Sunday, February 21, 1999 -- Sissonville
WV Cyclocross Race #6

[Coverage/Recap w/Pics] [Results] [Pics Set 1] [Pics Set 2]

Brady Campbell enjoys a nice ride on a cold day in Sissonville

Steve Thaxton, of Worldwide Chiropractic, and his crew of volunteers put on another fine cyclocross race, the last in their 1998/99 series of six. While the weekend temperatures were a bit on the chilly side, even for February, conditions for the race were excellent with no more mud than usual. The course was altered from the previous races in that the section behind the graveyard and down the "chute" were bypassed leaving the road and field sections unaltered. A nice crowd of riders were in attendance including several first time racers along with the most dominant rider in the series, Ryan O'Connor, racing for Mongose.

At the line it's Doug Wayne ahead of Daniel Ritchey by a wheel

In one of the close races of the series, Doug Wayne and Daniel Ritchey battled it out for second and third place in the beginner class. After the first lap, Wayne held a 4 second lead but Ritchey kept the heat on and it was a near photo-finish at the end. Wayne (37:25) nipped Ritchey (37:26) by a wheel for second place while Richard Arigan (37:14) took first place just ten seconds ahead.

In the expert class, Ryan O'Connor (47:07) took first place, capturing his 4th win in the 6 race series. Dave Fleming (49:52) kept the heat on but after the second lap had fallen two minutes out of the lead and had to settle for a second place finish. Steve Thaxton (52:54) took third place while Randy Gibbs, who finished in 2nd place the previous two races, was slowed by a broken chain but was able to make repairs and finish the race.

At the start it was Pablo Martinez grabbing a little glory with a sprint to the front

In the sport class, Pablo Martinez jumped out to an early lead, sprinting ahead of the whole pack as they headed off from the start. Alas, Martinez was not able to withstand the blistering pace for long. He faded to 4th place at the end of the first lap where he would stay for the remainder of the race. Taking the lead in the sport class after the first lap was Antony Schwartz followed closely by Colby Uhl and Brady Campbell. In the second lap, Schwartz faded to third while Uhl took the lead and Campbell second. Despite a valiant charge by Campbell in the last lap, Uhl was able to hold on for the win with a time of 41:43 followed by Campbell (42:19) and Schwartz (42:57).

Jim Smith (23:06) and Jeremy Bartholow (26:47) finished first and second respectively in the First Timer class while R.L. Martin took the Masters class win.

As usual, the race volunteers did and excellent job and the post race refreshments were superb. We are looking forward to doing it all again for the 1999/2000 cyclocross season and can only hope that all the enthusiasm continues.