Family comes first

(Reprinted from BOSTON.com)

By Susan Bickelhaupt, Globe Staff | October 30, 2005

The husband-and-wife team of Tim Johnson and Lyne Bessette seem to like working together. The couple won the elite men's and women's races yesterday in the Michelob Ultra Gran Prix of Gloucester at State Fort Park. The US Gran Prix of Cycloross series continues today at the same venue.

Hopefully, the weather will be better, said announcer Richard Fries, who said there were 3 inches of snow on a course that was already obstacle-filled -- cyclocross is a hybrid of road and mountain biking, and riders often have to dismount and carry their bikes while they run.

''The crowd wasn't that great because of the weather, but the racing was spectacular," said Fries.

Johnson beat his nearest pursuer by 2 minutes, while Bessette ''shattered" the field, according to Fries, leading for every lap. She improved her cyclocross record this season to 7-0.

Bessette, a successful racer on the road (she's a two-time Olympian and four-time winner of the Fitchburg Longsjo Stage Race) started cyclocross racing in 2001, then took off a couple of years to train for the Olympics. But she's right on track and doesn't seem to be affected by the weather.

''I love the cold and I love this sport," she said.

Johnson also appears to love the sport. Johnson, who was the first American to medal (bronze in 1999) in the cyclocross world championships, said despite the weather he didn't crash -- unlike a lot of other riders -- but he did have to change bikes every lap.

The visibility, he said, was poor. ''Big, wet snowflakes were coming down," he said

The Middleton resident was ecstatic over the victory, and said he was also excited to be at his old stomping ground.

''My mom was there, all my friends were there; it was great," he said. ''And it's the first time my wife and I both won since 2001."

Foxborough's Mark McCormack entered the event ranked sixth in the UCI (international) rankings that just came out.

''It's a pretty neat thing, but you have to read into it a little more," he said. ''I'm racing exclusively against North American guys, so I'm earning points against riders that are good, but not as good as some of the Europeans. I don't feel comfortable saying I'm the sixth-best guy in the world now, let's put it that way."

Ready to ride

Wellesley native Nicole Freedman, who roamed the country this summer entering races, is back East. She bought a condo in Somerville but is in search of a bicycle team.

Team Ford-Basis, a women's cycling team that Freedman helped found and manage, recently folded after three years.

Freedman, 33, was the only veteran on the team that was formed in 2002 as a developmental squad aimed at helping young riders progress toward the 2008 Olympics.

''The highlight of the past three years was watching these riders develop from top collegiate riders to some of the brightest prospects on the American cycling scene," said Freedman, who was on the US team at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

This past season, the Ford-Basis team competed in more than 100 UCI and National Racing Calendar races, with two riders placing in the top 15 of the NRC rankings: Freedman placed eighth and Chrissy Ruiter 11th.

In the meantime, Freedman is coaching the club cycling team at MIT.

''I'm kind of disappointed because I really wanted to race next year," Freedman said. ''But when I bought the condo, I knew that was it. I can't pay to go to races anymore."