Ben Lomond’s Gerry Hatcher wins CCCX cross country race

Ben Lomond resident Gerry Hatcher [Scotts Valley Cycle Sport] completed six laps in the men’s Cat 1 45-54 age division race in 2 hours, 9 seconds for the win in Central Coast Cyclocross’s Cross Country mountain biking event No. 8 in Fort Ord on Saturday.

Hatcher was 1:45 ahead of the next closest finisher, Scott Zavack of Los Gatos [2:01:54]. Third-place finisher Steve Wade [Quadzilla] clocked in at 2:03:27. Zavack rides for Buycell.com.

Other racers from Santa Cruz County who won were as follows: Felton’s Kim Midstokke [Midstock Construction/Spokesman] in the men’s Cat 2 35-44 age division, going five laps in 1:43:00; Scotts Valley’s Scott Martin [Bicycle Trip] in the men’s Cat 2 55-plus age division, going five laps in 1:51:39; Santa Cruz’s Mike Martin [Team Santa Cruz] in the Cat 2 single-speed division, going five laps in 1:52:33; Ben Lomond’s Graham Dittman [unattached] in the men’s Cat 3 19-34 age division, going four laps in 1:25:09; and Scotts Valley’s Jackson Currie [unattached] in the men’s Cat 3 35-44 age division, going four laps in 1:29:13.

Santa Cruz’s Janel Lodge [Family Cycling Center] was also a winner after going the women’s Cat 2 45-plus division alone, completing five laps in 2:10:19.

Results included in this report are from the CCCX website. The season cross country finale and state championships are scheduled for Sept. 2.

Santa Cruz’s Mark Howland wins Central Coast cross country MTB race

Santa Cruz resident Mark Howland won the men’s Cat 1 45-54 age division at the Central Coast Cross Country mountain bike race No. 7 at Fort Ord near Monterey on Saturday.

Howland finished six laps in 1 hour, 59 minutes, 47 seconds and was one of just two riders in his division to stay under two hours. Howland, who rides for Family Cycling Center, was followed by Los Gatos’ Scott Zavack [1:59:53] and Aptos’ John Grube [2:00:19]. Zavack rides for Buycell.com and Grube is unattached.

Other Santa Cruz County winners were as follows:

Felton’s Kim Midstokke [Midstock Construction/Spokesman], in the Cat 2 men’s 35-44 age division, completed five laps in 1:35:28; Ben Lomon’s Gerry Hatcher [Scotts Valley Cycle Sport], in the Cat 2 men’s 45-54 age division, completed five laps in 1:36:16; Scotts Valley’s Scott Martin [Bicycle Trip], in the Cat 2 men’s 55-plus age division, completed five laps in 1:46:37; Santa Cruz’s Janel K. Lodge [Family Cycling Center], in the Cat 2 women’s 45-plus age division, completed five laps in 1:55:15; Aptos’ Dan Russ [unattached], in the Cat 3 men’s 55-plus age division, completed four laps in 1:31:18, and Aptos’ Anya Rush [unattached], in the Cat 3 women’s 19-34 age division, also completed four laps in 1:35:23.

Results in this report are from the CCCX website. The final CCCX cross country mountain bike race of the season is scheduled for July 28 at Fort Ord.

– Christina Gullickson, on Twitter @CGullTweets

Aptos’ Larry Hibbard wins Central Coast cross country mountain bike race

Aptos resident Larry Hibbard [Family Cycling Center] won his division in the Central Coast Cyclocross Series’ cross country mountain bike race by almost five minutes Sunday.

Hibbard sped over the Fort Ord course, completing six laps in 1 hour, 57 minutes, 3 seconds to dominate the men’s Cat 1 45-54 age division. Salinas’ Courtney Grossman placed second [2:02:02] and Los Gatos’ Joe Fabris was third [2:04:04].

And Hibbard wasn’t the only rider from Santa Cruz County to land atop the podium. Other winners from the area were as follows: Santa Cruz’s Loren Gregg in the women’s pro division [six laps, 2:14:48] as the only entrant, Felton’s Kim Midstokke in the men’s Cat 2 35-44 age division [five laps, 1:35:46], Ben Lomond’s Gerry Hatcher in the men’s Cat 2 45-54 age division [five laps, 1:41:36], Scotts Valley’s Scott Martin in the men’s Cat 22 55-plus age division [five laps, 1:48:36], Aptos’ Lomeli Everardo in the men’s Cat 3 35-44 age division [three laps, 1:02:48], and Aptos’ Dan Russ in the men’s Cat 3 55-plus age division [three laps, 1:07:20].

This was the fifth race of the season. The next event is scheduled for June 24 at Fort Ord.

Results included in this report are from the CCCX website.

– Christina Gullickson, on Twitter @CGullTweets

Santa Cruz’s Devon Gorry wins at Wente Vineyards Classic Road Race

Santa Cruz resident and NOW and Novartis for MS pro cyclist Devon Gorry won the women’s Cat 1/2 division of the Wente Vineyards Classic Road Race in Livermore on Saturday.

