Mud just makes it more fun.

by Porter Fulmer

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An overcast day with temps in the high 40s combined with heavy rain the night before created the course for Sunday’s final round of the Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross in Highland Park, New Jersey. It brought to mind an old Seinfeld episode: Kramer standing in a subway car overhears two guys talking about a sure thing at the Yonkers horse track. The horse in question was a “mudder” whose father was a “mudder” and whose mother was a “mudder”; a sure thing in the slop. Race winners Ann Knapp (Kona) and Todd Wells (GT-Hyundai) were those “mudders.”

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The Highland Park course offered little climbing, two slippery run-ups, sticky conditions, and soul-sucking mud pits that allowed only the top riders to ride through, and forced the rest of us common people to run these sections. Combined with a flat course and wet ground, it meant only one thing: A mud fest.

Close to the end of the women’s elite race, Knapp pegged it up the second run-up and put a gap on Hall. The riders caught behind Hall could do nothing but watch as Knapp continued her attack and got clear on a course where a solo rider could work an advantage.

Todd Wells out-rode an on-form Ryan Trebon (Kona) on his way to a convincing solo win in the elite men’s race. The combination of Trebon’s second place finish and series leader Geoff Kabush (Maxxis-Giant) hitting the wall mid-race put the Kona rider on top for the overall series. Wells took advantage of a fatigued Trebon by continually putting the hurt on him on the run-ups and mud pits.

It wasn’t much different for me in the men’s B field. The leaders slammed it into high gear right off the start line like they were going for a sprint win up Cats Paw, and never looked back. As a first time cyclocrosser, I experienced all that was offered. I got caught behind a hefty pile-up at the base of the first run-up, and found clicking back into my mud-packed pedals and shoes almost impossible, which made for exhilarating downhills. The mud bogs proved to be nearly un-ridable and the only option was to run them, if only I had been riding my Tennessee stud. 20 minutes into the 45 minute battle, I finally got a good rhythm going, and I was able to pick off 10 or so racers in front of me, click into my pedals, and pull back some big two wheel drifts.

When I checked the standings, I had managed to place 38th out of the 68 entries that showed up that day, and had added what seemed like ten pounds of mud to the sweet Colnago my team director had generously loaned me (keeping it ‘til 2005). To top off the day, my compatriot Jay Fitzgerald (Foundation) finished 10 spots behind me, but relished the mistake race organizers made by listing me as a Foundation rider, not Velo Classic Tours.

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