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Highland Park Cyclo-cross - C2
Jamesburg, New Jersey, USA, November 11, 2007
2006 Results Results Men's results
Gould prepared for next USGP
By Kirsten Robbins in Jamesburg, New Jersey
The desirable weather conditions in Thompson Park led to an exciting women's race where Georgia Gould (Luna) used her mountain biking prowess and polished fitness to gain an insurmountable lead over Maureen Bruno Roy (Independent Fabrication) and Anna Milkowski (Velo Bella).
After winning the Master B men's event and the Elite women's event in the previous days Beacon Cyclo-cross race, Gould continued her dominance on the UCI 'cross scene by marking a third win in a single weekend. Gould noted that her east coast racing schedule has led to some valuable training leading into the next USGP round. "I'm happy with my fitness right now and racing has been really fun," said Gould. "I always look forward to cross season. I got some good training in this weekend and that bodes well for next weekend in New Jersey."
How it unfolded
Gould flawlessly worked her way to the front of the strong women's field, following a mishap with her pedals at the start. When the group reached the lengthy climb at the circuit's half way mark, the mountain bike star launched herself from the field with Bruno Roy in tow.
Second placed Bruno Roy admitted she had planned to link up with Gould's wheel to help pull herself away from the field and gain a first hand 'cross lesson in the process. "She sets a good momentum because she is such a great mountain biker and she is really nice to follow through the technical stuff," said Bruno Roy. "On the first half of the course there was a really tricky S-turn and I knew it was important to be at the front there because if there were too much traffic I would have had to get off and run. I followed her line and she was super smooth."
"I think you can learn a lot by spending some time riding on Georgia's wheel," Bruno Roy added. "When some one is that experienced you can follow them through a line that you may not have see for yourself or that you might have fumbled through on your own. To follow her on the first lap helped me out for the rest of the race. It elevated a lot of the mistakes that I might have made through out the rest of the race."
While Gould, Bruno Roy and Milkowski were spread equal distances apart from one another, a chase from behind was spearheaded by Erica Yozell (Ford) and Melanie Swartz (Velo Bella).
Despite having a 40 second advantage Gould continued to push her limits, as she does in every race with the hope of continually improving. "I always try to race as hard as I can for the whole race," said Gould. "For one thing, every race is training for the next race so I wanted to be able to go all out for the whole time. Also, while 40 seconds seems like a lot, if you get a flat tire or a mechanical, forty seconds goes away very fast. So I don't like to ever be too confident because all the girls out there are strong too and al it takes is one mechanical."
Third placed rider Milkowski was pleased with her result after feeling a bout of 'long season' fatigue, having received little rest after her road racing season. "I feel pleased because I've been struggling a little bit," said Milkowski. "I tried to stay smooth on the course and not think about the other people around me and where I think I belong - it seemed to work.
"I was a little worried that my season was over so I'm glad I could have a good day today," she added. "I'm hoping that I'm getting stronger for nationals. I didn't have a break after road season but more of a transition phase in to 'cross."
Results
Elite Women 27 starters 1 Georgia Gould (LUNA Women's MTB Team) 39.44 2 Maureen Bruno Roy (IF/Wheelworks/SRAM presented by General Catalyst) 1.18 3 Anna Milkowski (Velo Bella-Kona) 1.51 4 Erica Yozell (FORT Factory Team) 2.30 5 Melanie Swartz (Velo Bella - Kona) 2.39 6 Rebecca Wellons (Ridley Factory Team) 3.08 7 Carolyn Popovic (Team CICLE) 3.14 8 Betsy Shogren (FORT Factory Team) 9 Jennifer Maxwell (TEAM KENDA TIRE) 4.17 10 Marci Titus Hall (DeSalvo Custom Cycles) 4.24 11 Brenda Bahnson (Independent Fabrication) 4.35 12 Kathleen Billington (Schick) 5.08 13 Alie Kenzer (RGM WATCHES - RICHARD SACHS) 5.22 14 Amy Wallace (RGM WATCHES - RICHARD SACHS) 15 Kristen Kelsey (Evolution Racing) 5.51 16 Arley Kemmerer (Hub Racing) 17 Megan Bilodeau (HUP United) 6.01 18 Amy Breyla (FORT Factory Team) 6.11 19 Cheryl Sornson (Trek VW East Coast) 20 Kristine Church (Human Zoom/ Pabst Blue Ribbon) 21 Jessica Singerman (Wissahickon/Twin 6) 6.26 22 Mandy Lozano (Vanderkitten Women's Professional Cycling Team) 7.41 23 Lisa Vible (C3-Sollay.com) 8.02 24 Diane Grim (C3-Sollay.com) One lap behind 25 Beth Mason (C3-Sollay.com) 26 Heidi Von Teitenberg (C3-Sollay.com) 27 Tammy Ebersole (Evolution Racing) B Women, u19, 45+ 1 Elizabeth Harlow (Hunt Valley Bicycles/Marathon Roofing) 41.41 2 Kristy Swope (CSE / CSS / Riptide Cycling) 0.10 3 Cecelia Pleva (CRCA/Radical Media) 0.31 4 Nikki Thiemann (Human Zoom Pabst Blue Ribbon) 1.03 5 Kathrin Schumacher (CRCofA / BM&G - Pete's) 6 Kim Dubeck (Beans Bikes) 7 Amy Elich (Rutgers University Cycling Team) 2.17 One lap behind 8 Jill Waggett (Guy's Racing) 9 Brett Dollar (GS Boulder) 10 Jennifer Pitt (Hunt Valley Bicycles/Marathon Roofing) 11 Karen Tourian (Guy's Racing) 12 Lauren Klein 13 Diane Vettori (C3-Sollay.com !) 14 Lenore Pipes (Sturdy Girl Cycling) 15 Anne Rock (Sturdy Girl Cycling) 16 Bess Arendall 17 Liz Seward (CRCA) 18 Nina Santiago (High Gear/Watchung WheelMen Dover) 19 Fiona Davis (Rutgers University Cycling Team) 20 Alicia Styer (Velo Bella Kona)
