendance in cold and snowy conditions was about the same.
Mark Salazar, having finished close to the back of Friday's masters race, was all smiles as he watched the elite competition on Saturday.
"I love this," beamed the carpenter and father of two from Succasunna, New Jersey, as he watched the race leaders cross the double barriers behind the beer tent. "I can't believe how much fun it is."
A minute later, a thunderous cheer arose from the crowd as Matt White, of the Fiordifrutta Elite Cycling Team, bunny-hopped the barriers. Riders normally dismount and run over the barriers, carrying their bikes. Not White. The twenty-five year old Connecticut resident employs a mountain bike technique, developed to cross fallen logs on forest trails, to cross the 16" high barriers, lifting first the front wheel, then the rear in lightening-like succession, mimicking the hopping technique of the furry animal of the same name.
White also pleased the spectators at Friday Night Lights-Summercross at the NJ State Fair last summer as he bunny-hopped his way to victory in the elite men's event. As he accelerated away from the barriers at the Providence nationals, it was clear that there was no victory in the cards for White today: he was running a distant seventh, out of contention for the win. His fortunes notwithstanding, White couldn't help but smile as he landed his bike after another successful hop in front of the raucous crowd. That's the nature of cyclocorss. Even the top guys, under immense pressure to win from sponsors and teammates week after week, are out there having fun. Just like Mark Salazar.