2024 Skyline Park “A” Race Recap
The Sacramento Cyclocross Series Presented by Performance Bicycle kicked off it’s 25th Anniversary season at Skyline Wilderness Park in Napa CA. The Men’s field featured the 2023 series champion, Miles Talbert (Specialized Sacramento) and frequent front runners Ryan Rinn (Radhaus Racing), Michael Machado (Coureur Monterey Bay Racing Team p/b Don Chapin) and Christopher Peck (Los Gatos Cycling Club). With barriers at the end of the first corner, the start was sure to be exciting. AJ Snovel (Enjoy Cycling Club) took the holeshot, with Blake Macheras (Red Peloton) passing into the lead just after the barriers only to washout a few corners later, ending his race and nearly taking down Snovel. Ryan Rinn and Daniel Cortopassi (Enjoy Cycling) made it through with Cortopassi pulling from the front and stringing out the field. At the end of lap 1 it was Cortopassi and Rinn seesawing at the front and Peck sitting third wheel staying out of trouble.
By lap three, Rinn had dispatched Cortopassi and was in a comfortable lead, but Michael Machado was slowly making his way through the field and battling for third with Peck. With three to go, Machado and Rinn were together off the front with Machado pushing the pace.
With a lap and a half to go, Machado broke away, still pushing hard into the last lap and building enough of a gap to compensate for a slow speed crash in the off technical section. Machado would roll solo across the line for the win, with Rinn holding on for 2nd and Christopher Peck 50 seconds back in third. Miles Talbert made his way up to 4th scoring good points going into the season and Cortopassi falling back to 7th after a strong first few laps.
On the women’s side, last year’s series winner Megan Brinkmeyer (Team City / QUODAPP) settled right back into things at the front of the field trading places with Liz Strong and Lindsay Wetzel Polin (Team Feral Catz) for the first few laps. Brinkmeyer and Strong would pull away from Wetzel Polin in the middle laps and stay together until about 2 laps to go where Brinkmeyer stretched out a large gap. The three would each ride solo and without incident all the way to the finish of their six lap race with Liz Strong finishing about a minute off Brinkmeyer’s pace.
Men’s Top 10 Results:
- Michael Machado
- Ryan Rinn
- Christopher Peck
- Miles Talbert
- Jon Wells
- Dustin Diede
- Daniel Cortopassi
- Kevin Smallman
- Elliott Petterson
- Callum Ingram
Women’s Results:
- Megan Brinkmeyer
- Liz Strong
- Lindsay Wetzel Polin
- Emily Funk
- Tenley Ong
- Doreen Wagner
The Sacramento Cyclocross Series moves to Sunset Whitney Recreation Area in Rocklin for Race 2 on October 5th. For more details and race schedule, click here.