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Craig, Hall victorious in Tacoma 'cross

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Adam Craig gets away

At 4:45 a.m. Sunday morning, 23-year-old cross-country sensation Adam Craig woke up in Lake Tahoe, California, after a long night spent as the best man at his high-school friend’s wedding. Less than 12 hours later, the Maxxis-Giant rider crossed the finish line as the winner of the Grand Prix of Cyclo-Cross held at Fort Steilacoom Park in Tacoma, Washington.

Clear skies and warm weather marked a contrast to Saturday’s Cannondale Stümptown Gran Prix, held in Portland, Oregon, as did the fast, spread-out 4.4km course that differed from the muddy hairpin turns found surrounding the Alpenrose Velodrome.

For Craig, winning the event, which doubled as the second round of the U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross, was all the more spectacular given the presence of two-time world cyclo-cross champion Daniele Pontoni (Selle Italia). After Craig rolled off the front of the field halfway through the fast and dry 8-lap race, Pontoni, the winner Saturday, briefly led a nine-man chase group before conceding defeat.

Kabush

“I just didn’t have the legs,” Pontoni said through an interpreter following his 10th place finish over a fast, dry course renowned for its steep and sandy 80-meter “Knapp Time” run-up. When asked if he felt the chase group had looked solely to him to bring back Craig, Pontoni replied, “That’s not why I didn’t win. I don’t have any excuses. Craig was stronger today.”

Pontoni seemed to struggle from the outset, sitting in a lead group that contained Andy Jacques-Maynes (Specialized); Mark McCormack (Clif Bar-Colavita Olive Oil); Ryan Trebon, Eric Tonkin and Barry Wicks (Kona); Carl Decker (Giant-Pearl Izumi); Marc Gullickson (Redline), Craig and Geoff Kabush (Maxxis-Giant).

While Jacques-Maynes was the first rider up the course’s tough run-up on the first lap, it was Kabush who took to the front and set the pace for the next three wide-open laps until Craig made his move on the fourth of eight laps.

“I didn’t really put in a serious attack,” Craig said, “I just kind of rolled off the front and looked back and had a gap. I didn’t really want to ride the whole second half of the race alone, but I was probably the slowest guy on the run-up, so I wanted to be myself for that section.”

Pontoni went to the front to chase, but, according to McCormack, the Italian’s efforts had little effect. “No one really wanted to drag Pontoni to Adam, since he showed yesterday that he was the strongest man, so we looked to him to chase,” McCormack said. “He put in a few surges, but we never really gained any ground.”

On lap 6 Pontoni experienced mechanical problems and changed bikes, but by that time the race was for second place; with teammate Kabush patrolling and blocking the chase group, Craig’s lead had stretched to nearly 30 seconds. As the group hit the steep run-up a final time, Kabush opened up a slight five-second lead, hoping for a Maxxis-Giant 1-2 finish, but Decker led the chase with Gullickson and McCormack quick to take his wheel.

Sensing his chances were better in a sprint, McCormack sat on Decker and Gullickson until they’d caught Kabush in the final corner, 100 meters from the finish. Kabush still had enough left in the tank to open up a sprint, but in the battle of cross-country star versus road veteran, the 2003 USPRO champion easily out-kicked the Canadian, 20 seconds behind a triumphant Craig. Gullickson took fourth, with Decker rounding out the top five.

“My legs were good today,” Craig said. “I wasn’t feeling too good beforehand, which seems to be an indicator that I’m going to have a good race. I felt like crap in Livingo [Italy, the final round of the 2004 cross-country World Cup, where Craig finished fifth] and look how that ended up.”

In the women’s 45-minute race, 35-year-old Gina Hall — who had originally intended to retire at the end of the 2003-4 season — led from start to finish to take the top podium spot 12 seconds ahead of a pair of Velo Bella riders, Sarah Kerlin and Barbara Howe. Local favorite Ann Knapp, the winner in Portland Saturday, finished seventh, over a minute down.

“I just had a bad day,” Knapp said. “No more, no less, just a bad day. The first time we hit the run-up I could just tell I wasn’t going to win today.”

But that wasn’t the case for Hall, who was first up the course’s nasty run-up and was by herself for the rest of the day.

“I was a little nervous, being in front for so long,” Hall said, “but on certain sections of the course I could see where the Velo Bella girls were, and I figured I’d just keep pushing and see if I could hold them off.”

Craig, Hall victorious in Tacoma 'cross

Elite Women
1. Gina Hall, Missing Link, 40:59
2. Sarah Kerlin, Velo Bella, at 0:12
3. Barbara Howe, Velo Bella, at 0:12
4. Rhonda Mazza, Vanilla-S&M, at 0:31
5. Wendy Simms, Front Runners-Steed Cycles East, at 0:35
6. Josie Beggs, Starbucks Doubleshot, at 0:38
7. Ann Knapp, Kona, at 1:09
8. Alison Baumhefner, ABS, at 1:30
9. Megan Monroe, at 1:39
10. Maureen Bruno Roy, Dansko Wheelworks, at 1:39Elite Men
1. Adam Craig, Maxxis-Giant, 1:01:31
2. Mark McCormack, Clif Bar-Colavita Olive Oil, at 0:20
3. Geoff Kabush (Can), Maxxis-Giant, at 0:21
4. Marc Gullickson, Redline, at 0:22
5. Carl Decker, Giant-Pearl Izumi, at 0:23
6. Barry Wicks, Kona, at 0:49
7. Eric Tonkin, Kona, at 0:50
8. Ryan Trebon, Kona, at 1:06
9. Andy Jacques-Maynes, Specialized, at 1:34
10. Daniele Pontoni (I), Selle Italia, at 1:40