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DCCX 2009 Media

October 26th, 2009

From GamJams:

First up is a video made by CJ Congrove of the Men’s Elite race. [Not only did he spend the day working on this, but he also pulled of a 5th place finish in the Mens 3/4.]

2009 DCCX Cyclocross Race, Elite Men from CJ Congrove on Vimeo.

and up next is a great helmet cam take on the start of the Mens 35+ 3/4 race from In the Crosshairs.

Joe Foley Cyclocross, News

DeWald and Kemmerer Take Elite Crowns at DCCX

October 26th, 2009

2009 DCCX results

Arley Kemmerer of Hub Racing and Ryan DeWald of Battley Harley-Davidson won the elite races in the third annual DCCX cyclocross race in Washington, D.C. The race, which is run by the DCMTB biking team with Family Bike Shop as the title sponsor, had a record 533 racers on a course carved into the landscape of the seldom seen Armed Forces Retirement Home.

Arley Kemmerer (Hub Racing) go through the barriers

Arley Kemmerer (Hub Racing) go through the barriers

In the women’s race sponsored by Whole Foods Market, Kemmerer powered up the opening blacktop climb to take the head of a lead group, and then pulled away from her chasers Lenore Pipes and Julie Kuliecza at the tricky uphill dismount on the first lap for a convincing win.

“I dropped them by the barriers, and put down the hammer,” Kemmerer said. “I didn’t let up after that.”

Kemmerer takes the victory in the Whole Foods Market Womens 1/2/3 race

Kemmerer takes the victory in the Whole Foods Market Womens 1/2/3 race

To be fair to the her competitors, Kemmerer knew the twists and turns of the DCCX course well after leading a clinic for novice women riders the afternoon before — in a rainstorm — on the tricks of remounts, off cambers and starts. At least for this race, none of her pupils could best her effort.

Dewald leads the front group through the barriers in the Mens 1/2/3 race

DeWald leads the front group through the barriers in the Mens 1/2/3 race

DeWald was part of a group of three, including 18-year-old phenom Joseph Dombrowski, which established a gap over the rest of the elite men’s field early on. With three laps to go he powered up that same blacktop climb, riding away from both Dombrowski, who raced cross with the national team in Belgium last winter, and Greg Wittwer. He then rode solo to the finish, putting on a show for the crowd with a spectacular wheelie after the finish.

By the end of the race DeWald had an impressive margin over his chasers

By the end of the race DeWald had an impressive margin over his chasers

“DeWald is so strong on the road, it’s hard to even sit on his wheel,” Dombrowski said. “He started ramping it up; the gap got big and then it just exploded.”

The race was held again this year on an awe inspiring sunny day following a heavy rainstorm, leaving the course gooey in parts for the first racers of the day. Those early races included a field of 125 racers for the Cat 4 race, and nearly the same for the Cat 3/4 masters race. The sunshine and big fields hammered the course firm by the time the 1/2/3 racers started in the afternoon.

Frites were available through the day for free to racers and spectators

Frites were available through the day for free to racers and spectators

In addition to the racing, riders were treated to fresh pancakes from the Dutch Club of Washington; bananas, all-natural peanut butter packets and other treats from Whole Foods Market and liquid refreshments on tap. Blue Ridge Restaurant, the vegan bakery Sticky Fingers Bakery, Ledo Pizza, the Embassy of Belgium and Family Bikes all donated swag to race winners in the lower categories. In addition to the swag, Family Bikes of Crofton, Maryland donated the purse for the men’s field and Whole Foods donated the purse for the women.

Team Captain Matt Donahue was only one of the DCMTB racers who had a great showing at their home event

Team Captain Matt Donahue was only one of the DCMTB racers who had a great showing at their home event

Three of the main architects of the race at DCMTB, Matthew Donahue, Jonathan Seibold and Marc Gwadz, each also racked up great results for the day. Gwadz was fifth in the Masters 1/2/3 race. Riding a single speed with flat bars, Seibold was fifth in the masters 3/4 race (earning a prized kiss from the lovely podium girl Sarah Seibold, his wife) and Donahue was 13th in the smoking-fast men’s 3/4 race.
In the end Gwadz credited the volunteer efforts of riders such as Kemmerer and the folks from the Dutch Club for turning the race into cycling social event of the year.

DeWald, who owns Skyline Bicycles in Reading, Pennsylvania, agreed. “It’s a great race. I came down last year for it, and I’ll come back next year,” he said.

