Craigmeur in the Rain: New Jersey Cross Cup # 2

By Buck Walters

As the big storm lumbered up the east coast on Friday afternoon, thick gray bands already stretched across the sky above the Craigmeur Recreation Area. With the weatherman calling for a 100% chance of heavy rain through the night and into the following day, Cross@Craigmeur organizer Tom Briede and volunteers worked feverishly to prepare for Saturday’s race, the second event in the New Jersey Cross Cup Series.

“We moved 120 picnic tables, which were stored in a large pavilion, to make a covered start, finish and staging area, ” said Briede. “We also needed space to keep three computers dry.” The Victory Cycling Club crew raked gravel out of the pavilion, and re routed the previous week’s course through the sheltered structure. Just before dark, the first raindrops began to fall.

With steady rain through the night, growing heavier as race time approached, the event promised to be a mud fest. But riders were at least able to register, stage, start and finish in the shelter of Craigmeur’s picnic pavilion. And while the extreme weather diminished the field sizes somewhat, the racing was intense.

On a day, that saw few close finishes, the hottest action was in the U19 categories. Arch rivals Trevor Kahl of Liberty Cycle and Max Mancuso of Skylands Cycling stayed together for the entire M10-14 race, taking turns in the lead. Mancuso, who has raced against Kahl on the road, track and mountain bike but never beaten the older racer, found a better line through some heavy mud near the end of the last lap and forged ahead. Coming into the final turn behind by a bike length, Trevor Kahl skidded and had to put his foot down. That was enough for Max, as he sprinted in for the victory. Team Somerset’s Dag Anderson was third.

The M15-18 event saw another duel between Liberty and Skylands, with Andy Gallagher of Liberty unable to shake Erik Kristiansen, as he had done the previous two weeks. On the last lap, Gallagher, riding in a Halloween costume as a turtle, wiped out on some off-camber mud, lost his shell, and Kristiansen rode away for the win. The only competitor in the women’s race was Maria Oliveria, riding for Westwood Velo.

In the Men’s C, unattached rider Peter Bowden of Cliffside Park, NJ sat on the wheel of Skylands’ Andrew Logiudice for most of the race. With a half lap to go, Bowden attacked and opened a 10 second gap for the win, giving Logiudice his third second place finish in three weeks, each to a different winner. The sparsely populated Men’s A race saw New Yorker Matt Howard, CRCA Bandit Racing, take first, with Team Bulldog’s Brian Lariviere second and J.P. Partland of Watchung Wheelmen/High Gear Cyclery third.

The Masters 45+ race featured Martin Jones of Team Somerset taking command from the start, saying goodbye to Skylands’ Kevin Kielty and Ed Burgess of Hammer Gel. “This is what cyclocross is all about,” said a happy Jones after the race. “I just tried to keep it steady through the muddy sections.” Third place finisher Kielty took two spills in the mud and lost contact with Burgess, who came in second. In the 55+, Don Snoop hung with Bob Cary of Skylands for the first lap, but lost contact the second time around on the slippery uphill section. Cary took the win, with Snoop second and Kissena’s Karl Dittebrandt third.

In the Men’s B race, the field stayed together for more than half a lap until Roger Foco of Skylands and Rutgers’ Charlie Florek pulled away. Foco attacked Florek on the second lap and built a 40 second lead. Undetererred, the Rutgers racer fought back and closed the gap to about 10 seconds. Foco held on for the win. Florek was second and Gary La Sala of Liberty Cycle, third.

The final race of the day was the Masters 35+, a three-man contest between Liberty’s Dave Kahl, Chris Facas of Westwood Velo, and Team Somerset’s Greg Gorel. The rangy Kahl took a 20 second lead after the first lap, spinning smoothly over a course that had deteriorated into thick slop in many places. But Facas slowly closed on Kahl and eventually overtook him with three laps to go for the win. Kahl was second and Gorel finished third.

As the last rider in the last racer crossed the line, volunteers quickly fell into step behind him, trudging through the mud under now sunny skies to tear down the course. Even under the most adverse of conditions, riders raved about the course and the Craigmeur venue.

“What more could you possibly want in a cross course?” asked Skylands’ Bob Cary, co-organizer of the Augusta Cross Series.

Liberty’s Larry Towner concurred. “It’s perfect, even today,”said the 45+ racer. “I hope we can race here again next year.”

Not to worry, says Craigmeur manager Todd Silverman.

“It’s not a golf course,” a smiling Silverman pointed out after the race. “We sometimes park 1000 cars on this grass. It’ll heal.”