By Eddie Arnet
State Cyclocross Champion Brent Prenzlow himself designed the 1.7 mile circuit full of fast and wide dirt trails on mostly hardpack with some sandy spots, a tightly switchbacked carousel section on a grassy hillside and a paved roadway finish straight. There was one triple set of barriers, two double sets and a single barrier before the uphill ledge. The long, up to 1/4 mile straights made it a layout that favored true 'cross bikes with drop bars and 700c wheels. No mountain bike riding racer found this out harder than MBA coverboy Garnet Vertican. Between a new house, the fire forcing him to evacuate before settling in, and moving back one more time when they reopened Crestline, Garnet hadn't been on the bike very much the last half year. (His new house was unscathed.) Garnet decided to make this his first race back. There's no better way to see where your fitness is than to ride as hard as you can for an hour straight, right!
RACE PARTICULARS
After a few riders tried to ride through it, the rain-soaked grassy sections soon turned into a muddy quagmire. The two big muddy spots were the uphill ledge and chambered, grassy carousel. It was the riders who picked the hardest packed lines and lost the least speed through the mud that came out on top. In the Pro race, those two riders were Felt-mounted Brent Prenzlow and ageless Emilio Cervantes (Excel). Right from the gun those two simply cruised away from the pack. It looked like they were on a training ride, chatting away while they took turns leading. Eventually, it was time for the two to get down to some real racing. Brent Prenzlow put the hammer down with a few laps to go and took another win on his home track.
While most riders set up their mountain bikes with narrow semi-slicks, top MTB Expert Guy Sutton raced with Python knobbies. It cost him on the long straights but he saved time every lap by being the only rider to consistently ride up the muddy ledge. Guy placed second in the 35+ class. I was the third 40+ rider on a full suspension Specialized Epic. Garnet Vertican finished top mountain bike in the Pro class with a respectable eighth. And yes, it did hurt him!
This was the second race in the Celo Pacific Cyclocross Series and the seventh round of the So Cal Cross Cup. Thanks to Bill Mock for the photos and CX Women Pro Dorothy Wong for the results. Dorothy rides for Kelly Bikes and is the State Women Cyclocross Champion.
Elite Men (60 minutes)
1. Brent Prenzlow...Celo Pacific/Felt Bicycles
2. Emilio Cervantes...Excel Sports
3. Erik Burgan...Pacific Sunset Velo
4. Tony Smith...Celo Pacific
5. Gary Hanson...Amgen
6. Jeff Herring...Kelly Bike Company
7. Paul Cusick...Dare
8. Garnet Vertican...ODI/Southridge
9. John Behrens...Celo Pacific
10. Robert Weyman...CRCA/Sakonet
11. Shaun Albin...Modifiers
12. Heath McGee...ODI/Southridge
Elite Women (45 minutes)
1. Dorothy Wong...Kelly Bike Company
2. Jennifer Franklin...Velo Sport
3. Melissa Fletcher...Trek San Diego/Clif Bar
Juniors (40 minutes)
1. Spencer Spagnola...Excel Sports
Masters 30+ (45 minutes)
1. Brian Keate...Team Velocity
2. Jason Vorell...Syntace/Velocity
3. Jesse Hoffman...Jans
4. Mark Fluss
5. Paul Welsh...Lightning Velo
Masters 35+ (45 minutes)
1. Ted Posch...Velocity
2. Guy Sutton...Trek San Diego/Clif Bar
3. Dan Nelson...Amgen
4. Joseph Puskarich...Velosport
Masters 40+ (45 minutes)
1. Chris Gallup
2. Charles Morris...Universal Cycle
3. Eddie Arnet...Mountain Bike Action
4. Jeff Steinhart...Bike Johns
5. David Bales...Celo Pacific
6. Kurt Luoni...Island Boy Racing
7. Mike Jennings...Island Boy Racing
Masters 45+ (40 minutes)
1. Jonathan Livesay...PAA/Merrill Lynch
2. Brian Starr...Family Cycling Center
3. Rickey Russell...Cycles Veloce
4. Rick Swanson...Excel Sports
5. Mark Sauer...Excel Sports
6. Tom Harvey...San Diego Bike Club
7. Mike Jennings...Island Boy Racing
8. Brian Olsen...Bicycle Johns
9. Dale Raymond...S.C. Velo
Masters 55+ (40 minutes)
1. Paul Springer...San Diego Bike Club
2. Jim Cushing-Murray...Celo Pacific
3. Steve Brown...So. California Velo
4. Michael Jenkins...San Diego Bike Club
5. Dean Ferrandini
6. Lee Willmore...Ryders
Mens B (45 minutes)
1. David Howell...San Diego Bike Club
2. Dan Breyer...Celo Pacific
3. Blain Maas...Ranchos Cycling
4. Michael Bennett...Amgen
5. Kevin Reilly...San Diego Bicycle Club
6. Jeremy Dixon...Minute Maid/Dasani/La Grange
7. Glenn Masuda...Team Monex
8. Mani Motameo...S.C. Velo
9. Marco Calzadilla
10. James Jakubowski
11. Luke Magilke...Woodlands Cycling
Mens C (40 minutes)
1. Blain Maas...Ranchos Cycling
2. Mark Salmon...Felt Bicycles
3. Jim Manton...Monex
4. Rich Forsch...Race Haus
5. Robert Davis...San Diego Bicycle Club
6. Steve Ford
7. Joe Aldalo...Celo Pacific
8. Richard Murphy...Celo Pacific
9. Jeff Rowe
10. Cameron Dickinson
11. Matt Hale
12. Michael Baldivino...Lighting Velo
13. Matthew Bunnell
Women B (40 minutes)
1. Jeanne Bernhard...Celo Pacific
2. Lisa Vorell...Syntace
3. Mandy Gamble
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