Nevada City Classic

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Nevada City : Moninger Wins
June 12-13, 1999
California

From John Elgart

(Nevada City Bicycle Classic Website)

Nevada City is a race where nearly every rider is visibly pushed over the edge. Even the winners look like they are floundering. And the chasers wind up heaving, wheezing, weaving, spitting, sweating -- looking like death on wheels. It's a great day to be a spectator!

But one rider looked like he was just putting in a day at the office: Mercury's Scott Moninger soloed away from his pro12 chase group with a display of smooth power, spinning a 53-19 up the hill, and lapping all up half a dozen riders in this stellar field.

Moninger's game plan was simple: spin up the hill at an inhuman pace every lap. He escaped the field after a few laps, was brought back by the efforts of Eddy Gragus and Chad Gherlach, then went again, this time for good.

Turning laps in the 2:40 range, the climbing specialist quickly built a minute lead over a chase group that included Gherlach (MerlinHind), Gragus (Ikon), Floyd Landis (Shaklee), David Clinger (Mercury) and Derek Bouchard Hall (Shaklee). 15-30 seconds back was another group of 6 or 8 that included Pat Heaney and John Hunt. Farther back, and a lap down, was the shredding field of two dozen. And scattered around the course were numerous single riders in various states of distress.

The Pro12 had started with the 100 man field being led on the 50-mph downhill by fearless James Lillard (Alto Velo). Seeing this full field roar into the hairpin turn at this speed is one of the exciting moments in cycling. Shortly thereafter Tony Cruz (Cheval) took a tremendous flyer to open a 15-second gap. Mercury, led by Mike Sayers, massed at the front to chase. Two laps later the field was together, and Moninger was launched.

Once Moninger was up the road, the race was for 2nd, and David Clinger (Mercury) launched a solo with 10 laps to go. Clinger soon had 20 seconds on the group of Gherlach, Gragus, Landis, and Bouchard Hall. With 3 to go, Gherlach came flying up the hill to lay claim to the 3rd spot.

As it is every year, the hill at Nevada City is where the aficionados of agony gather. It is the best race in America for close up watching of extreme effort. And this year the officials left all the riders in so local favorites could give their fan clubs something to cheer for. Many little dramas play themselves out among the amateurs a lap or two down on the lead pros.

For instance, there was Sacramento's Chuck Hutcheson, hanging on Moninger's wheel and then Clinger's wheel, to come from far down in the standings. And Espoir Russell Hamby fighting his way into the top 20 in the last 5 laps. We especially appreciated John Armour, newly upgraded Cat 2, pushing his 180 pounds up the hill, seeming to gain strength every lap as the spectators cheered him. Most riders who do this race know they don't have much chance. But being in on the scene is worth it.

Other Categories:

Women's 123: Karen Kurreck (Edil Savino / sometimes Alto Velo) took the Women's race out of a break of 3. With Karen, who is the top ranked American in UCI points and who usually races in Europe, were Julie Hanson (a former winner from Team Saturn) and local climber Caren Spore (Davis). The finish came down to a sprint with Kurreck taking it over Hanson and then Spore. Other NorCal riders who did well: Cynthia Mommsen (Olympic), Anya Hinkle (BBC), Rebecca Edwards (Ophir Milan).

Masters 35: Glen Winkel (who has won this race how many times?) blew apart the Men 35 pack with an early solo. Chasing the Postal rider was the duo of Brian McGuire (Olympic) and John Wordin (Mercury). In the final lap, Wordin biffed, joining the many riders who slipped in the oily hairpin, and Kevin Metcalfe soloed in for the 3rd spot. Of special note: Bubba Melcher (Alta Alpina), at 190 pounds, and Kevi n Merritt (Alto Velo), at 180 or so, crushing the climber types up the hill. Both were top 10.

Masters 45: Former winner in the Senior ranks, Mark Caldwell (Lombardi's), soloed from about a third of the way through the race to win by 40 seconds over a chase group of Bart Barmettler (Alto Velo), Tom Regan (Alta Alpina) and Dan Dole (BBC). Rick Humphries no doubt would have been there, but crashed in the downhill corner when he slid out. (Your correspondent gasped out of the lead group after 20 minutes with an allergy attack and retired to the shade to wheeze.)

Women 35: Anne Farley (Alto Velo) took it, but not without plenty of last lap drama. Farley and Linda Elgart (Ophir) escaped half way through the race to a 20 second lead over Debbie Allen (Alta Alpina), Leslie Jensen (BBC - last year's winner) and Evan Sims (a Cat 4 from Alto Velo -- the Cat 4's Women and 35+ Women raced together). But gradually this lead was whittled away, until with 4 laps to go the 3 chasers caught the 2 leaders, setting up a sprint which Farley won with an attack on the hill, followed by Elgart and Allen.

Juniors: As expected, the Mercury/Ritchey Juniors dominated. Devon Hoff Weeks went solo from early on. Sterling Magnell soloed for 2nd in the final laps. They may have picked up 3rd as well (I didn't see the finish). Many of the pretty good NorCal Juniors were lapped 2 or 3 times by the SoCal juniors from Hansens and Ritchey. But of note among the NorCal riders, 13 year old Alan Erickson stuck with the older leaders until the closing moments of the race. Remember that name.

Of Special Note:

* Lap Times: I mentioned that Moninger's lap times were in the 2:40's (fastest 2:37). Glen Winkel turned a 2:55 fastest lap, and was usually at 3:00. Karen Kurreck and company were around 3:05. The Masters 45 and Juniors did the short (but not that much easier) course.

* Pulled Riders: In general officials let riders stay in the race. I think this is a good idea, and the officials seemed to be able to figure out the results at least for the top riders.

* The extra Masters categories on Saturday: It was great!

* A few suggestions: A program for spectators with rider numbers and names. Loudspeakers on the hill. Otherwise, Galeforce did a great job on race day.