Marc Gullickson was on hand at the 2006 California Giant Berry Farms USA Cycling cyclo-cross national championships, last weekend in Providence, Rhode Island. Gullickson, who claimed the 1999 national title and retired at the end of 2004, now works with USA Cycling to help determine which riders should represent the United States at the cyclo-cross world championships.

Along with elite winners Ryan Trebon (Kona) and Katie Compton (Spike-Primus Mootry), Gullickson had a thing or two to say about who deserves to go to the world’s in Hooglede-Gits, Belgium, on January 27-28. We caught up with Gully during the Strawberry Cup elite race.VeloNews: Talk to me about your role with USA Cycling. Marc Gullickson: Well, basically the big job was done beforethe season started. Geoff Proctor, Jiri [Mainus] and I spent a lot of timethis spring going over the team selection procedures again and again tryingto iron out some glitches that we had. Now there’s a little bit of wiggleroom left for the last few riders who get picked, but now it’s pretty welllaid out. At this point we just plug in the criteria to the results andthe team basically chooses itself.VN: What were the glitches you were trying to iron out?MG: Well, we wanted to make sure that the U23 riders and womenand elite men if they decide to go to Europe and compete and do well there,there will be criteria there that will prevent them from being penalizedfor not doing the U.S. races. In Europe it’s harder to get UCI points andwe wanted to recognize that. So, as well as having UCI criteria and CrankBrothers USGP criteria, we wrote in certain criteria for competing in Europein World Cups in women, men and U23s.VN: Were there any surprises this year in who is making the world’steam?MG: It seems like people stayed true to form in the elite races.We thought there might be someone popping into the top 10 who we hadn’tseen in a while. We expected maybe someone we hadn’t seen in a while poppinginto the top 10. The one dark horse was Jonathan Page, and he proved tobe just about right back to where he left off. The team is going to beguys who have gone in the past. Unfortunately there aren’t going to betoo many young guys who we haven’t taken before. The men’s team doesn’tget fully chosen until later, but the landscape looks pretty similar tothe past. The two Kona guys, Wicks and Trebon, and Page will go. That leavestwo more spots. A couple of guys are going to Europe, and the elite menhave another three weeks to qualify.Juniors, U23 and women, the teams will be picked in a couple of days(see "USACycling announces discretionary picks to world's 'cross team").But for the elite men, we wanted to give them a chance to race over Christmasin Europe and the guys who are doing well who didn’t have a good national’srace will have a chance to make it on the team. The guys who are goingover to Geoff Proctor’s winter camp can go prove themselves.VN: Who are some of the guys who are gunning for those last twospots?MG: Well, I don’t want to leave anyone out, but off the top ofmy head I know that Erick Tonkin wants to go, and he was having a goodride here on Sunday. I’m sure he’ll petition to go. I talked to TristanSchouten about it too. But there are a lot of good guys who unfortunatelywon’t go. Todd Wells won’t go; Tim Johnson won’t go; Jeremy Powerswon’t go. These are guys who could do well. Jeremy Powers is a guy whoreally should go. We’re really bummed about him not going because he’syoung and the future for the elite men. But they all have their obligationto road teams, and I can understand that. We try to argue our case forwhy they should go, but they have a team who is paying their salary, andif the team says they can’t go, then they can’t go.VN: What do you see as the biggest benefits of going over tocompete in Europe?MG: Well, there Jonathan Page has proved that guys can make acareer out of racing ’cross. There’s money to be made over there, and it’sa pretty good lifestyle. You don’t have to race all year and travel allyear like the road guys do. It’s a shorter season. For me, it was greattraining for my mountain-bike racing when I was racing. People have theirown ideas of what they should do to keep motivated over the winter. Somerace ’cross, which is what I did. Other guys like to rest and recharge.It’s hard for me to say the benefits are because everyone is different.But if you want to do it enough, you can make it work in your schedule.It was beneficial to me.VN: Coming out here, do you get the itch to race again?MG: No, I did my time. A lot of people ask me that and I canhonestly say I feel fortunate that I don’t need to keep racing.VN: What role does riding a bike have in your life right now?MG: Well right now I’m not riding enough because I’m buildinga house and I’m super busy. But it’s made me realize how much I love justriding a bike. I’ll keep riding, but I don’t think I’ll be racing anytimesoon… at least I don’t think so.VN: Would you like to involve yourself more with USA Cycling?MG: Yeah, but I don’t want to force myself in there. I went tomountain-bike worlds with the team this year with Matt Cramer which wasfun, that seems like a good thing. Matt is doing a great job with the youngguys. If that team needs me then I’ll help out. Unfortunately with ’crosswe don’t get the funding that mountain-bike and road and track do, andwe’d like that to change within USA Cycling, but the Olympic stuff designateswhere the stuff goes.VN: How does the elite men’s field now compare to the late 1990’swhen you were racing?MG: They’re stronger now. Trebon and Page are a step above whereDale [Knapp] and I and the guys who went to Europe were back then. We werein there, but these guys are knocking on the door.