Gorry and teammate Elizabeth Newell of Oakland went 1-2, earning 173.80 and 187.49 points, respectively.

Other Santa Cruz County cyclists who finished in the top 10 included Watsonville’s Chris Cerruti, who placed seventh, and Santa Cruz’s Joe Platin, who placed eighth, in the masters men’s Cat 1/2/3 55-99 age division. Also, Scotts Valley’s Scott Martin placed fourth and Aptos’ Bob Montague placed ninth in the men’s masters 55-99 age division.

Results included in this report were from USACycling.com.

– Christina Gullickson, on Twitter @CGullTweets

Felton’s Kim Midstroke leads standings after fourth Central Coast Cycloross Series XC race

Felton’s Kim Midstroke went into Saturday’s Central Coast Cyclocross Series’ cross country mountain biking race with a three-point lead in the overall standings. He left with another victory and the max of 50 points to add to his total as the series reaches the halfway point of the season.

Midstroke, who competes in the men’s Cat 2 35-44 age division, finished four laps in his fourth CCCX race of the season — which was held at Toro Park in Salinas — in 1 hour, 27 minutes, 45 seconds. The Midstock Construction/Spokesman rider had almost a minute cushion over runner-up Sherwin Tangonan [Food Source] of Salinas, who finished in 1:28:47.

The tightly contested standings may see a small shakeup once the most recent race points are tallied. Tangonan was in third headed into the race with 331 points while Saturday’s ninth-place finisher Chris Coble had been holding on to second with 333 points.

Other Santa Cruz County winners from Saturday were as follows: Ben Lomond’s Gerry Hatcher [Scotts Valley Cycle Sport] in the men’s Cat 2 45-54 age division, going four laps in 1:28:26; Scotts Valley’s Scott Martin [Bicycle Trip] in the men’s Cat 2 55-plus age division, going four laps in 1:37:49; Capitola’s Richard Latorraca [Family Cycling Center] in the men’s Cat 1 55-64 age division, going five laps in 1:59:25; Santa Cruz’s Andrew Parker [unattached] in the Clydesdale division, going four laps in 2:19:26; Santa Cruz’s Barnaby Lee [Santa Cruz County Cycling Club] in the Cat 2 single speed division, going four laps in 1:47:12; Ben Lomond’s Graham Dittman [unattached] in the men’s Cat 3 19-34 age division, going three laps in 1:12:30; Aptos’ Dan Russ [unattached] in the men’s Cat 3 55-plus age division, going three laps in 1:26:42; and Aptos’ Anya Thrash [unattached] in the women’s Cat 3 19-34 age division, going three laps in 1:28:15.

The next cross country race is scheduled for Sunday, May 27, again at Toro Park.

– Christina Gullickson, on Twitter at CGullTweets

Keeping it in the Family: Ortenblad dad, daughter win in CCCX series race

Maddie Ortenblad and Rick Ortenblad had more than their last names and blood lines in common on Saturday. They also found themselves at the top of the podium in their respective divisions in the third Central Coast Cross County Mountain Biking series race at Fort Ord near Monterey.

Maddie Ortenblad [Ritte Development] won her race in the women’s Cat 3 18-and-under division, crossing the finish line after going three-plus laps on the 4.8-mile course in 1 hour, 23 minutes, 5 seconds, according to results posted Sunday night. She topped Capitola’s J.J. Anderson [Georgiana Bruce Kirby], who finished two-plus laps in 1:11:05 for second place, and Santa Cruz’s Geneva Burkhardt [GBK], who finished two-plus laps in 1:18:19 for third place.

Rick Ortenblad [unattached] completed three-plus laps in 1:15:35 to take control in the men’s Cat 3 55-and-over division. He finished with a solid lead over runner-up Dan Russ of Aptos [1:20:35] and third-place finisher Roy Night Engaze [Fun Sport Bike] of Modesto, who finished in 1:24:58.

Other Santa Cruz County standouts from Saturday’s race also included Santa Cruz’s Jose Reynado [SCC], who won the men’s Cat 3 19-34 age division in three laps at 1:09:19; Scotts Valley’s Scott Martin [Bicycle Trip], who won the men’s Cat 2 55-and-over age division in four-plus laps at 1:35:25; and Felton’s Kim Midstokke [Midstock Const/Spokesman], who won the men’s Cat 2 35-44 age division in four-plus laps at 1:27:399.

In divisions with two or fewer riders, area winners were as follows: Santa Cruz’s Loren Gregg [Loeka] in the Cat 1 women’s race completed five laps at 2:00:30, Aptos’ Rita Borelli [TSA] in the women’s Cat 1 34-and-under race completed five-plus laps in 1:55:29, Santa Cruz’s Nicole Goebel [Quadzilla] in the women’s Cat 1 35-44 age division race completed five-plus laps in 2:02:52 and Boulder Creek’s James Clark [Dragon Racing] in the Clydesdale division completed four-plus laps in 1:45:21.

The next CCCX cross country mountain bike race is scheduled for March 24 at Toro Park in Salinas.

– Christina Gullickson, on Twitter at CGullTweets.