Two different races, one at night under the lights and the other under the late afternoon sun produced the same results for the Kona-yourkey.com Factory Cyclocross team. Ryan Trebon and Barry wicks took 2nd and 3rd respectively and Wendy Simms took 3rd both at both events.

Star Crossed-Marymoor Velodrome Redmond, WA.

The anticipation was heavy as the first major race of the year was ready to kick off at Star Crossed. The weather was typical early northwest fall weather with some rain the day before but cold crisp clear weather on race day making for a dry fast course.

The ladies were up first and Kona-yourkey.com rider Wendy Simms was ready to roll out on her new Kona Queen Ann race machine. The race for Simms started with a slipped pedal and an uncomfortable ride on top tube. Once Simms was clipped she took off like a shot and patiently worked her way through the field to get in the lead. Shortly thereafter she lifted the pace enough to shatter most of the field but five other women were able to stay with her. It was pretty apparent she was a marked woman on this evening and with each attack by Simms the group would take turns chasing back on and Simms could never quite get the gap she needed to get away. It was a game of cat and mouse till the end and Simms just got nipped at a three way sprint for the line and finished in 3rd place.

For the men the anticipation was high as the Twin Timbers-Ryan Trebon and Barry Wicks were set to do battle with Christian Heule of Switzerland. Heule is the top non-Belgian UIC ranked rider and finished 5th in last seasons World Cup Standings. Once the gun went off it was not long before Trebon, Wicks and Heule left the field in the dust.

It was an amazing race with the smaller faster cornering Huela sandwiched between the powerful Wicks and Trebon. Blow after blow and attack after attack was launched over the course of the race. A spectacular infield attack by Wicks had the crowd roaring but ended quickly with the loss of traction and a tangle with the course tape. And so it went for the next hour
and it came down to the final sprint. Heule was just able to sneak past Trebon on the inside line on the last corner and Trebon was forced to scrub all his speed. The wind up for the sprint was amazing and Trebon came around Heule and was closing the gap fast but was shut down by the finish line and missed the top spot by 10 inches. “Another 10 meters and I would have closed it down but I just couldn’t quite get there,” remarked Trebon.

The next day brought the RAD RACING GP at Fort Steilicoom, a great race that is also a fund raiser for the Kona sponsored RAD Racing Program. The weather was sunny and warm and the course was in excellent shape albeit a bit bumpy.

For the women it was a different type of race with the same result but a different way of getting there. Wendy Simms was able to get off the front with Rachael Lloyd and get a pretty big gap on the main filled but her hopes of riding to a sprint with Lloyd were dashed when she rolled a tire and crashed hard. Never one to quite Simms got back on the bike and powered her way to the pit and back up to a fine finish in 3rd place. “I’m pretty bummed to have a mechanical like that I felt like I was racing well. Last night I felt like I did some things wrong and was reminded about all those little the things about cross that are important. Today I was comfortably out front with Rachael. But the tire rolled and stopped me dead and I did a face
plant. I’m going to be sore,” said Simms.

The men’s race was also different with a lead group of three that bolted out the front of the race which uncharacteristically did not contain Trebon. “I don’t know what happened…I had a terrible start and it took me a couple of laps of hard chasing to get back in the mix,” said Trebon. Once he made contact The Twin Timbers, Heule and Geoff Kabush raced away from the field. Kabush took a flyer and the Kona riders Trebon and Wicks sat on as Heule chased back on. The group stayed together until the final two laps of the race when Trebon and Heule got a gap.

On the final Kona Knapp Time run up-a run up at the length limit of the UCI regulations, Heule attacked. “I kind cracked on the 2nd half of the run up and Christian got a gap. I had dig deep to make contact with him in time for the final sprint. I was in good position but didn’t have the snap to get by and lost I by 1⁄2 a bike length,” said Trebon. Erik Tonkin also came to the
event in classic fashion and managed a 9th place finish. He was not able to make Star Crossed and was a late DNS for that event-He left a message on teammate Barry Wicks’ phone saying he had sold eleven bikes at his shop that day and just couldn’t break away.

All in all a good start to the cyclocross season. A few bugs and gremlins got worked out and it is apparent that the top riders for the Kona-yourkey.com team is in fine form. With a bit of luck and a few more races look for them to get back to that top spot on the podium

Up next the highly anticipated Cross Vegas that occurs during the evening at the Interbike Tradeshow in Las Vegas Wednesday September 26th, 2007.

All photos courtesy of Joe Sales.

Our Sponsors:
Kona, Jake & Dan, Your Key Mortgage, Stvenstad Dental, Big Agnes

Our Equipment:
Kona Custom butted Scandium frame with forged yoke
FSA K Force Light Handlebars, Stem, Seat post, Cranks, Orbit Xtreme Pro
Headset-K Force Light 480 Carbon Tubular Wheels
Alpha Q CX20 Carbon Cross Fork
Shimano Dura Ace Shifters, Derailleurs and chain
KORE KROSS Cantilever brakes
Swiss Stop Pads
WTB Silverado Saddle
VERGE Clothing keeps us looking good
Honey Stinger provide fuel

ALL CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 2006 AND BEYOND KONA BIKES INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, ALL WRONGS AVENGED