Men’s Elite Top 10:

Mens 1/2/3 Podium (L-R: Driscoll, Dombrowski, DeWald, Wittwer, Weaver)

Mens 1/2/3 Podium (L-R: Driscoll, Dombrowski, DeWald, Wittwer, Weaver)

1 Ryan DEWALD Battley HARLEY-DAVIDSON
2 Joseph DOMBROWSKI Haymarket Bicycles/Home Visit
3 Greg WITTWER ALAN North America Cycling Team
4 Adam DRISCOLL Adventures For the Cure
5 Dave WEAVER ALAN North America Cycling Team
6 Jeffrey BUCKLES ALAN / Radio Shack Pro Cycling
7 Jared NIETERS Haymarket Bicycles/HomeVisit
8 Mark BROADNATZ C3
9 Jordan KAHLENBERG Breakawaybikes.com/Giant Bicycles
10 Collin BECKER Walt Works/Fuentes Design

Women’s Elite Top 10:

Womens 1/2/3 Podium (L-R: Sheldon, Kuliecza, Kemmerer, Pipes, Maxwell)

Womens 1/2/3 Podium (L-R: Sheldon, Kuliecza, Kemmerer, Pipes, Maxwell)

1 Arley KEMMERER (Hub Racing)
2 Julie KULIECZA (Alan North America Cycling)
3 Lenore PIPES
4 Libbey SHELDON (T.E.A.M. Fuji)
5 Jennifer MAXWELL (ATAC Sportswear p/b The Bike Rack DC)
6 Beth MASON (Verge Test Pilot)
7 Elizabeth HARIOW (C3 – Athletes Serving Athletes)
8 Terri SPANOGLE (NCVC/Inova Health System)
9 Lindsey HILLESHEIM (Squadra Coppi/IM Saab)
10 Heidi VON TEITENBERG (C3-Athletes Serving Athletes)

Complete 2009 DCCX results.

Joe Foley News, Press Releases

Presenting the 2009 DCMTB Fueled by Whole Foods Market Team

June 1st, 2009

3587968040_2ca4462d27_b

Photo by Joe Foley

Joe Foley News

City Bikes/DCMTB Cyclocross Clinics – Wednesdays in September at Ft. Reno

September 23rd, 2008

Cross Clinics

DCMTB/City Bikes will be conducting a series of free Cyclocross clinics on Wednesdays in September at Ft. Reno in Washington DC from 6pm until dark. The clinics will feature basic cyclocross instruction from DCMTB team members and other experienced local racers. September 3rd will be a special women’s only DC-ChiX clinic with instruction by Melanie Swartz; September 10, 17, and 24 will be open to all. Space is limited, so email gwadzilla8@yahoo.com Just show up!

Check for updates, weather cancellations, and additional details on the DCCX page on dcmtb.com and the Gwadzilla blog.

Dates: 9/3 (Women Only), 9/10, 9/17, 9/24
Time: 6pm
Location: Ft. Reno Park, Northwest Washington, DC
Cost: Free; bring your USAC license is you have one, if not we’ll cover the cost of your 1-day license
Schedule:

6:00 pm – 6:10 – registration
6:15 – 6:45 pm – skills instruction
6:45 – 7:30 pm (light permitting) – unstructured skills work and ride on practice loop.

DCCX Clinic Flyer

Joe Foley Cyclocross, Events, News

Four for Four at The 12 Hours of Cranky Monkey

June 30th, 2008

Four DCMTB/City Bikes teams toed the line to race at the 2nd annual 12 Hours of Cranky Monkey this Saturday and all four walked away with top-3 finishes. The race, promoted by EX2Adventures at Quantico Marine Corps Base, took place under brutally hot conditions, from 8am to 8pm on a fun 11 miles of trail at the base.

Mike Klasmeier, Ilana Knopf and Raul Rojas took First in the 3-person Co-Ed category with the team of Michael Mathias, Lynne Oliver, and Mark Drajem close behind in 3rd place.

Taking 2nd place in 3-Man Masters (35+) was the team of Marc Gwadz, Tom Vaughn, and Chris Clarke in a fight that went right down to the last lap. In 3-Man Expert JJ Foley, Alistair MacDonald, and Joe Foley took 2nd place behind a fast team from the Bike Lane. The expert and masters teams both finished in the top ten overall with 11 laps each.

