Cyclocross: Mid-Week News Roundup - 24 November 2009
MABRA and State Titles up for Grabs in Maryland, Tim Johnson & Natasha Elliot Win Overall Titles, Zipp Ohio Valley Cyclocross Tour - Ohio Championships

BikeReg.com MABRAcross Series
MABRA Crowns Champions on Sunday - 6 Elite Men shootout for title
MABRA has released its penultimate 2009 points update, heading into the final race of the BikeReg.com MABRAcross Series. With points increased 50% for the season-ending MABRA Cyclocross Championships, most class championships remain undecided, while the Elite Men’s division sees an unbelievably close six-man battle. Full points in all classes can be seen here. 

Jennifer Maxwell Leads Women's Division
In the Women’s championship chase, Jennifer Maxwell (ATAC Sportswear p/by The Bike Rack) brings a three-race winning streak to the final race. Maxwell’s late-season surge has given her a comfortable-enough lead that all she needs to do is finish Sunday’s race to clinch the season title. With the single-day MABRA regional title also on the line, however, Maxwell has indicated that she doesn’t intend to race conservatively and wants to finish out the season with both MABRA titles.

Should Maxwell falter or crash, 2008 Pennsylvania Champion Lenore Pipes (C3-Athletes Serving Athletes) and Virginia’s Julie Kuliecza (Alan North America Cycling) are both within striking distance to overcome the points lead. The 10 point difference between Pipes and Kuliecza is close enough to be a virtual tie with the increased points on offer for this week's race.

Elite Men's Down to the Wire
While the Women’s race is undecided, the Men’s championship is positively mind-blowing as no fewer than six men have a legitimate shot at the BikeReg.com season championship. With 180 points on offer for first place, and 135 points for the runner-up at Sunday’s race, only 64 points separate the top six Elite Men.

Jared Nieters (Haymarket Bicycles/HomeVisit) currently leads the standings after battling back from an early season knee injury. Right behind him are some tough competitors.

Dave Weaver (Alan North America Cycling) is no stranger to last-race points duels and has used consistently solid results throughout the season to put himself in contention for the 2009 title. Adam Driscoll started the year by winning the 3,000 mile Race Across America (RAAM) with his Adventures for the Cure teammate and friend, Patrick Blair.

Currently in fourth place, Wes Schempf (C3-Athletes Serving Athletes) is the defending BikeReg.com MABRAcross and MAC Champion. Schempf is also the winner of the most recent MABRAcross race, this past Sunday’s Rockburn Cross in Elkridge Maryland. Young Joe Dombrowski is the second Haymarket Bicycles/HomeVisit rider in contention for the title, and has won two races in his debut season in the series. And finally, only 64 points behind the leader, is 2007 BikeReg.com MABRAcross champ Greg Wittwer of Alan North America Cycling.

Masters Championships
The only Elite MABRAcross championship that has been decided heading into the final race is Elite Masters 35+, where Dave Fuentes of Battley Harley Davidson won five races en route to clinching the season title. Masters 45+, however, is still up for grabs. Even though third place Ron Huebner of the Potomac Velo Club is still mathematically in contention, the race for the BikeReg.com MABRAcross Elite 45+ crown is realistically a two-man duel between points leader Bernie Shiao (Kelley Benefit Stategies/LSV) and Randy Root (Evolution Cycling Club). The two are separated by a scant 25 points – less than the difference between first and second place at Sunday’s season finale.

These, and many of the other riders, will be competing not only for the season title and race prize money, but also for the MABRA cyclocross championships, a sort of single-day super state championship for riders from the MABRA states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and District of Columbia. For more information, look for “MABRA Cyclocross Championships” on BikeReg.com

MABRA’s Season & Single Day Champions
To Be Decided In Taneytown Maryland November 29
We’re a small town with a big-time course!” So says Tracy Lea, promoter of this coming Sunday’s (November 29) MABRA Cyclocross Championships in Taneytown, Maryland. The final event of the 2009 BikeReg.com MABRAcross Series, the race also serves as USA Cycling’s state championships for Delaware and Maryland (combined with the District of Columbia). Additionally, the race also serves as the one-day regional championship for the area covered by USA Cycling’s MABRA Local Association centered around Washington DC and including Delaware, Maryland and Northern Virginia.

