Nashville Cyclo-Cross Series Race Four Report
Nashville, TN – 12 December, 2006 – The fourth and final event of the 2006 Nashville Cyclo-Cross Series was held December 9 at CedarHillPark in Madison, TN. Competitors and spectators were greeted with sunny skies, temperatures in the mid-40’s, and a slight on-again, off-again breeze. The week prior to the race, Madison experienced a significant cold front, which turned some parts of the course that are otherwise muddy into a frosty, frozen, slippery stew made up of ice, water, and muck. The 1.8-mile course featured one natural run-up, one pair of ½-sized barriers – a special treat for those competitors able and willing to hop them, and a short sand pit. Forty riders made the trek to the MusicCity suburb for the day’s races.
The first races of the day included the Men’s CX 4, or “C” field, the Women’s CX 3,4, or “B” field, and the Juniors’ division. In the Men’s CX 4 race, Greg Casteel (Knox Velo) led from soup to nuts over John Eighmey (Cumberland Transit), and a hard-charging group of fifteen other competitors. In one of the most fun “rivalries” seen throughout the series, Cliff Lippard (Team Army), defeated East Nashville’s Andy Berry (unattached) by four seconds for 13th place. The strong, consistent, second-place showing by Eighmey helped solidify his victory in the overall series standings. He was followed by Casteel in second, and Bill Moore (Columbia Cycling), in third place. Dale Tillman (Scenic City Velo) made it three-for-three in capturing her third win of the series and assuring her the series title for the Women’s CX 3,4 division. Lynn Proctor (unattached) and Angie Sliger (Velo Bella) finished the day’s race behind Tillman. Jonathan Craig (TriStar) continued his winning ways by having an outstanding day as an unchallenged Junior. Starting with the Men’s CX 4 group, Craig was within fifteen seconds of defeating the entire “C” field, walking away with the Junior division series’ top spot.
The Men’s 35+ Master’s division, the Men’s CX 3 “B” field, and the Women’s Pro/CX 1/CX 2 “A” field were next up to strut their stuff. In the Master’s race, Darren Sherkat (Team Mack) took an early lead and was unchallenged throughout the rest of the race. Greg Casteel (Knox Velo), racing his second event of the day, finished in second place, less than thirty seconds ahead of Kenny Marshall (Columbia Cycling), Scott Kennedy (Scenic City Velo), and a host of others. Casteel’s strong showing during this race bumped him one point ahead of John Eighmey (Cumberland Transit) in the series standings, resulting in Casteel finishing second in the series and Eighmey finishing third behind Kenny Marshall, who handily won the division series title. The Men’s CX 3 race saw an impressive battle among the top three finishers progress until Josh Beckham (Allanti), finally pulled away from Adam DeGardeyn (Allanti) and John Carr (Cumberland Transit), returning from a summer injury. The next five positions were held by easily the best-dressed, friendliest, carbohydrate-in-a-bottle-chuggin’ quintet of riders, all from the ReMax/Yazoo team: Thad Hoffman, Justin Mitchell, Dan Hensley, Troy Foster, and Sharp Emmons. Hoffman was barley able to hold off Mitchell’s sprint to secure a fourth-place finish on the day and a second place finish in the series. Beckham’s strong, consistent showing earned him a first-place series finish. The series’ third place CX 3 finisher was awarded to Everette Herring (Birmingham Bicycles). Becky Walter (Sorella Forte) was able to hold off Erin Humphreys (unattached) for her third Nashville Cyclo-Cross Series win, giving her top honors in the Women’s Pro/CX 1/ CX 2 division.
In the Men’s Pro/ CX 1/ CX 2 “A” field, Dustin Greer (Maxxis/ Wood N Wave) and Evan Hyde (Cumberland Transit) battled for several laps before Greer was able to pull away and win the day’s race. Hyde was making his first appearance in the Men’s Pro/ CX 1/ CX 2 division. Josh Beckham (Allanti) raced his second event of the day for a third-place showing. Greer’s strong performance earned him first place in the series’ Men’s Pro/ CX 1/ CX 2 division, followed by Travis Werts (Gran Fondo) and Troy Tucker (Half Fast Velo/ Bike Gallery).
The 2006 Nashville Cyclo-Cross Series was sponsored by Bio-Lube, Bongo Java, Circle A Cycles, Clif Bar Inc., De La Paz Coffee, Gran Fondo Cycles, Sean Letterman, Louis Garneau, NashvilleCyclist.com, Pacenti Cycle Design, Richmond Re-Cycles, Team Green/Lightning 100, Thomson, White Industries & WickWear Sports. The series beneficiary is House of Mercy. For more information on the series, please check out