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A star-studded field came to the 5th stop on the Verge New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series to test each other and themselves just two weeks before the US National Championships. On an unseasonably warm New England day with highs reaching 70 degrees, the action was equally hot.
After a fierce first lap, a huge group of eleven remained at the head of affairs in the Elite Men's event, including Todd Wells (Mongoose / Hyundai), Mark McCormack and Tim Johnson (Saturn). Matt Svatek (Wheelworks/Cannondale) surprised the group by launching an attack that saw him go clear for two laps. Unwilling to let Svatek ride away with the race, Wells took it upon himself to reel him in while the rest of the group held on.
Afterwards, Wells reported that he was using the New England racing as a way to prepare for Nationals. "The races here are so good. And what better training than racing against guys like (US National Champion) Tim Johnson?"
A series of attacks and counters formed a select group of six at the front: Wells, McCormack, Johnson, Johs Huseby (Independent Fabrication / CCB), Josh Anthony (Saturn Development), and Justin Spinelli (Saeco). As the day went on, everyone tried their hands at attacking, but it was the efforts of supposed underdogs Spinelli and Huseby that really got the huge crowds excited. The only casualty of all the attacks was Anthony, and it became clear that the race would come down to the final sprint. With two US road pros (McCormack and Johnson), a division 1 European road pro (Spinelli), a mountain bike pro (Wells), and a pure 'cross rider (Huseby) it was anyone's call who had the advantage as they got the bell.
McCormack attacked again with 1/2 lap remaining, with Wells responding. But it was Tim Johnson who led into the final pair of 40cm barriers and never looked back. Wells, showing off his mountain bike skills, bunny hopped them both to take a close second. McCormack held on for third and retained the Verge Series Leaders Jersey.
Afterwards, Tim Johnson commented, "The caliber of racing was just awesome today. I’m happy to see guys like Johs and Matt Svatek going so well and making the race hard. I’m really happy to win today since I came hoping for a top 3 finish. I’d like to dedicate this win to my mother and grandfather who are huge supporters of mine."
On the Elite Woman’s side, Series Leader Lyne Bessette took the weekend off, but that didn't stop Emily Thorne (CycloCrossWorld.com) from showing everyone that she is ready for Nationals.
Mary McConneloug (Jamba Juice) and Kathryn Roszko (BikeReg.com) lead out a fast start. But by the second lap it was Thorne and McConneloug that had separated themselves from the group. A lap later Thorne gapped the Jamba Juice rider on a sandy turn and took the win by extending her lead every lap.
Later, Thorne commented on the race saying, "This was a really great course. It is my third time here and it was nice to know where to go hard and where I could back off a little. And this was a really great win for me, a real confidence booster with Nationals coming."
Behind Thorne, McConneloug held off a hard charging Masters National Champion, Jodi Groesbeck (Putney/West Hill).
In the Junior race, US National Champion Jesse Anthony of Saturn Development won in convincing style, with Chris Hill (NCC/BikeReg.com) taking second, in what might be a preview of what's to come in two weeks in Baltimore. And in the Masters, Verge Series leader and national mountain bike champion Scott Wade (GearWorks) attacked on the last lap to win over Tim Haitz (SYRC).
Round 6 of the Verge New England Series will be the American Express Financial Advisors Cyclo-Cross on December 9 in Merrimack, NH.
