BALTIMORE, Md.  (Dec.  17, 2001) — Jonathan Page rounded the next-to-last hairpin turn in the SuperCup finals and sprung off the wheel of Marc Gullickson.  He barreled toward a double set of hurdles at a full sprint, well over 25 mph, dismounted, scaled the first and caught his foot on the second.

For one second the Richard Sachs riders had lost the biggest race of his career ä his left knee drew to the ground like a sinking ship.  But he leaned on the bike, drew himself up and miraculously remounted.

"It looked like he was going to stack it," said Gullickson (Mongoose/Hyundai).  "That was my only hope because he was going away."

Page slid a bit on the final turn on to the paved finish stretch and powered away to his first elite men's SuperCup victory.  The roar of the crowd signaled not just a victory but actually stamped a huge exclamation point on a weekend that started with two days of national championship racing followed by the SuperCup finals.

All of Belgium should take heed, for Baltimore signaled a groundswell in the popularity of American cyclocross as never before seen.  The depth and breadth of the fields, the range of regions in the medal harvest, the size and roar of the crowds all braided together for a rare spectacle.

During three glorious days of 'cross, more than 7,000 spectators witnessed a coup d'etat against the established kings of U.S. 'cross, bowed to two thrones for two queens, and crowned a new prince.

For the first time since 1995 Team Saturn did not win either a nationals or a SuperCup.

In the men's races, cyclocross rookie Todd Wells (Mongoose/Hyundai) shocked all with a nationals win over Tim Johnson (Saturn), who saw a 30-second solo lead deflate due to a puncture with three laps to go.  Pre-race favorite Marc Gullickson (Mongoose/Hyundai) finished third. 

Then in a wild SuperCup final on Sunday — which included kicking, punching and no shortage of hip-checks and head butts — super-amateur Jonathan Page (Richard Sachs) surfed the high-speed wave of riders in a lead group that numbered 18.  After successive rounds of spectacular attacks, the field dropped to nine, then five, and then two before Page settled in to duel with Gullickson.  The duel boiled right down to Page's blast into the final hurdles.

Gullickson would finish second, enough to give him the SuperCup series title, and Alex Candelario (Big Shark/Cannondale) punched away from a frustrated Johnson to finish third.  To keep the upsets going, Travis Brown (Trek/Volkswagen) rode to a brilliant fifth place finish. 

Elite Women

Page's bobble triggered an emotive crowd response because it had witnessed the falling of several angels during the weekend's racing.  One being Tim Johnson, whose puncture cost him the title.  The other being Ann Grande (Kona/Voicestream).

Coming off a triumph over Lyne Bessette (Saturn) in Chicago, Grande had sufficient gall to challenge World Mountain Bike Champion Alison Dunlap (Clif Bar/Luna Chix).  Dunlap and Grande broke loose together.  Grande actually peppered Dunlap to a duel in the barriers, a strategy that worked against Bessette.  That tactic kept Dunlap off balance.  After five years of winning everything BUT the nationals, Grande rode to within two laps of the finish with Dunlap.  Then Grande flatted.  Then Grande crashed.  Then Grande discovered a contact lens had been knocked out.

Dunlap wins solo, followed by d'Aluisio, and a shocking Rachel Lloyd (Team Spine/Santa Cruz).  Grande found herself in contemptuous position of sprinting against her teammate Gina Hall (Kona/Voicestream) to finish fourth.

To her credit, Grande rode brilliantly the following day in the SuperCup finals.  She withstood a brutal opening barrage from Bessette that even stunned Dunlap for two laps.  Then Grande clawed back with Carmen d'Aluisio swapping pulls.

"I saw a Saturn jersey up ahead and I thought, 'Huh? That must be somebody warming up on the course,' I couldn't believe it was Lyne," said d'Aluisio.

Tied with Bessette but wearing the leaders jersey, Grande and D'Aluisio ganged up on Bessette and snapped free.

But Dunlap they would never see.

"She was just gone," said Grande.  "I thought, 'Crap, she was just playing with me (the day before)."

