Tilford, Dunlap tops at Otter’s Fat Boy crit’
In cycling, you know you’re a bad ass when you get an Italian nickname. While il professore might not rank up there with il diablo, il pirata, or il grillo in sheer gravity, Steve Tilford’s Italian nickname is still cool. The 42-year-old Tilford (Verge Sports) won the second stage of SOBE Sea Otter mountain bike stage race in his specialty, the fat boy criterium, and proved that having a niche, however small, can’t be a bad thing. Run along a scenic coastal course in Santa Cruz, the fat boy crit allowed (forced?) mountain bike racers to shed their knobbies for slicks and then try keep from
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By Chris Milliman
Photo: Chris Milliman
In cycling, you know you’re a bad ass when you get an Italian nickname.
While il professore might not rank up there with il diablo, il pirata, or il grillo in sheer gravity, Steve Tilford’s Italian nickname is still cool. The 42-year-old Tilford (Verge Sports) won the second stage of SOBE Sea Otter mountain bike stage race in his specialty, the fat boy criterium, and proved that having a niche, however small, can’t be a bad thing.
Run along a scenic coastal course in Santa Cruz, the fat boy crit allowed (forced?) mountain bike racers to shed their knobbies for slicks and then try keep from crashing or getting dropped in the pan-flat, four-corner crit. The high pace of the 50-minute race kept would-be breakaways at bay, allowing Tilford to win what he reckons is his 25th fat boy event since the early-’90s.
“I’ve won every fat boy we’ve ever had at Sea Otter,” said Tilford. “And I’ve raced [fat boys] in Japan, Brazil, France, virtually everywhere.”
With the top men safely ensconced in the 100-rider field, main players on GC remain unchanged going into tomorrow’s short track event at the Laguna Seca Raceway. Overall leader Roland Green (Trek-VW) sounded a warning to the rest of the field after the race: “I’m 100 percent healthy now, so I’m ready to go.”
Alison Dunlap (Luna) made her distaste for the fat boy event clear.
“I don’t like it all,” she said.
And that was after she’d taken out the sprint for the stage win and a helpful 20-second time bonus.
“It’s really dangerous and I don’t think we need it,” said Dunlap, whose teammate Shonny Van Landingham crashed and broke her collarbone halfway through the chaotic 45-minute event. “It’s so stupid, we’re mountain bikers and this is a mountain bike stage race.”
Photo: Chris Milliman
Dunlap’s win, and its subsequent time bonus, helped the defending Sea Otter champion gain back some of the 36 seconds she conceded to overall leader Chrissy Redden (Subaru-Gary Fisher) in Thursday’s opening time trial, but Redden remains the leader, only 0.5 ahead of Sue Haywood (Trek-VW) going into Saturday’s penultimate stage.
SOBE Sea Otter Mounain Bike Stage Race
Stage 2, Fat Boy Criterium
Women
1. Alison Dunlap, Luna Women, 54.09
2. Karen Matamoroso, Costa Rica
3. Magen Long, The Bicycle Store
4. Melanie McQuaid, Ford Outfitters
5. Susan Haywood, Trek-Volkswagen
6. Mary Grigson, Subaru-Gary Fisher
7. Lesley Tomlinson, Rocky Mountain/Crystal Decisions
8. Shelly Whisenhant, Velo Bella
9. Nichole Wangsgard, La Florza
10. Kiara Bisaro, Gears Racing, , all s.t. Men
1. Steve Tilford, Verge Sports, 45.56
2. Jason Tullous, Telcel-Speed Bikes
3. Doug Swanson, Trek-Volkswagen Factory Team
4. Nick Craig,, Trek UK
5. Paul Rowney,, SoBenondale
6. Julien Absalon,, Motorex Bianchi
7. Menno Hubregtse no team available
8. Jeremy-Horgan-Kobelski, RLX Polo Sport
9. Geoff Kabush, Kona Clarks Factory Team, all s.t. Men’s GC
1. Roland Green, Trek-Volkswagen
2. Chris Sheppard, Haro Lee Dungarees
3. Mathieu Toulouse, Gears Racing
4. Ryder Hesjedal, Subaru-Gary Fisher
5. Geoff Kabush, Kona Clarks Factory Team
6. Seamus McGrath, Haro Lee Dungarees
7. Julien Absalon, Motorex Bianchi