The race, and the BikeReg.com MABRAcross Series’ season-long points championship, is open to all USAC-licensed competitors, while the various state and regional championship medals will be distributed to the highest placing residents of their respective championship areas. That’s a lot of medals, which Lea, the mother of Olympian Bobby Lea, thinks is a good thing,

 “It spreads the goods a little deeper since the placings don’t change much from race to race. The state medals give recognition to riders who have been just missing out throughout the season. And remember, the medals are awarded at 5 year age breaks and not just the normal 35 and 45 classes, and special Championship “beanies” will be awarded to each class winner – so riders don’t want to miss the chance to add to their winter hat collection.”

Lea says that the annual cyclocross race is part of a larger cycling plan for Taneytown, which is located in the far north section of Maryland, not far from the famous civil war battlefield at Gettysburg.

“Bringing cyclocross to Taneytown is encouraging the idea of having a large grassroots track in town, and we’re also getting interest for a BMX facility. Taneytown is a great place for riders to use as a starting point for those training rides with few cars and fun hills, along with flat roads, and a great cyclist-friendly coffee shop. We’re promoting Taneytown as ‘the other T-Town,’ we just don’t have the track - yet!”

Promoting the event this year is T.E.A.M. FUJI (The Exceptional Athlete Matters) and Silver Cycles’ club, GS Silver. Race Pace Bicycles will also be supporting the event along with Fuji Bikes, Hammer Nutrition, Sticky Fingers Bakery and LUNA BAR. Funds raised from this year’s MABRA Cyclocross Championships will be used to help support Athletes Without Limits, an organization based in Washington DC that helps elite athletes with intellectual disabilities achieve their athletic dreams. “We are asking riders to consider making gift of $20.12 as a symbolic gift to help support our athletes as they prepare for the 2012 Paralympic Games,” Lea says. “So even if you can’t escape from Thanksgiving family obligations, you can still help.”

More information and pre-registration for the MABRA Cyclocross Championships can be found on BikeReg.com.

Zipp Ohio Valley Cyclocross Tour
Buckingham Financial Ohio State Cyclocross Championships
November 24, 2009; Conshohocken, PA, USA: The Buckingham Financial Ohio State Cyclocross Championships take place this Sunday, November 29 at John Bryan State Park near Dayton, Ohio. The event is part of both the Zipp OVCX Cyclocross Tour and the CapCity Cyclocross Series. As with all state championship races on the Zipp OVCX Tour, the Buckingham Financial Ohio State Cyclocross Championships are open events. Riders from any state or country may compete, with the coveted Ohio State Championship Jerseys being awarded to the highest-placing Ohio residents in each class.

According to Zipp OVCX Series Director Mitch Graham, the course at John Bryan State Park is a series favorite. “A lot of people like it. It’s kind-of flat, which keeps the racing closer. The course itself has a little bit of everything, it isn’t defined by any one feature and it has a lot of balance. It’s also a nice old park with 200 year-old trees located in a college town with a great local scene.”

One of the upgrades to this season’s Ohio State Championships comes directly from sponsor Buckingham Financial Group, which is providing custom championship jersey’s to this year’s state champions. Sponsor Kenda Tires is providing merchandise prizes. Members of the U.S. Armed Services who provide their CAC card at registration will also receive a $10 rebate on their registration.

