Hamblen Wins Three in Row at North Carolina Winter Cup Cyclocross Series

Win number two for Hamblen on January 11th! Southern Pines, North Carolina is familiar to most East Coast cyclists as the home of the Tour de Moore, a classic road race in South East but this weekend Southern Pines was host to the third round of the Winter Cup Cyclocross Series. The temperatures were low but the racing was hot as our boy Jon quickly took the lead on the pavement start before heading into the woods and down a tricky/icy decent. Jon was followed closely by Mike Shultze the first two laps and took every opportunity to make the North Carolina rider/promoter suffer by accelerating out of every turn on the fast course. Jon ended up alone and settled into a comfortable rhythm for the remaining eight laps. The cold weather was a challenge for Hamblen and he had to plan accordingly for the race, warming up for 5-10min at a time and then sitting in the comfort of his Toyota truck with the heat blasting, before heading to the start line. Shedding his extra warm Biemme jacket on the line, and making sure to eat a Clif shot before and halfway into the event helped him to fight off the chill and prevent the bonk that he normally suffers in the cold. Jon's pre-race plan worked and he went on to finish without bonking and in first place. Hamblen celebrated his win on the drive home by eating an entire bag of BBQ chips and falling asleep in the passenger seat while his girlfriend concentrated on the road.

Morganton, Race three of the North Carolina Winter Cup, January 17th
This was the first race in the two-day weekend finale of the series. Fiordifrutta's Jon Hamblen started the race quickly to try and intimidate the competition. He held on for the victory and was too tired to write any more details in his race report.

Hendersonville, the final race, January 18th
The race was run at Jackson Park on a very fast UCI style course... a perfect location for the 2005 Nationals. With early morning rains and drizzle during the event, the corners were a bit slick and Jon had to be careful not to fall and damage his beautiful Cannondale cross bike. Hamblen took the win for his fourth cross victory of 2004 and ended up second in the series! Hopefully the NC boys will get the Cyclocross National Championships next winter as they have shown that they can put on a great event.

Hamblen Posts First Win of 2004, Greensboro, North Carolina, Jan 4th

On a cloudy 75 degree Sunday afternoon Jon Hamblen attended the second race of the Winter Cup Series in Greensboro's Barber Park. After having moved to North Carolina from Massachusetts the previous day, Jon was a bit tired. Luckily, his girlfriend Alicia Genest did all of the heavy lifting during the move on Saturday so that he could save his legs for the race. The course was a fun mix of grass and trails with a few short paved sections and two sets of triple barriers. Being out of shape from a month long break, Jon took advantage of his skills running over the barriers and riding quickly on the tight singletrack to open a gap on the competition. Hamblen rode in for his first win of the season and immediately called Curt Davis on his cell phone, challenging him to win his first race as well.

Huseby Finishes 4th in UCI Cyclocross Race, Merrimack, NH, Dec 21

I made the short drive up to Merrimack battling the Xmas shoppers on the road. I stepped out of the car and whew it was cold - with plenty of snow on the ground. I walked down to register and saw that the majority of the course was snow covered. This would be all about bike handling today and who could finesse the bike through tricky conditions. The start was fast shooting into a 180 degree hairpin which caused a spill immediately and allowed a separation to be made. I got caught right behind it. I was able to make my way back up, but cautiously so not to slip out in one of the treacherous turns. My Michelin Mud 2 tires were the best choice for today and I was lucky to have them. I was able to move up although the leaders (first and second place) had established a gap on the rest of us. The race was for third and there was a group of 6 of us working for it. I continued to put on the pressure and was able to whittle the group down to three and finally made a move where I put 15 seconds into my pursuers. I did not want to crash as the race was into the last 15 minutes and knew it could cost me my place, so I eased my way through the increasingly icy corners. Troy Wells made his way back to me and now it was once again a duel. I chose to follow him through the last part of the course, made it up the two run-ups and was still right behind him, until I slipped on some loose snow on the final descent and that cost me 3rd place! I was still happy with 4th, gathering some sought after UCI points, my best result in a UCI race this year, and a 7th place in the overall for the New England Cyclocross Series.

You can read cyclingnews.com’s race report here, which mentions Johs. There are also a few great pictures:

Huseby in the snow
Battle for 3rd
Podium shot