November 28/10 5:25 am - VERGE/NECCS Cyclocross #7 report, results and photos

Posted by Editoress on 11/28/10
 

For the first time this season, cold and wind greeted racers for the seventh round of the Verge New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series in Sterling, Massachusetts, part one of the NACT finals. The course, which started the day frozen and muddy, had mostly thawed and dried out by the time the elite riders took to it, leaving a smooth and fast parcours. A classic cyclo-cross course, Tom Stevens' design at the Chocksett Middle School was similar to past years, with long off-camber sections, tricky and rutted corners and long fast stretches on pavement and cinder tracks.

As has been the case in all the Verge Series races this year, the elite women had a tight group at the front from the beginning to the end. Initially, the group was made up of eight racers, but eventually pared itself to a group of five - Laura Van Gilder (C3/Athletes Serving Athletes), Natasha Elliott (Garneau Club/Chaussure/Ogilvy), Sally Annis (crossresults.com p/b JRA Cycles), Arley Kemmerer (C3/Athletes Serving Athletes) and Maureen Bruno-Roy (Bob’s Red Mill p/b Seven Cycles).

As the race wore on, Elliott constantly pushed the pace, driving the group on all the open sections of the course, and was eventually able to shed Kemmerer and Bruno-Roy. Reduced to three, the women seemed content to ride tempo, holding the chase at a consistent fifteen-second gap, waiting for mistakes to be made. Van Gilder used all the experience she's gained over 370+ race wins in her career, and sat behind the wheel of Elliott for almost the whole race. A savvy racer herself, Elliott would take full advantage of the cinder track to recover, knowing she would be able to close any attacks, should they come.

The three leaders matched each other until the last half lap, when Sally Annis made her move, attacking the group through the north side of the course. Van Gilder, unwilling to let the move go, immediately closed the gap, relegating Elliott to third wheel as the group hit the finish stretch. From there the win was largely academic, as Van Gilder put a quick six bike lengths on her competitors to take the victory. Behind her Elliott edged Annis by barely a tire's width in a photo finish. Twenty seconds later, Arley Kemmerer and Bruno-Roy hit the track with Kemmerer out-kicking Bruno-Roy for fourth. With her third-place, Annis regains the series leader's jersey.

In the elite men's race, it was almost a foregone conclusion that the race would be to see who could hold on to Jeremy Powers (Cannondale p/b cyclocrossworld.com) for the longest. Powers, racing alone in New England, with teammates Tim Johnson and Jamey Driscoll in Belgium and Iowa, respectively, came into the day motivated to pick up his first ever national series win. With a finish of fourth or better, Powers would clinch the overall in the NACT series but, like any other champion, Powers came to win.

From the gun, Powers was on the front of the race, quickly shedding Adam Myerson (Cycle-Smart), Justin Lindine (bikereg.com/Joe's Garage/Scott) and Christian Favata (Favata's Tablerock Tours and Bikes). The only person able to hold on to the Cannondale racer's wheel was Luke Keough (Champion System p/b Keough Cyclocross). With a herculean effort, Keough was able to keep the pace for the first half of the race but, with four laps to go, Powers made an effort to break free and Keough was trapped in no-man's land.

Keough slid back past Myerson and Derrick St John (Garneau Club/Chaussure/Ogilvy) but managed to hold on for a very impressive fourth-place and U-23 victory. Behind Powers, Myerson and St John were punishing each other in hopes of picking up the remaining podium spots and all was going well until Myerson missed a pedal after the barriers, giving St John the small gap he needed to make a move. In the blink of an eye, St John had put ten seconds into Myerson and the two held their pace to the finish. St John was given the Devonshire Dental Most Aggressive Rider prize for his efforts. With Myerson third and Justin Lindine pulling in fifth, the distance between first and second place in the Verge NECCS has been nearly halved, with only three rounds left to go.

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