October 20, 2004 – After its successful West Coast swing, the Crank
Brothers U.S. Gran Pix of Cyclocross Series turns eastward with two
favorites wearing leader jerseys in the elite men’s and women’s categories.
Both Redline’s Marc Gullickson and Missing Link’s Gina Hall will be looking
to extend their advantages with two races at fabled Fort Stage Park in
Gloucester, Mass, where they’ve recorded several podium finishes in recent
years.

With automatic selection to the World Cyclocross Championships at stake,
however, Gullickson and Hall will be hard pressed to keep their leads at
the Michelob ULTRA Gran Prix of Gloucester Races on Oct. 30 and Oct. 31.

Gullickson, with 70 points, holds a slim six-point lead over Canadian Geoff
Kabush (Maxxis Giant), while Mark McCormack (Clif Bar-Colavita) sits in
third just seven points adrift. Amazingly, none of these competitors
managed to net a victory at the races in Portland, Oregon and Tacoma,
Washington. But the threesome are proving that in a series laden with
exceptional talent, the overall title is likely to go to the most
consistent racer who’s able to maintain top form over several months.

That’s not to say that Italian national champion Daniele Pontoni (Selle
Italia) or U.S. Espoirs national champion Adam Craig (Maxxis Giant), who
won the Cannondale Stumptown Cyclocross Classic and the Clif Bar Grand Prix
races respectively, are out of the running. Pontoni sits in fourth with 62
points, eight points behind Gullickson, while Craig sits in sixth, just 20
points behind the leader and 10 points down on fifth placed Carl Decker
(Giant-Peral Izumi). Both have shown flashes of brilliance in the early
season and are likely to get stronger as the weather turns colder.

On the women’s side, Gina Hall (Missing Link) has staked out a more
substantial lead than her male counterpart. After a second place finish in
Portland and a victory in Tacoma, Hall has 90 points – 20 points ahead of
her West Coast rival, Kona’s Ann Knapp, who won the series opener in
Portland. Rhonda Mazza (Vanilla/S&M) is currently sitting in third with 64
points, followed by Sarah Kerlin (Velo Bella) in fourth with 60 points and
Josie Beggs (Starbucks Double Shot) in fifth with 53 points.

Like the elite men’s division, the U-23 men are already engaged in a tight
struggle. Two East Coast riders, Matt White (NCC/BikeReg.com) and defending
U.S. national U-23 champion Jesse Anthony (Cyclocrossworld.com) have put a
sizeable gap into the rest of the field. White won in Tacoma and placed
second to Anthony in Portland and thus holds a 90-84 edge over his
Massachusetts rival. Morgan Schmitt of the venerable RAD Racing program is
in third with 52 points, Zachary Grabowski of (TIAA-CREF/Clif Bar) is in
fourth with 51 points, while Redline’s Thomas Magrath is in fifth with 43
points.

Finally, the junior division is shaping up as a real shoot out. Taylor Lane
(Rio Grande) leads the field with 84 points, but hot on his heels are Brady
Kappius (TIAA-CREF/Clif Bar) with 76 points and Charles Marzot (Corner
Cycle) with 74 points. In fourth is Eric Riggs of SF Velosport with 63
points, followed by Alex Howes, another TIAA-CREF/Clif Bar rider, in fifth
with 50 points.