Dunlap won easily, with d'Aluisio scoring another ClifBar 1-2 by outsprinting Grande.  Then came Gina Hall (Kona/Voicestream) in fourth, followed by the shocker of the weekend, Jen Dial (Independent Fabrication), in fifth.  As a recent transplant to Maryland, she drew hoots of applause from the Crabtown crowd.

The elite women's races confirmed her Excellency, Alison Dunlap (ClifBar), as the best female 'crosser in America.  The women's racing also produced a one-two double for Clif Bar, with Carmen d'Aluisio (ClifBar) finishing second both days to secure her a spot on the world's team.  This team, Dunlap said, is a "phenomenal" squad.  Dunlap also pledged to become the first American woman to win the 'cross title, a nice complement to her mountain bike title. 

Prince Jesse Scores a Double

Jesse Anthony (Saturn Development) confirmed his position as one of America's greatest hopefuls for a world title with his riding in Baltimore.  On Saturday he lined up in the Junior 15-16 category, which started a minute behind the supposedly faster Junior 17-18 category.  He dropped all of his fellow 16-year-olds and in about 20 minutes caught the leaders of the 17-18 year olds.  Then he dropped them, too.

The next day he completed a sweep of the SuperCup series, adding to his sweep to date of the New England series. 

Given the prospects of Anthony and Alison Dunlap, dare we hint that America could win two World Championships while putting an elite male rider in the top 10?

The Woolly Mammoth Funds the Worlds Team

On Saturday night, race organizers threw together the First Rendezvous of the Society of the Woolly Mammoth.  In short, a lame excuse for old-time cyclocross riders to get together and swap yarns.  By charging a gate and auctioning off a few items, they figured they might be able to raise funds for the U.S. Worlds Team, which receives no support from USACycling.

Through these means, the Society was able to harvest an amazing amount of almost $4,000 in just two hours.

"We really just wanted to jump start sort of an alumni association that could do two things: preserve a sense of where we came from, and help pave a road for where we want to go," said Richard Fries, race announcer for the SuperCup Cyclocross Series.  "With this type of support, the folks in Belgium should start getting nervous."

There were four ceremonial jerseys, crafted of fine New Zealand wool and embroidered with the popular SuperCup petroglyph, awarded.  The jerseys were kindly donated by N-Zone apparel, which is being distributed in the U.S. by the Cadenza Group.  Newly crowned National Champion Todd Wells (Mongoose/Hyundai) and five-time National Champion Alison Dunlap (Clif Bar/Luna Chix) each got one.  Then came the "Pioneer" award, a jersey given to recognize somebody who helped steer the sport of cyclocross out of the woods.  That jersey went to Geoff Proctor of Helena, Mont., who has devoted most of his life to the coaching and promotion of 'cross, dating back to when 40 riders total was deemed a good turnout. 

The final jersey of the night went to Jim Brown, the driving force behind the RAD Racing juniors program based in Seattle.  Through Brown's guidance, RAD Racing managed to send a dozen kids to the three-day festival.  And with Brown's constant monitoring, the team behaved well, took home loads of medals, a few titles, and attended every one of the evening events.  (The lone indictment from their parents will be that the kids came home reeking of champagne, complements of an Alison Dunlap dousing at the awards ceremony.)

After the jersey presentations came an auction which included a set of Mavic wheels, a date with Todd Wells (which drew just $40), Erwin Vervecken's World Championship skinsuit and a World Championship jersey signed by Alison Dunlap which fetched $1,100 twice!!! Engaged in a furious bidding war, two retailers were interrupted by Dunlap herself who gave up two jerseys to draw twice the funds. 

"The way we envision this for next year is to have the jersey recipients pick the Class of 2002," explained Lyle Fulkerson, president of the Kiron Group, which promoted the weekend events.  "So you'll add your elite champions and then more pioneers.  Then after that it should take on a life of its own."Ý

Hamblen Loses the Underwear Bet

While the Woolly Mammoths were gaining fine winter woolen clothing, Jon Hamblen (Richard Sachs) was gaining less than appropriate attire.  Hamblen had apparently wagered with teammate Jon Page that he could not win the SuperCup final.  Then Page won.  The wager? Hamblen had to don the pink underwear of Richard Sachs soigneur Kori Book and publicly climb the wall at the ESPN Zone, clad in just that.