Thanks, once again, go to all of our 2008 sponsors: City Bikes, Merkle, Whole Foods P Street, Continuum Solar Energy, SRAM, Serfas, Deuter, WTB, and Looking Glass Lounge.

Joe Foley 2008, News

Starting Fast at Wednesdays at Wakefield

June 30th, 2008

DCMTB/City Bikes took home three victories this past week at the kickoff of the annual Wednesdays at Wakefield race series at Wakefield Park in Annandale, Virginia. The series, promoted by the Potomac Velo Club, is a summertime tradition in DC and looked forward to by many local racers.

Mike Pearce started the evening off on a high note by taking 1st place in the Singlespeed race. Last year Pearce won the singlespeed race 3 out of 4 weeks to win the series by 42 points. Also competing in the singlespeed race were Dave Vannier, who took home 15th place, and Jake Danoff, who had an unfortunate DNF.

The successes continued into the 2nd wave of racing with 2 more victories. Lynne Oliver stormed to victory in the Women’s Expert race, winning by a margin of over 4-minutes to her closest competitor, and DCMTB/City Bikes newcomer Alistair MacDonald took 1st place in Clydesdale. DCMTB/City Bikes clydesdale mainstay Joel Gwadz wasn’t able to make the race this time around, but we’re looking forward to a showdown for DCMTB supremacy between the two in upcoming rounds.

In the sport classes, Jennifer Wills took 3rd in Women’s Sport, and JJ Foley took 11th in Men’s Sport. In the Men’s Expert Class Tom Vaughn took 10th place, and Joe Foley took 19th place.

Joe Foley 2008, News

DCMTB.com/City Bikes Enjoys Success at Baker’s Dozen

April 23rd, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Matt Donahue
DC Mountain Bike Team
captain@dcmtb.com

Leesburg, VA – 21 April 2008 – Darren Biggs of dcmtb.com/City Bikes made plans to arrive at the race a day early to ensure a prime campsite location for the rest of his team members set to arrive on Saturday morning for the 11am start of the second annual Baker’s Dozen 13 hour mountain bike race hosted by Plum Grove Cyclery.

‘I wanted to make sure we had a location big enough for my dcmtb.com teammates,’ Darren said.

18 members of the District of Columbia Mountain Bike team made the trip out to race in Leesburg under picture-perfect conditions.

‘The weather turned out to be perfect with strong sunshine in the morning followed by a nice breeze and some clouds to cool things off,’ said Kent Baake, a dcmtb.com racer and member of the 3-person Men’s class team Solar Ring Blingers.

‘We had no idea that the race would be as successful as it turned out to be,’ said Plum Grove Cyclery’s Rob Harrington, the Race Director for the event. ‘We’ve had incredible support from the race community and we are excited about 2009!’

With over 375 participants registered for the event, the Baker’s Dozen represents one of the largest mountain bike relay races in the DC region. For an event only in its second year, the success is a testament to the quality of the race organization and the course itself, an exciting combination of logs, rocks, drops and fast corners.

‘Our team had a great time out there and managed to secure third place behind our other 3-man entry,’ said Matty Donahue, also of dcmtb.com. ‘There’s nothing better than racing with, and against, your friends!’

Members of dcmtb.com/City Bikes secured 1st place in Womens Solo, 2nd and 3rd in 3-person Men, 3rd in 3-person Open and fielded additional teams including the duo of brother’s Joe and 19-year-old JJ ‘Prince Harry’ Foley.

The City Bikes Mountain Bikes team is a grass-root team of urban mountain bikers. Since 1997 they’ve been ripping it up on the mid-Atlantic race scene! But they’re not just about riding and racing, over the years the team has put in hundreds of hours on behalf of bicycle advocacy groups in Washington, DC. Sponsors include Merkle, Continuum Energy Solutions, Whole Foods, the Looking Glass Lounge, Deuter, Serfas, SRAM, WTB. Check out www.dcmtb.com.

Since evolving from an old gas station in 1987, City Bikes has made thousands of people happy with their bike – for fun, fitness and transportation. City Bikes’ vision is for Washington DC to flow freely with the clean, friendly motion of bicycles. Check out www.citybikes.com.

Joe Foley 2008, Press Releases

Congratulations Marc!