NACT Series 2009
Tim Johnson & Natasha Elliot Win Overall Titles
After the dust had settled and the mud washed off the bikes, the NACT crowned two new champions. Both Tim Johnson (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com) and Natasha Elliott (Garneau Club Chaussure Ogilvy) took the overall titles with comfortable leads over their closest competitors. The men’s and women’s fields provided two very different storylines over the past few months as Johnson and his teammates managed to win or get on the podium at every single race while Elliott’s efforts were a solo act.

After a bad crash in September at Star Crossed sidelined Johnson for a while, the former U.S. national champion came back to the racing circuit with a vengeance. Armed with teammates Jeremy Powers and Jamey Driscoll, Johnson went on to win six of the next seven races.

The green and black boys decided to make the series a family affair; Powers gathered seven podium places including a win ahead of Johnson in Toronto while Driscoll improved from thirteenth at Star Crossed to never finishing lower than third for the remainder of the series. Powers and Driscoll joined Johnson on the overall podium in second and third, respectively.

Though in the midst of his usual European tour, Jonathan Page (Planet Bike) reminded the domestic racing scene how he got onto the podium at the World Championships a few years ago. Page’s 2009 racing calendar included stops at Star Crossed, Rad Racing GP, and the Gran Prix of Gloucester, with wins at the Rad Racing GP and day one in Gloucester. Despite skipping the pond after Gloucester, Page finished fourth in the series.

Though seeing Johnson and Page atop the podium is fairly common, there were some breakout moments. Fifth place finisher Chris Jones (Champion-Systems) a seasoned road racer, made the transition to cyclocross this year and his talents from the pavement quickly transferred over to the dirt. Strong performances throughout the series - including a third place finish on day two of Gloucester – indicate a new force for the North American cyclocross scene. And then there were some moments that were just broken. Ryan Trebon (Kona/FSA) the 2008 NACT champion, failed to win a series race this year.

Elite Men’s Final Standings
Place Rider Team Total Pts
1 Tim Johnson     Cyclocrossworld.com/Cannondale     425
2 Jeremy Powers     Cyclocrossworld.com/Cannondale     314
3 James Driscoll     Cyclocrossworld.com/Cannondale     289
4 Jonathan Page     Planet Bike     190
5 Christopher Jones     Champion System     120

While Cannondale kept things under control in the men’s race, the women mixed it up. British national champion Helen Wyman made a trip to the U.S., leaving an impression on the American field after she rode away with the win at Star Crossed. Monavie-Cannondale’s Sue Butler and the recently un-retired Alison Dunlap (Luna Chix) gave Wyman the biggest challenge, and after Wyman’s departure, Butler took over the NACT leaders’ jersey in Gloucester.

Butler’s time in the lead was short-lived as the Gloucester race saw the explosion of Canadian Natasha Elliott (Garneau Club Chaussure Ogilvy) who went on a four-race winning streak from Gloucester to Toronto asserting her place atop the standings.

 Current U.S. champion Katie Compton (Planet Bike) decided to play some tricks in Colorado as the UCI points leader walked away with wins in Longmont and Boulder. And despite a slow start, Amy Dombroski (Clement/Primus Mootry) made her first appearance on the podium with a second place finish behind Compton in Boulder.

Back in Southampton, Elliott returned to the NACT series to enforce her lead while Dombroski had another plans. Back to back wins at Whitmore’s Super Cross launched Dombroski up the NACT standings, though Elliott’s fifth and sixth place finishes were enough to earn her the win “heavyweight” belt and series’ title. Dombroski finished second and Butler held on to third, only fifteen points ahead of Dunlap.

Elite Women’s Final Standings
Place Rider Team Total Pts
1 Natasha Elliott      Garneau Club Chaussure Ogilvy     278
2 Amy Dombroski     Clement/Primus     Mootry     208
3 Sue Butler     Cannondale/Monavie     145

• Discuss the sport with fans from around the world on the Daily Peloton Forums & Chat Room.
• Sponsor the Daily Peloton - advertise your product - contact us
• Would you like to try your hand at writing about the sport? contact us.
• Link your site or blog to  www.dailypeloton.com