World Champs Crowned for Single Speed Cyclocross
By: Matt Karre
A muddy and unusual single speed ‘cross event found the newest World Champions Sunday. Canadian Drew MacKenzie won the second annual Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships (SSCXWC) in Portland, OR. MacKenzie bested some big names, like Ryan Trebon, Nat Ross, Steve Fassbinder and Adam Craig, more familiar to cycling headlines. Sue Butler took top honors in the women’s race, winning a come from behind battle.
The SSCXWC began Saturday with a time trial qualifier in Portland’s Forest Park. Racers had to climb about 2 miles of fire road before turning right and descending a twisty section of single track with slick, rocky corners. Fastest times were just under 12 minutes, with Kevin Hulick taking the top qualifying spot and MacKenzie second. Sue Butler won the women’s qualifier followed by Joele Guynup.
The main event on Sunday afternoon showcased a new form of course design, obstacles and start line call-ups. Giving no one an unfair advantage, promoters lined up all the racers in a long line across the infield. Complete with a real drum roll provided by Drum Corps, racers awaited the start gun for a mad, Braveheart like charge for the hole shot. 100 men spread wide quickly had to squeeze into a section no wider than a Cyclocross barrier. Local hero and style master Matthew Slaven, dressed as a Hooter’s Girl, blasted to the hole shot, driving toward the first barrier at about 30 mph. He promptly bunny hopped the barrier into the courses most unique obstacle, an eight foot tall, 12 foot wide foam bubble machine that created a wall of suds. Slaven plowed through the foam not really knowing what awaited him on the other side. “I felt like I was in a waterbirth. A foamy, bubbly water birth,” Slaven said. Trying to hold Slaven’s wheel, one racer narrowly missed his bunny hop attempt catching his front wheel and flipping over in a spectacular crash through the foam fountain. This allowed Slaven a huge lead that he held for a couple laps before dropping his chain during a double barrier bunny hop. He finished 4th.
Following the foam was a quick descent into a steep run up with barriers, topped with a huge windmill directly on the course. Racers had to navigate between the rotating fan blades before remounting and descending a slick, off camber curve. During a later lap Kelly Ryan, in a beautiful display of love and kinship and team tactics, took a beer hand up from his wife while his brother ran his bike up the hill. Ryan flawlessly remounted and rolled away among great cheering.
The backside of the course was sloppy, thick and very slow going. While generally rideable, the four inch deep, thirty foot long mud puddle followed by a lengthy flat section of what could have been peanut butter and molasses, found many single speeders wishing for lower gears.
Olympic mountain biker Adam Craig hit the start line on a slightly modified version of his usual Giant ‘cross bike. It was, of course, single speed but Craig had a partner in crime. Attached to his bike was a tag-a-long trailer bike ridden by Tina Brubaker (who happened to be wearing his Short Track national champion skin suit). Technically not a tandem and not truly two bikes, the two raced around the course with surprising grace and speed, even trying to bunny hop the Vault. Trebon came to Portland with winning in mind. After winning two previous races, the Cross Crusade single speed race and Category A race, Trebon found himself caught behind the initial pile-up and was unable to catch the lead group.
While Craig may have had a unique racing bike, many other racers competed perhaps without speed in mind. One strong man raced on a Surly Big Dummy, a 45 plus pound long tail cargo bike converted to single speed. Another wore an outfit best called lots of moss. A crowd favorite wore PBaRmor, a knight suit made of PBR cans. Perhaps the slowest contender was Brody Boeger riding a plastic pony mounted to a 20 inch kid’s bike. Many donned bikini briefs. One man wore a women’s one piece bathing suit. Last year’s winner Wendy Williams wore her world champion bikini.
The women’s race saw crowd favorite Megan Farris take a huge early lead. Destined for victory, Farris suffered an untimely flat that allowed Butler and Williams to pass her. Over thirty racers qualified. Butler, Williams and Farris caught and passed most of the men’s field even after starting 30 seconds behind.
Top 5 men:
- Drew MacKenzie
- Craig Etheridge
- Soloman Woras
- Matthew Slaven
- Jacob Rathe
Top 3 Women:
- Sue Butler
- Wendy Williams
- Megan Farris
He’s one of our own… | Every Day Adventures on November 13th, 2008 4:12 pm
[...] a lot of people loved the Big Dummy. Several people blogged / posted in forums about it: Drunk Cyclist’s Blog: SSCXWC MTBR [...]