December 20th, 2007

BIKEREG.COM MABRACROSS DECLARES ITS CHAMPIONS

Wittwer, Shogren and Gwadz win Elite Crowns

Press Contact Information: BikeReg.com MABRAcross Cyclocross Series
Ken Getchell, Media Director: kenmacpr@yahoo.com; 610-397-1950

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

December 19, 2007, 2007; Conshohocken, PA, USA: The BikeReg.com MABRAcross series celebrated its most successful season ever in 2007, with average attendance at each event growing by over 20% for the fourth consecutive year. Excitement is already building for 2008 as at least two new races, DCCX and Rockburn Cross, are expected to join the series next year.

Of course, cyclocross is all about riders, and the most successful riders were the new Elite Champions: Greg Wittwer, Betsy Shogren and Marc Gwadz. Shogren and Gwadz won three races apiece to dominate the Elite Women and the new Elite Masters classes, respectively. Meanwhile, Greg Wittwer took the opposite approach and used consistency to squeak out the season title from Wes Schempf in the last race.

It was a season of transition for the MABRA men as, for the first time, world-class professional talent started lining up next to the regional stars. Former Italian National Team member and newly-crowned Verge MAC Champion Davide Frattini (Colavita/Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light) opened the season with a win at the season-opening Charm City Cyclocross. Wes Schempf (C3-Sollay.com), the 2006 Verge MAC Champion and BikeReg.com MABRAcross runner-up out-dueled mountain bike superstar Jeremiah Bishop (Trek/VW) for victory at the Ed Sander Memorial, while Bishop scored the victory at the Tacchino Cicliocross in November. But local talent Wittwer (FORT Factory Team) snookered all the outsiders by quietly scoring points in nearly every race. His third place finish on Thanksgiving weekend clinched the BikeReg.com MABRAcross jersey with just three points to spare.

While Wittwer won with quiet consistency, his FORT Factory teammate Betsy Shogren dominated the Elite Womens series standings to win her second BikeReg.com
MABRAcross championship. The three-time Verge MAC champion had previously dabbled in MABRA races. But the rapidly growing profile of the series, and its proximity to her home in West Virginia, made the championship an enticing target. The BikeReg.com MABRAcross championship capped-off an excellent year for Shogren, who also scored a perfect score en-route to victory in the pro/elite division of the heavily-attended West Virginia Mountain Bike Series and set a new course record while winning the Wilderness 101 ultra endurance mountain bike race.

Like Shogren, Marc Gwadz (DCMTB/City Bikes/Metro Gutter) scored three victories to win the new Elite Masters crown. Like many series in the East, the huge number of Masters participants was threatening to overwhelm courses and organizers. But unlike other series, MABRA elected to have their Elite Masters race for a full 60 minutes in conjunction with the Elite Men. Gwadz was a busy man this Autumn as, in addition to winning the series, he was also the promoter of the first year DCCX race on the grounds of the Armed Services Retirement Home. The DCCX was the first sanctioned cyclocross race ever held within the limits of Washington DC and Gwadz aspires to have his event join the BikeReg.com MABRAcross Series in 2008.

Other riders to win BikeReg.com MABRAcross Championship Jerseys were:

Randy Root, of ABRT/Latitude in the Cat. 1/2/3 Masters 45+ division
Nunzio Dibiasi of Yellow Breeches Racing in the Masters 55+ division
Eric Linder of Hunt Valley Bicycles/Marathon Roofing in the Mens Cat. 3/4 division
Sam OKeefe of C3-Sollay.com in the MABRA Junior (U18) division

OKeefe also led a contingent of no fewer than seven BikeReg.com MABRAcross regulars who stood on the podium at this past weekends U.S. National Cyclocross Championships. Joining OKeefe (4th in the 13-14 age division) as National Championship podium finishers were:

Rob Lea, 2nd 65-69 age division
Wes Schempf, 3rd 30-35 age division
Mark Kutney 2nd 50-54 age division
Fred Wittwer, 1st 55-59 age division
Alicia Styer, 3rd 10-12 age division
Gunnar Shogren, 3rd 45-49 age division

Full standings for all classes in the 2007 BikeReg.com MABRAcross Series can be found in the cyclocross section of www.mabra.org. The Mid Atlantic Bicycle Racing Association would like to thank BikeReg.com for the continued support and streamlined registration for the ever-growing rider base in the MABRA region.

