JHK, Kroepsch cruise at state (Colorado) championships
By Joshua Lindenstein, Daily Camera, Boulder, CO :: LONGMONT — Coaches and athletes love to downplay big events as "just another game" or "just another race."For Boulderites Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski and Lara Kroepsch, Saturday's Colorado state cyclo-cross championship was just practice.
Horgan-Kobelski, a four-time defending national champion mountain biker, and Kroepsch, a two-time national criterium champion at CU, race cyclo-cross strictly as training for other disciplines — as do many involved in the sport.
But the pair showed their versatility, winning the men's pro and women's pro races, respectively, on a cold, flurry-filled day at the Xylinx campus on the southwest edge of Longmont.
For Kroepsch, the win was no less sweet just because it capped off a week of hard training for next season's road races, her primary discipline.
"I've been racing in Colorado for seven years and I don't have a state title yet so it's pretty cool," said Kroepsch, who turned 27 a week ago.
Kroepsch topped a field of 14 other women on the 45-minute, five-lap circuit course that included paved sections, dirt sections through wooded areas and obstacles over which competitors had to carry their bikes.
After two rigorous four-hour training rides last week, Kroepsch was worried about how fresh she'd be Saturday. But when she stepped to the starting line, she noticed the absence of a couple of top competitors — Ann Trombley and Katie Compton.
"When I didn't see them, I thought, 'Okay, the door's open,' " Kroepsch said.
She burst to the front of the pack right from the start, opened up a 100-yard lead two laps into the race and, save for some gear problems, cruised uneventfully to the state title.
CU's Eszter Horanyi was second and Horgan-Kobelski's wife, Heather Irmiger, placed third.
On the men's side, Horgan-Kobelski fought off a strong push from Jon Baker, the nation's ninth-rated cyclo-crosser, 15-year-old Alex Coelho and Brandon Dwight to win the 60-minute, nine-lap men's race. Boulder's Colby Pearce was fifth.
After overtaking Coelho, a student at Loveland High School, for the lead with five laps to go, Horgan-Kobelski made his move to pull away from the rest of the lead pack and opened up about a 200-yard insurmountable lead with three laps to go.
"I felt really good so I figured I would be better off riding my own pace and just put in a really good effort and went for it and got the gap and held on to the end," Horgan-Kobelski said.
But because Horgan-Kobelski doesn't hold a license with the American Cycling Association, the sanctioning body for Saturday's race, he wasn't eligible to be crowned state champ.
When the race announcer alerted the crowd to that fact with a little more than three laps to go, Baker, who will be aiming for a top-10 finish at next weekend's cyclo-cross nationals in Providence, R.I., got an extra surge of motivation, despite trailing JHK by a wide margin.
"Obviously I would have liked to win but I'll take the state championship as a consolation prize," Baker said.
Colorado State Cyclo-cross Championship Longmont PRO MEN
1. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, Gary Fisher/Subaru; 2. Jon Baker, Primus Mootry Cyclo Cross Team; 3. Alex Coelho, Excel Sports; 4. Brandon Dwight, TIAA-CREF/5280 Magazine; 5. Colby Pearce, TIAA-CREF/5280 Magazine; 6. Peter Webber, IMBA; 7. Jon Tarkington, Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team; 8. Douglas Campbell, Primus Mootry Cyclo Cross Team; 9. Joe DePaemelaere, Primus Mootry Cyclo Cross Team; 10. Shawn Harshman, Unattached.
PRO WOMEN
1. Lara Kroepsch, T-Mobile; 2. Eszter Horanyi; 3. Heather Irmiger; 4. Catherine Johnson, Pro Peloton Racing; 5. Lara Heckman; 6. Cristina Begy, Unattached; 7. Kay Levesque, Team Louisville Cyclery; 8. Kristal Boni; 9. Heather Baumgartner, Adventure Cycling in Aurora; 10. Susan Einberger, Boulder Women's Cycling Team.
BOULDER CYCLO-CROSS SERIES FINAL STANDINGS PRO MEN
1. Douglas Campbell, Primus Mootry Cyclo Cross Team; 2. Brandon Dwight, TIAA-CREF/5280 Magazine; 3. Joe DePaemelaere, Primus Mootry Cyclo Cross Team; 4. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, Gary Fisher/ Subaru; 5. Jon Tarkington, Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team; 6. Jeff Wardell, Excel Sports; 7. Jon Baker, Primus Mootry Cyclo Cross Team; 8. Troy Kilgore, Rocky Mounts/Izzy; 9. Alex Coelho, Excel Sports; 10. Taylor Kneuven, Broadmark.
PRO WOMEN
1. Catherine Johnson, Pro Peloton Racing; 2. Lara Kroepsch, T-Mobile; 3. Kristal Boni; 4. Eszter Horyani; 5. Cristina Begy, Unattached; 6. Heather Irminger; 7. Heather Baumgartner, Adventure Cycling in Aurora; 8. Katie Compton; 9. Susan Einberger, Boulder Women's Cycling Team; 10. Ann Trombley, Excel Sports.
