2011 DBC Events Monarch Cross

Race report and Photos by Shawn Lortie

(Oct. 16, 2011)  Louisville Colo.-Unseasonably warm weather continued to plague CX lovers as the Front Range fall remained dry and sunny for this weekends racing.  Monarch High School was the venue for last years state championships, and offers and excellent location for CX racing and spectating. The course included plenty of grass on the athletic fields surrounding the school, quite a few very tight 180 degree turns, a long sand section, and a couple barrier sections thrown in for good measure.

In the Women’s Open race, Amanda Carey (Kenda/Felt) took off from the gun and proceeded to string out the field on the first lap. Rebecca Gross (Tough Girl), Erin Kummer (Unattached), Cat Johnson (The Service Course), and Lisa Hudson (Feedback Sports) gave chase behind. As the ladies continued to tick off the laps, Careys lead slowly grew. Gross continued to chase valiantly on her own, as Kummer and Margell Abel (Tough Girl) followed close behind. 

Eventually Kristal Boni (Rapid Racing) and Catherine Johnson were able to sneak by Abel during the last couple laps, but no one was able to catch Carey off the front.  The final three top finishers were Carey, Gross, and Kummer in that order. Gross holds onto the Colorado Cross Cup Series lead, with Kummer and Abel close behind, but with quite a few races to go, it’s anybodies guess as to who will take the overall series this year.

In the Mens Open, JHK came out to play for the second day in a row. After suffering some chain suck/derailleur issues in Saturdays race at Xilinx in Longmont, Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru/Trek) came back with a vengeance. Matt Pacocha (BikeRadar.com) led out the first lap, and a crash in the pack right before the sand trap allowed Pacocha, Chris Case (Feedback Sports), and JHK to gain a few seconds on the field.

By half way through it was apparent that JHK was out for the win. He quickly put solid gap on the chasers Case and Pacocha, with William Iaia (Groove Subaru Cycling) and Spencer Powlison (Plains to Peaks Racing) close behind. As time wore on, Case was able to get away from Pacocha.  Behind third place Pacocha, a chase group of five riders including Powlison, Iaia, Brandon Dwight (Boulder Cycle Sport), and Ken Benesh and Tim Allen (Feedback Sports) formed to fight for the last spot on the podium.

With a solid chase group on his tail, Pacocha was eventually reeled in.  In a strong showing of true CX tactics, Pacocha played his hand and made for an escape.  “Turned out that the sand was the crux feature; knowing that, after I was caught by the chasers, I made sure to hit it first on the last lap and it gave me a comfortable gap to the finish for third.”  Said Pacocha.  With JHK off the front, and Case on his own in second,  Pacocha claimed a hard fought third, making for some truly exciting racing!

For full Results see American Cycling Association Results