SOCAL CYCLOCROSS RACE #10DEC 1.
SOCAL CYCLOCROSS RACE #10DEC 1.
By Sam Ames, Matt Gunnell, Dorothy Wong
With plenty of turkey, ham, and all the fixings, there were 216 riders, making it the largest ever Southern California cyclocross turnout! The racers were invited to the Glendale Adventist Verdugo Cycling Turkey Trot Cross, hosted by PAA/Merrill Lynch & Bicycle Johns Serious Cycling. The famous Turkey Gobbler was at the end of the course, which gave racers special prizes throughout that day!
23 men took part in the men’s A race, with 23 riders taking to the twisting, fast, and dry grass course. Jeff Prinz, Celo Pacific, led the charge on lap one. However, he later lost his gears to a stick. Brent Prenzlow (Celo Pacific/Salsa), Chance Noble (Scary Fast), and Nat Faulkner(Action Sports) led the charge through Ritchey’s sand pit, technical grass sections. Mike Easter (Shoreline Cycles/Kona), and Jeff Behrens (Celo Pacific/Salsa), fought hard to make contact with the leaders, but the order was set and Prenzlow won the race for second in the final laps. Faulkner was third and Young Chance Noble took second. Chance won the USGP Cyclocross at Golden Gate Park last Sunday and will now be traveling to Europe to represent the United States. Go Chance
Brittney Van Vleet, 13, was the National Junior MTB Champ at 13. Major Motion, Jr. Road National Champ! She took the holeshot, led the A Womens field almost half the lap, creating a race that dictated the gap in the field. Brittney was passed by Dorothy Wong (Kelly Bike Co.), after the Detroit Coffee Run-Up. Wong won the day’s event, Van Vleet finished third, and Teri Strayer (Backbone), was second.
The men’s C race was part of the largest ever Southern California cyclocross field. 53 riders raced down the pavement to the Ritchey sand pit and into the first grass sweeper. A large portion of the field was engulfed by a pile-up. Griffith Vertican (Shoreline), Michael Lilly (Action Sports) opened the race, with Grant Van Horn and Eddie Nilo (Encore), and Ron McKiernan(PAA/Merrill Lynch), close behind. Vertican and Lilly maintained a strong lead, but Van Horn took third. Vertican managed to hang on through the trees and the short run up to take 2nd, with Lilly in second. Van Horn was third.
Glendale Adventist-Verdugo Cycling Kids Race was the highlight of the day. Twenty young riders raced around the cross course, which included the famous Kool N Fit triple barrier section. All the kids received cowbells, and were treated to Verdugo turkey hot dogs! Everyone had a wonderful day at the races.
Glendale Adventist Medical Center – Verdugo Cycling Turkey Trot Cross by numbers:
216race entrees
2Turkey Trot titles defended:
Brent Prenzlow (Celo Pacific/Salsa), in the Mens A, and Dorothy Wong in the Womens A (Kelly Bike Company, in the Ladies A).
200 Verdugo Dogs are cooked and eaten
18Junior Racers 18+ under
20Kids Racers (Juniors & Kids are our future cycling team!)
100Dollars were donated to Lance Armstrong Foundation under Eugene Galindo’s name.
There are four races in the SoCal Cyclocross Series. This weekend will feature a championship-level doublehead. Saturday’s race will be the Capital Choice/Shimano State Championship Course in Irvine hosted at Encore Cycling. Sunday will see the 2003 State Championship Course in Vista, CA hosted in Celo Pacific. For more info check out: www.socalcross.org
