Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Events 1999 Li/'.Rhod yEnduro Ha ns Neffs third overa ll leaves him sq uarely atop the poi n ts as the NETRA End u ro season head s ou t to th e BerkeN shire Mudslinger for round seven. By Joe Mclaughlin 1». a5 Cii ..a E $ Co Cl> en 52 WEST GREEt\lWICH, RI, AUG. I no ther ho t da y was on tap for the ~ 1999 version of the Rhody Rovers ... Li l' Rhody End u ro. The on ly NET RA /EC EA du al -sancti on ed eve n t on the 'calendar pro ved to be one of the mos t enjoyab le even ts as the NETRA se r ie s passe d t h e h al fw a y ma rk. Schuy lkill, Penn sylvan ia's Bill Atkinson proved ECEA rid ers can ho ld the ir own in the rock s of New England as he took the overall wi n ove r a very compe titive field . Atkinson 's on e-point score in the last sect ion proved to be. the d ifference this day. His 14-point card led the way ove r NE T RA's Ja son Cayer (15:457), ECEA's Fred Ho e ss (15:509), and NET RA po in ts lead er H a n s eff 05:661) . Nearlv 200 contestants faced off in the ho t, d us tv conditions. An overcast - . morni ng p rov ided a s light breeze to keep the condi tions tolerable, but by the gas stop, the su n wa s 'blazing an d the breeze subs ided. An early 8 a.rn . key time helped to get thin gs started before things go t too hot. A bri ef road sectio n led to a check- in, which didn't su rp rise too many riders. In the day's first section, eff Set ou t on a breakn eck pace, dropping 4:11. Cayer and Atk inson were the on ly other rid ers who managed to squeak out fours, wi th 4:25 and 4:46, respectiv ely. Fives we re respectable scores for the rest of the AA and A rid ers. A h e a lth y rest g ave eve ryone a chance to rehydrate after the first timed sectio n. In typ ica l Rhod y Rover s fash io n, th e se co n d sec tio n co nsis te d of a no ther check- in, fo llowed by a lon g sec tio n of single- an d double-track trail run a t a fairly brisk pace. In the d ay's Wh ite a nd No rton more bu rn p oin ts, seco nd eme rgency sectio n, To m Norton w hi le every one else easily ze ro ed the d ecid ed to s e t the pace, n a iling th e snea ky ch e ck -in. Fr om th ere , t h e chec kou t w ith a 3:54. Hoess came closcourse sped along so me ve ry enjoyable est, and surely cu rsed at himself wit h a . tr a ils a nd · d irt r oad s on wh ic h m ost 4:00, followed by Ca yer (4:12), Jack Laffolks we re able to stay on time . In the ferty Jr. (4:24), Bob Whi te (4:25), Jer ry following sec tio n, a four wa s d efin itely Mad ore (4:26), and Atkinson (4:27). A the sco re to bea t, as the en tire AA field handful of high fours and fives roundan d th e fas test A rid ers a ll drop ped ed ou t the rest of the AA a nd A rider fou r. field. A check-in follow ed ano ther len gth y Seve ral miles of easy ridi ng provid ed reset, which led to a short, qu ick section. riders a chance to cool d own befo re the Again , t h e e n ti re AA fie ld m atched 45-mi nu te rese t a t the gas sto p . Th e scores, with a one for eve ryo ne. At this Rhod y Rovers ran int o so me las t-minut e poin t, Neff, Ca yer an d Atkinson all held la n d p roble ms wit h the Con n ecticut 13 points on their score card s. There was OEM, forcing them to elimi na te almos t a bit of co nfusio n for th e r id ers w ho 20 miles of trail. Most folks didn' t comwer en' t paying attention to their rout e plain, however , as the added rest ga ve s he ets, as th e checko ut wa s a kn own everyone a chance to hyd rate, and eve n control. caus ing some to think it was the have so me lunch. end of the eve n t. Only those wi th little T h e r em a in in g se cti o ns after the end uro experienc e were ca ught na p ga s s to p p r o v ed to b e so me of th e pi ng. m o st f u n o f th e d a y . T he co u r s e Cayer held the ad va n tage go ing in to wou n d it self over m uc h of th e ve ry the la s t sectio n, w it h h is em erge ncy sa me trails u sed for the Rhod y Rampoi n ts ed ging ou t" N eff a nd Atkin so n. ble Tu rkey Run on ly a few week s earH ow e v er , A tk in son s m o k ed al mo st everyone in the last timed section, droplier. No r to n a n d White s uc