Joe Foley Cyclocross, News

Cyclocross Comes to the Nation’s Capital October 28th at DCCX

October 16th, 2007
DCCX – A Day of Cyclocross Racing in the Nation’s Capital Presented by DCMTB/City Bikes


Press Contact:
Matt Donahue, Race Director
mattydonahue@hotmail.com

Cyclocross racing is coming to Washington, DC this fall. The first USA Cycling sanctioned cyclocross race in the city will take place October 28th, 2007 on the Grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home. Bike racers from across the mid-atlantic will line up for a full day of racing in 9 categories that range from beginners and juniors racing for prizes and cowbells to elite and professionals racing for a cash purse. The race is being promoted by the City Bikes DC Mountain Bike Team with the assistance of the team’s sponsors: Metro Gutter and Home Services, Whole Foods Market – P Street, and Temperance Hall.

“The DCMTB/City Bikes team has always wanted to hold a race within the District since we are based out of Washington.” says race promoter Matt Donahue “The AFRH offered us a chance to do this, and the location is great for cyclocross.” Living close to the Armed Forces Retirement Home gave Donahue many chances to look at the grounds and the thought that kept jumping to mind was “wouldn’t it be great to set up a cyclocross course in there?” Earlier this year he was able to schedule a meeting with the AFRH staff to explain cyclocross racing and what it was all about. “They were receptive to the idea,” says Donahue “and now we have ourselves a race. A lot of area teams hold some excellent cross races outside of the city. We thought it would be great to hold one in the city and we found a great venue.” Race proceeds will be donated to benefit the veterans at the AFRH.

According to Course Designer Marc Gwadz the course is “a mix of grass, gravel road and pavement.” The picturesque course circling 2 fishing ponds will encourage exciting racing by rewarding “carrying high speed around the 2 mile circuit with a set of barriers, a run-up, and a brick sidewalk” says Gwadz.

Volunteers are needed to help register racers and keep things running smoothly. Any interested volunteers should contact DCCX volunteer coordinator Loren McWethy at loren.mcwethy@gmail.com.

Cyclocross is a style of bike racing that developed in Europe early 1900s. Bicycle racers seeking to stay in shape and improve their bike handling skills started riding on forest roads in the winter and soon these rides developed into race. The sport first grew in popularity in Europe and is now booming both there and in the United States.

Typically raced in the fall and winter, it’s a sport that now stands on it’s own, not just an off-season training discipline. Cyclocross races are short, fast, and intense. Professionals race for one hour and lower classes race for 40 to 50 minutes around a wide grassy track between one and two miles long. Cyclocross courses typically feature tricky off camber corners and use both natural (hills, sandpits) and artificial (barriers – 16″ planks set across the course) obstacles to force racers to dismount, run, jump, and then remount their bicycles. Despite terrain that typically reminds the layman more of mountain biking, riders race on bikes that are closer to road racing bikes with drop handlebars and narrow tires.

The relatively short and compact courses used in cyclocross races make them great spectator events.

There will be no on-site Registration for DCCX, so racers will need to register online at http://www.bikereg.com by 9pm on Friday October 26th. Please note that a valid government issued photo ID will be required for entry to the Armed Forces Retirement Home Grounds. All racers, volunteers, and spectators should enter the Retirement Home Grounds at “Eagle” gate, which is located at Rock Creek Church Rd, NW & Upshur St, NW.

Racers, volunteers, and spectators should take note that this event is taking place the same day as the Marine Corps Marathon and as a result some roads will be closed throughout the day. Please be advised to plan your route carefully.

Additional information about DCCX and the DCMTB/City Bikes Mountain Bike Team can be found at http://www.dcmtb.com

Online Registration is Available at http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=5327

Joe Foley Cyclocross, Events, News

DCMTB/City Bikes – Granny Gear 2007 National Expert Champions

October 15th, 2007

24 Hours of Temecula – 1st Place Expert

Mike Klasmeier
Matt Donahue
Joe Foley
Brian Kemler

24 Hours of Conyers – 2nd Place Expert

Mike Klasmeier
Jonathan Wheaton
Steve Viers
Kent Baake

24 Hours of Big Bear – 4th Place Expert

Mike Klasmeier
Matt Donahue
Mike Pearce
Joe Foley

24 Hours of Killington – 1st Place Expert

1st Place Overall!

Mike Klasmeier
Matt Donahue
Joe Foley
Kent Baake

24 Hours of Landahl – 2nd Place Expert

Mike Klasmeier
Matt Donahue
Joe Foley
Darren Biggs

Joe Foley 2007