October 19, 2004 – The third round of the Emerald City Series returned to the South SeaTac venue, just north of the city of Tacoma, WA. With rainy weather and overcast skies, true Cross weather had arrived in the Pacific Northwest.

As the lone representative of the Maxxis-Giant CX Team, Jonny Sundt firmly shouldered the burden and gave a hard fought effort on the day. At the gun, Sundt, Dale Knapp (Kona), Russell Stevenson and Loren Hansen (BRI Racing) launched to the front of the group, taking turns on the lead. As the pack splintered under their accelerations, Sundt and Knapp were able to establish a small gap heading onto the second lap. As Sundt overtook the lead, Knapp pulled into the pit for a bike change but suffered a small time loss with no bike and no mechanic. First Stevenson and then Hansen rolled by the frustrated Kona rider as Sundt maintained his lead. Fighting the slippery mud and the harsh “Thigh Master” run-up over the course of the next few laps the group slowly reformed with Knapp and Hansen making inroads towards the escapees, Stevenson and, further up the road, Sundt.

With three laps remaining, Sundt enjoyed a 10-second and shrinking lead over a hard charging Stevenson. At two laps remaining, the two were together and holding a scant dozen seconds over Knapp and Hansen with a further minute to any semblance of a chasing group. Around the final corner and into the finishing straight away, Russell Stevenson enjoyed his first cross victory of the season. A pained Sundt crossed the line in second place, nursing a recurring back injury. Kona’s Dale Knapp claimed the remaining podium spot on the day.

Race Results 1. Russell Stevenson – BRI Racing 2. Jonny Sundt – Maxxis-Giant CX Team 3. Dale Knapp – Kona