Nash, Powers win USGP finale

Results

Katerina Nash (Luna) overcame a rolled tire and Jeremy Powers (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) used a trick he learned from Todd Wells (Specialized) to win the final round of the 2009 U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross.

Ryan Trebon (Kona-FSA) crossed fifth in day two of the Stanley Portland Cup in Oregon to take his fourth USGP series win since 2004. Nash, who won both days in Portland, finished with a comfortable lead over a much-improved Amy Dombroski (Primus Mootry-Schlamm).

Cold and windy with a 100 percent chance of ’cross
While the course remained smooth and tacky, a strong cold wind blew from the Northwest, blasting spectators and making for tactical racing conditions at the Portland International Raceway.

Alison Sydor (Rocky Mountain-Maxxis), the 43-year-old former world mountain bike champion, took a fast first lap dogged by Luna’s Alison Dunlap, another former world mountain bike champ.

Coming into the second lap, Nash was driving the pace with Dunlap on her wheel, followed by a chase group containing Dombroski and Meredith Miller (California Giant Berry Farms), the U.S. road race champion. Then disaster struck as Nash rolled her front tire on a twisting grass section; she lost more than 30 seconds and five places before grabbing a new bike.

Miller quickly made her way to the front, dropping Dunlap and Dombroski. In her second year as a ’cross racer, Miller rode like a seasoned pro off the front, steadily building a lead and holding it for two laps.

But Nash began clawing her way back, and going into the fifth and final lap she had joined Miller at the front. She drafted momentarily, then put in a decisive attack on the backside of the course to win for a second consecutive day. Miller hung on for second with Dombroski third.

For her tenacity, Nash was awarded the SRAM most aggressive rider award for the day.

“It was an exciting race,” said Nash. “I was just happy to come back and have a solid race. It’s the second time in a row I have won the series. It was on my list. I’m psyched, I can’t complain.”

Dombroski wasn’t thrilled about her third-place finish, especially since it is rare that a rider like Nash makes herself vulnerable to be overtaken. However, she was plenty happy about finishing second in the USGP series.

“I feel like I made a really big step up this season,” said Dombroski. “Halfway through it was stressful with the team change. I’m happy with everyone that stepped up and helped me out. … I’m looking forward to nationals.”

Miller, the roadie turned ’cross racer, didn’t expect to find herself off the front at the grand finale of the USGP.

“I put everything I had into it,” said Miller. “Mentally it felt like a good ride. At one point, with one to go, there was still a decent gap to Nash and I thought … just maybe.”

With Luna’s Georgia Gould likely to be done for the season and Nash a citizen of the Czech Republic, Miller and Dombroski are shaping up to be among the favorites at the national cyclocross championship next weekend. UCI World Cup leader Katie Compton (Planet Bike) will also be in attendance, hoping to defend her title, and the legendary Dunlap is certainly a dark horse for a seventh stars-and-stripes jersey.

Men’s race heats up as the temperature falls
Just in time for the elite men’s race, the clouds rolled in and blocked the sun, dropping the temperature to just above freezing. Wells, obviously on fire after winning the first day of the Stanley Portland Cup, took to the front early and drove the pace almost all day.

Trebon, the tall Oregon native, was frustrated to find himself in ninth position three-quarters of the way through the first lap. Struggling to crack the top five, Trebon proved how important the first lap of a cyclocross race truly is.

Wells continued to drive the pace and eventually found himself in a three-man lead group, outnumbered by Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com teammates Powers and Tim Johnson. This made for a tactically difficult situation for Wells, as the riders in green and black took turns attacking, hoping to wear him down.

Each of the three riders up front had a go, but none was successful. Wells would take a gap, then Powers, but they appeared to be evenly matched.

The race was really decided in the first and last laps of the race. The group formed in the early laps, and Powers lit the afterburners with a quarter of a lap to go — just a little later than Wells had during day one of the Stanley Portland Cup.

The late move did the trick — this time it was Powers taking the win from Wells, with Johnson third.

Adam Craig (Giant) had a phenomenal ride, finishing fourth on the day and riding the barriers on the backside of the course. Trebon, meanwhile, closed to within 10 seconds of the leaders at one point, but the effort proved too great and he faded back to fifth.

“This is probably the biggest win of my career,” said Powers. “I definitely wasn’t expecting to win. Yesterday I felt good and today was half and half. I had one really bad lap. Just having Tim there gave me some confidence. We played our cards right. Today was a really tactical race. It was a good team race for us. I was lucky to have Tim and I owe him a lot for that.”

“Those guys were hitting me left and right and I was able to respond each time,” said Wells. “With one lap to go Powers got in front of me before the finish, the same way I got in front of him yesterday. Once you get a couple bike lengths — with a tailwind down the finishing straight — how you come onto the pavement, that’s the finish.”

Garmin rider Danny Summerhill was the top under-23 finisher, beating the 2009 USGP U23 series leader, David Hackworthy.

Looking ahead to nationals in Bend, Wells and Powers appear to be the top contenders, though Johnson and Trebon are also riding strongly. But all of them will have to face Jonathan Page (Planet Bike), often considered the most feared American ’cross racer.

“For me the more technical course the better, so if it were to snow in Bend that would be great,” said Wells. “Today’s course, there was a lot of drafting and teamwork that came into play. So the more slick and treacherous the conditions, the less teammates come into play and the more it’s a skill and fitness thing.”

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FILED UNDER: Cyclocross / News / Race Report

Robbie Stout

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