Horgan-Kobelski, a four-time defending national champion mountain biker, and Kroepsch, a two-time national criterium champion at CU, race cyclo-cross strictly as training for other disciplines — as do many involved in the sport.
But the pair showed their versatility, winning the men's pro and women's pro races, respectively, on a cold, flurry-filled day at the Xylinx campus on the southwest edge of Longmont.
For Kroepsch, the win was no less sweet just because it capped off a week of hard training for next season's road races, her primary discipline.
"I've been racing in Colorado for seven years and I don't have a state title yet so it's pretty cool," said Kroepsch, who turned 27 a week ago.
Kroepsch topped a field of 14 other women on the 45-minute, five-lap circuit course that included paved sections, dirt sections through wooded areas and obstacles over which competitors had to carry their bikes.
After two rigorous four-hour training rides last week, Kroepsch was worried about how fresh she'd be Saturday. But when she stepped to the starting line, she noticed the absence of a couple of top competitors — Ann Trombley and Katie Compton.
"When I didn't see them, I thought, 'Okay, the door's open,' " Kroepsch said.
She burst to the front of the pack right from the start, opened up a 100-yard lead two laps into the race and, save for some gear problems, cruised uneventfully to the state title.
CU's Eszter Horanyi was second and Horgan-Kobelski's wife, Heather Irmiger, placed third.
On the men's side, Horgan-Kobelski fought off a strong push from Jon Baker, the nation's ninth-rated cyclo-crosser, 15-year-old Alex Coelho and Brandon Dwight to win the 60-minute, nine-lap men's race. Boulder's Colby Pearce was fifth.
After overtaking Coelho, a student at Loveland High School, for the lead with five laps to go, Horgan-Kobelski made his move to pull away from the rest of the lead pack and opened up about a 200-yard insurmountable lead with three laps to go.
"I felt really good so I figured I would be better off riding my own pace and just put in a really good effort and went for it and got the gap and held on to the end," Horgan-Kobelski said.
But because Horgan-Kobelski doesn't hold a license with the American Cycling Association, the sanctioning body for Saturday's race, he wasn't eligible to be crowned state champ.
When the race announcer alerted the crowd to that fact with a little more than three laps to go, Baker, who will be aiming for a top-10 finish at next weekend's cyclo-cross nationals in Providence, R.I., got an extra surge of motivation, despite trailing JHK by a wide margin.
"Obviously I would have liked to win but I'll take the state championship as a consolation prize," Baker said.
Colorado State Cyclo-cross Championship Longmont PRO MEN
1. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, Gary Fisher/Subaru; 2. Jon Baker, Primus Mootry Cyclo Cross Team; 3. Alex Coelho, Excel Sports; 4. Brandon Dwight, TIAA-CREF/5280 Magazine; 5. Colby Pearce, TIAA-CREF/5280 Magazine; 6. Peter Webber, IMBA; 7. Jon Tarkington, Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team; 8. Douglas Campbell, Primus Mootry Cyclo Cross Team; 9. Joe DePaemelaere, Primus Mootry Cyclo Cross Team; 10. Shawn Harshman, Unattached.
PRO WOMEN
1. Lara Kroepsch, T-Mobile; 2. Eszter Horanyi; 3. Heather Irmiger; 4. Catherine Johnson, Pro Peloton Racing; 5. Lara Heckman; 6. Cristina Begy, Unattached; 7. Kay Levesque, Team Louisville Cyclery; 8. Kristal Boni; 9. Heather Baumgartner, Adventure Cycling in Aurora; 10. Susan Einberger, Boulder Women's Cycling Team.
BOULDER CYCLO-CROSS SERIES FINAL STANDINGS PRO MEN
1. Douglas Campbell, Primus Mootry Cyclo Cross Team; 2. Brandon Dwight, TIAA-CREF/5280 Magazine; 3. Joe DePaemelaere, Primus Mootry Cyclo Cross Team; 4. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, Gary Fisher/ Subaru; 5. Jon Tarkington, Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team; 6. Jeff Wardell, Excel Sports; 7. Jon Baker, Primus Mootry Cyclo Cross Team; 8. Troy Kilgore, Rocky Mounts/Izzy; 9. Alex Coelho, Excel Sports; 10. Taylor Kneuven, Broadmark.
PRO WOMEN
1. Catherine Johnson, Pro Peloton Racing; 2. Lara Kroepsch, T-Mobile; 3. Kristal Boni; 4. Eszter Horyani; 5. Cristina Begy, Unattached; 6. Heather Irminger; 7. Heather Baumgartner, Adventure Cycling in Aurora; 8. Katie Compton; 9. Susan Einberger, Boulder Women's Cycling Team; 10. Ann Trombley, Excel Sports.
posted by Ryan Amirault at Monday, December 05, 2005