He neglected to realize the Ravens-Steelers game guaranteed a full house.

Reports of his payment were not clear.  He did, however, score a second place in a downtown underwear contest later that evening.  (The SuperCup finals, due to its end-of-season blowouts, has developed a reputation for going from the finest day in U.S. cycling to the worst night in U.S. cycling in just six hours time.)

Rubbin' is Racin', What About Kickin'?

The SuperCup Finals in Baltimore produced both light and heat.  Light in the revelation of Jonathan Page, and heat in the form of some mid-race pugilism.

"We were definitely swapping a lot of paint out there," said Todd Wells (Mongoose/Hyundai).  "It was just good racing."

While occasional contact is expected, this beef got downright belligerent according to sources positioned in the break.  On several serpentine sections with hairpins, Wells stuffed Tim Johnson (Saturn) hard on the inside, more than a few times.  Johnson, also frustrated by Wells' bunny-hopping attacks in the barriers, had to reach into his Belgian tool bag for a few remedies.  Wearing spiked shoes for the sloppy course conditions, Johnson made it a point to clip out of his pedal and accidentally swing his right leg extra wide into Wells several times, with enough of a mule push to make Wells reconsider his bunny hops.

At one point the dean of the breakaway, Marc Gullickson (Mongoose/Hyundai) sat up on the paved finish stretch to deliver a stern lecture to the lead group about their behavior.

That, of course, was when Mark McCormack (Saturn) fired off an attack.

Furious with such insolence, Gully reeled in McCormack, sent Wells off the front, and then countered with the winning move with Jonathon Page (Richard Sachs) in tow.  Page scored the day, but Gully took the series.

"We all apologized at the end," said Johnson.  "We're friends and all but äit's racing."Ý

Richard Sachs' Big Haul

The MidAtlantic crowd left Patterson Park almost aching from the excitement that began on Friday in misty rain and mud.  On that day there would be mild revolution as new regions scored medals, although the East Coast had a good first-day harvest.  Nobody could match Team Richard Sachs, scoring jerseys, medals and accolades all three days, but especially on day one.  To open, Richard Sachs rider Alica Genest (Boston University) scored the collegiate victory.  Then came Katrina Davis (Richard Sachs), winning the women's 30-plus race, followed by a powerful ride by new addition Tyler Johnson (Richard Sachs), who won the bronze in the espoir race.  Alicia's dad, David, snared a fourth place in the 50-plus category.

The next day, Genest would ride to the espoir women's title and Page would finish fourth in the elite men's race.  This was followed by Page's Sunday victory.  In all, Richard Sachs' riders scored four gold medals and seven podium appearances during the weekend with the cherry-topping victory in the elite men's SuperCup finals, arguably one of the most exciting days is U.S. 'cross history.

"This is the culmination of several years of growing our 'cross team to be a force on the national and international scene."

East Coasters Rule Masters

The masters of the East Coast, led by SRP/Gear Works, crushed the competition.

On the women's side, Yankees won the 30-plus with Katrina Davis (Richard Sachs), the 35-plus with Liz Coleman (SoBe), the 40-plus with Jodi Groesbeck (Putney/West Hill), and the 45-plus with Pennsylvania's Bonnie Stoeckel (Evolution).

The men's race saw a revolt with Michigan's Jeff Weinert (Independent Fabrication) taking the 30-plus, and two Californians, James Coats in the 35-plus and John Elgart in the 55 plus, taking gold.

SRP/Gear Works snared gold with the 40-plus (Scott Wade) and the 45-plus (Paul Curley) and two other podiums, Kathy Sarvary (3rd, 40-plus women) and Bob Bisson (4th, 40-plus men).