- HOT TOPICS:
- The new VeloNews.com (BETA)
Gould and Wells at Whitmore’s Day 2
- Article Extras
- Results
- Race Index
Georgia Gould delivered a knock-out at the Whitmore’s Landscaping Super Cross Cup in the Hamptons Sunday to take both the race and the North American Cyclocross Trophy Championship. Meanwhile, Todd Wells went toe-to-toe with Jeremy Powers to win the men’s race while Ryan Trebon refused to tap-out after a bad break on lap one.
The actual design of the North American Cyclocross Trophy’s namesake trophy had been a closely guarded secret until just prior to the start of the UCI portion of Sunday’s NACT final, when series director and race promoter Myles Romanow emerged in a tuxedo with two championship boxing style title belts over his shoulders.
“As soon as I saw that,” said Georgia Gould, “I thought ‘I better win that series.’”
And win she did.
Gould: A first lap KO
Unlike Saturday, when she said she wasn’t aggressive enough on the start, Gould (Luna Chix) placed a lot of emphasis on Sunday’s start, especially as the different course configuration increased the likelihood of bottlenecks.
“I knew I wanted to have a better start because of the two steep climbs near the beginning, so I wouldn’t get caught behind if someone put their foot down in front of me.”
Immediately, Gould and NACT point leader Amy Dombroski (Velo Bella – Kona) separated from the rest of the field and Dombroski looked like she was willing to dog Gould’s rear wheel for as long as it took to defend her series lead. The move surprised Gould, but she kept her cool, “I don't feel any need to panic two minutes into the race. I just thought I’d keep the pace up. And if Amy can hold on, we’ll worry about that later.”
Dombroski was able to hang onto the Gould for a short while, but once she lost contact, Gould was gone for good. By the second lap, Gould had a 22 second lead over Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com) had worked her way through most of the field on the first lap. All the rest of the race favorites were in a tight pack a further six seconds behind Bessette, except for Sue Butler.
Halfway through the race, Gould had a 34 second lead over Bessette. With the event also counting toward the MAC Powered by SRAM championship, MAC points leader Laura Van Gilder (C3-Sollay.com) attacked the chase group and established a gap that would never be closed.
“I’m ecstatic,” said first-year ‘cross racer Van Gilder of her third place finish. “I feel like I’ve learned how to race the first lap with the contenders. 'Cross really seems to be about the first lap, but it’s hard figuring the balance of going hard at the beginning but not hurting yourself for later in the race.”
Bessette, who hasn’t raced in a year and came out of retirement for this race essentially as a favor to promoter Myles Romanow for supporting women’s racing through the years, got off the bike and said, “That was a lot harder than yesterday.” Then she rolled her eyes and laughed as she said, “there goes the fitness!” Later she said, “when I was racing all the time, I was always better on the second day. But I woke up so sore this morning!”
Then the super-slim Gould looked at the championship belt she had just won, motioned to her husband and mechanic Dusty who was cleaning off her bikes, and grinned as she said, “It’ll fit around both of us!”
Men’s Race: Flat-Out
In the Men’s race, Saturday’s winner Ryan Trebon (Kona/FSA) flatted his rear tire less than three minutes into the race, and lost almost a minute before he could work his way into the pits.
With the NACT championship already in the bag, Trebon could have been forgiven for calling it a day. Instead, he embarked on an epic chase that mesmerized the crowd. The contenders soon paired-off into individual battles for position. Todd Wells (Team GT) and Jeremy Powers (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) battled for lead while teammate Jamey Driscoll and Jesse Anthony (Team Jamis) battled for the final position.
“Man, I couldn’t shake that guy,” said Wells later. “We had to get a gap on the guys out there. Jeremy put in a couple of good pulls, but he had his teammate Jamey behind, so he wasn’t going to work too hard.”
Meanwhile, Trebon kept his focus and started picking off riders as he made his way through the field.
Lap after lap the leaders attacked each other, especially Wells, who didn’t have a teammate in the race. 40 minutes into the race, Driscoll dropped Anthony for third place. Unknown to everyone, it would soon become a pivotal point in the race. Just 9 minutes later, Trebon caught and passed Anthony for what many assumed was the culmination of his amazing chase.
Then, not more than 100 meters after the leaders passed the finish line with two laps to go, Powers flatted.
“The course changed and that rock showed its head at the end,” explained Powers. “I haven’t had much bad luck this year. To have it happen here sucks. But, you know, it happens. It’s part of racing.”
With Powers flatting nearly as far away from the pits as was possible, his teammate Driscoll took over the second spot and salvaged the spot for the team, while Trebon capped his comeback with an amazing third place finish.
Wells, for his part, wasn’t altogether upset by the turn of events.
“It’s a good thing that we didn’t have to sprint again, because he beat me in the sprint yesterday.”
Race Notes
● On the opening lap of the women’s race, Lyne Bessette ran the entire downhill corkscrew section in the middle of heavy traffic. Though she ran nearly 500 meters while everybody else rode, she didn’t lose any time or positions.
● At the end of Saturday’s combined age-group race, junior rider Spencer Campbell crashed hard on the treacherously steep off-camber turn, landing on his handlebars. Moments later, three Elite riders (who were pre-riding the course behind the end of the race), came crashing and sliding down the hill in the same spot. Upon seeing Campbell in a lot of pain, the first of those riders, Jeremy Powers, put aside his bike to look after the youngster until medical assistance arrived. Campbell was taken to the hospital for tests, which fortunately turned out negative.