cessfu ll y rem oved themsel ves from a cha nce a t p ing on ly one p oint in th e ti gh t a nd th e overa ll win by burnin g the che ck rocky bu t fa s t s ecti on . O n ly Hoes s could match Atkins on's one- point card , in to th e n ext s ectio n . With s ect io ns run mos tly at 18 mph a nd some at 24, bu t his five in the first section put him most rid ers had to really hustl e to stay one poin t ba ck from the ove ra ll w in . on time, on ly to find themselves a t a Cayer's and Neff s tw o points left them so lid ly in seco nd and third over a ll for reset in the midd le of the wo od s. An other tim ekeeping ·section cost the day. LiI' Rhody Endu ro West Greenwich, Rhode Island Results: July 18, 1999 O IA Hr: Bill Atk inson (KTM). A H-I'T: Mark Hummel (KTM). B H ~ PT: James Bowe n (Hen). C H-PT: Ant hon y Cala bro (Suz) . AA: 1. Jason Cayer (KTM); 2. Fred Hfll.. (H us): 3. 'SS Hans Nef f (KTM l. A 125: 1. M. Dean Spe ncer (Ya m); 2. Kevin Ho w ley (KTM); 3. Ma rtin Griff (Yam ). A 200: 1. Darrell Szlaclwtka (KTM); 2. Eric Co rbin (Kaw): 3. Pnul Bittin ~ (1(.1\',: ). A I T: 1. [nmic Wri gh t (Ya m); 2. Mike N'1Sh (eRE); 3. Raf fi Peter son (C RE). A HVY: I. Jim Burns (I-fbg); 2. Ton y Geraci (KTM); 3. Bill Sircncn (KTM). A 4-ST RK: 1. Ma rc Grossmen ; 2. Joe Wallace (Han); Jim Simcoc k (Yam) . A VET: 1. Jim Mi tcht:>11 ( Ho n). 2. Groff wurtltzer (CRE); 3. Fred Coldbcrg (CRE). A S R: L w ayne Fon tanazz a (Ya m); 2. Jim Pri ce (Yam); 3. Bob Fos ter (Hen). (Above) Bill Atkinson took the ov erall win at the LiI' Rhody Enduro in West Greenwich, Rhode Island, by a si ng le point. (Right) Fred Hoess (29) and Hans Neff (20A) were the second- and thir d-placed AA riders. Consid ering the heat and dust, along w ith th e deteriora ting trail cond itio ns, the Lil' Rhod y had a very high finisher r a te . Afte r tall ying th e sco re ca r ds , A t ki nso n' s late-d a y charg e le ft h im s ta n d ing al one with a 14-point score . Sev era l 15s had to be d ecid ed by ti e b reakers in t he AA cla ss, inclu ding Hoess' 15 for fourth overall. Mark Hummel, an A Light rider, had a I S-poin t score that let him take home th e big A Hi gh Point trophy and fift h overall on the day. In the B class, fourstro ke rid er Jam es Bowe n crui sed to the High Point wi th an astoni shing 17-point score. C Vetera n rid er Anthon y Calabro smoked the rest of the C-ride r field wi th hi s 38- p oin t ca rd . Th e Women' s class was headed up by NETRA's Women' sclass hotsh oe, Dawn Silvia. Farrel Lord proved to be the fas test in the Masters d ivision, w hile Keith Goo dell's 31-point score left him on top of the Su per Senior class. A SIS IC 1. Keith Goodell (CRE); Z. Jack Lafferty 5c. (KTM); 3. Bob Ago n e ' B 125: 1. Ma r k Bea uregua rd (KT M); 2. Ant hony Fabiano (KTM); 3. Dan Collins (laM). B 200: 1. Mi ke Ka minski (KTM ); 2. Je ffr ey Johns . IKa w): 3. Roy Harr ell (KTM). B LT: J.John H ummel (Yam) ; 2. Mike Bere n bak (K'TM); 3. Ryan Bro wn (KTM) . B HVY: 1. Stephen Jami son (H un ); 2 Trevor Davis (KTM); J. Patrick Armstro ng IHon ). B 4-STRK: 1. James Green (Ka w): 2. John Co ns id ine (Yam); 3. Ch ris Cru ll (Yam). B VET: 1. Jim Aie llo (KTM I; 2. A lan Ross (Ho n); 3. Steve Bowman (Hen). B SR: 1. Jim Devlin (Yam); 2. Peter An ani a (He n): 3. Ron Pratt (Ka w). B S /SR: 1. Da ve Mat hison (Hus); 2. Mike Suriani (KTM); 3. Tim Stibitz. C 125: 1. Pa ul Lu ss ier Jr . (KT M ); 2. Je ff Park er (KTM); 3. Robe rt Costa (Yam) . C 200: 1. Claud io Go ttard o IKaw ): 2. And rew Terry (KTM); 3. Brian Crysler (Kaw ). C LT: 1. Joe Oark (KTM ); 2. Frank Frey (Ka w); 3. . Don Quinn (Hus ). C HVY: 1. Robe rt Pyata k. 2. Bru ce Cloney (KTM); 3. Russell Septelka (Hus) . C 4-STRK: 1. Ken H a w k (H a n) ; 2, Da vid D ra m (Yam ); 3. Will iam Gavi n. C V ET: 1. D.w id Ga rgi ulo (KT M); 2. Ge ne How e (Suz) : 3. Bob Kelliher (Yam). C S R: 1. Jeff Fluck igcr (KTM); 2. Ch arl ie Kennedy (Suz): 3. Kevi n Mck enzie (KTM). MSTR: 1. Farr ell Lord (Kaw): 2. Tom Farley (CRE). WM N: 1. Da wn Silvia (K.,W); 2. Jen nifer Eyrich; 3. l ynn Sin ge r (K'ThU. rc-ci I

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