Elite Men 1 Tim Johnson (Saturn) 59.40 2 Todd Wells (Mongoose) 3 Mark McCormack (Saturn) 0.04 4 Johannes Huseby (Independent Fabrication/CCB) 5 Justin Spinelli (Saeco) 6 Rob Hult 7 Chris Peck (Wheelworks/Cannondale) 0.05 8 Michael T Broderick (Jamba Juice) 0.11 9 Kirk Albers (Jelly Belly) 10 Jeff Leake (NCC/BikeReg.com) 1.28 11 Lawrence Perera (Essex County Velo) 1.34 12 Maxwell Kummy (BRC) 1.38 13 Don Mills (Wheelworks/Cannondale) 1.44 14 Micah Thompson (Rocky Mounts) 1.55 15 troy michaud (eurotek) 2.22 16 Jeffrey Craddock (CCB/VW) 17 J.D. Bilodeau (NCC / BikeReg.com) 2.32 18 Skip Brown (Seven Cycles) 2.37 19 Matt Svatek (Wheelworks/Cannondale) 3.25 20 Derek Bouchard-Hall (Mercury Cycling Team) 3.56 21 Todd Rowell (NEBC/Cycle Loft) 4.02 22 Brian Astell (CCB/VW) 23 Brant Hornberger (NCC/Bilkereg.com) 4.23 24 Mike Umbrell (Minuteman Road Club) 4.36 25 Aaron Millett (ECV) 5.00 26 Nate Rice (UVM) 27 Eugene Ruiter (BOB) 5.20 28 Curtis Boivin (Union Velo) 5.50 29 Joseph Alachoyan (Ideal Tile/Brielle Cyclery) 6.45 One lap behind 30 ArikJon Bholm (---) 31 Josh Anthony (Saturn Development) 32 John Verheul (Ideal Tile/Brielle Cyclery) 33 John Meerse (Buffalo Bicycling Club) 34 Ryan Pinkham (Wheelworks/Cannondale) Elite Women 1 Emily Thorne (CyclocrossWorld.com/Empella) 38.40 2 Mary McConneloug (Jamba Juice) 0.53 3 Jodi Groesbeck (Putney/West Hill) 1.34 4 Shauna Gillies-Smith (Gearworks/SRP) 2.20 5 Kathryn Roszko (BikeReg.com Cyclo-cross Team) 6 Elizabeth Coleman (Sobe/Headshok) 2.28 7 yvonne ilton (verizon wireless) 2.36 8 Katrina Davis (Richard Sachs) 3.10 9 Kathy Savary (Midstate Cycling Club) 3.17 10 Heather Peck (Wheelworks/Cannondale) 4.28 11 Sara Cushman (Gearworks/SRP) 4.28 12 Alicia Genest (Richard Sachs) 5.10 13 Susan MacLean (BOB) 5.20 14 Anna Milkowski (Gearworks/SRP) 5.28 15 Katherine Farago (NEBC/Cycleloft) 6.08 One lap behind 16 Mary Georgetti (NEBC/Cycleloft) 17 Kerry Litka (Wheelworks/IF) 18 Michele Smith (Boston Cyclocross Assn) 19 Robin Gilmore-Barnes (NEBC/Cycleloft) 20 Paukuhs Karena (NEBC/Cycleloft) 21 Dawn Richardson (verizon wireless) 22 Elizabeth LeFavour (Wheelworks/IF) 23 Valerie Ricard (ACC) Two laps behind 24 Kerry Combs (Independent Fabrication) 25 Steph Roussos (Unattached) 26 Carrie Frost (CICLISMO SPORTIVO ARDAGNA) 27 Michelle Kersbergen (NCC / BikeReg.com) 28 Jennifer Rhodes (Wheelworks/IF) Junior 15-18 1 Jesse Anthony (Saturn Development) 2 Chris Hill (NCC/BikeReg.com) 3 Jamey Driscoll (GMBC Excite smartFUEL) 4 Konrad LeBas (CCB International) 5 Kevin Wolfson (NEBC / CycleLoft) 6 Jeremy Powers (Devo) 7 Brandon Smithwood (Northeast Bicycle Club) 8 Scott Maislin (NEBC/ Cycle Loft) Masters 35+ 1 Scott Wade (Gearworks/SRP) 2 tim haitz (syrc) 3 Noah Gullickson (Test Pilot) 4 Michael Bernard (Arc-en-ciel) 5 Bob Bisson (Gearworks/SRP) 6 Sam Morse (Mass Bay Road Club) 7 Tom Stevens (Gearworks/SRP) 8 Bevan Quinn (Putney/West Hill) 9 paul lynch (missing link bicycle club) 10 Rob Courtemanche (Eastern Bloc) 11 eric marro (Team BOB/Skofield Builders) 12 John Grenier (Rainbow Bike/Maine Cycling Club) 13 donald vescio (FCC/Net1 Plus) 14 Paul Curley (GearWorks/SRP) 15 Daniel Collins (Mass Bay Road Club) 16 Phil Bannister (Putney/West Hill) 17 18 Dan Tieger (ECV) 19 Daniel Hurley (BRC/ATA/Vintage) 20 Chip Kent (Unattached) 21 Paul Weiss (Portland Velo Club) 22 Brian Geddes (NCC/Bikereg.com) 23 Brian McInnis (Travis Cycle) 24 Kenneth Hamel (Southern New England Masters) 25 James Paterson (Unattached) 26 Doug Aspinwall (NCC / BikeReg.com) Amateur Men 1 Alex Aitken (ATA Cycle) 2 Barton T. Jennings (Unattached) 3 Mark Donahue (Southern Me. Cycling Club) 4 Guillaume Desy (Durand Sports / Symbiosis) 5 Alan Starrett (Bikeman/Bath Cycle) 6 Michael Shore (BOB) 7 Jamie Belchak (KPCC/TrueWheels) 8 Bevan Quinn (Putney West Hill) 9 Christopher White (B.O.B.) 10 Chris Raymond (Community Racing Team) 11 Brendan Sullivan (PEDROS) 12 Randall Descarreaux (C.S. Ardagna Racing) 13 John Legere (Eastern Bloc/Benidorm) 14 pete martel (NCC / BikeReg.com) 15 Isaac St. Martin (New Hampshire Cycling Club) 16 Eric Schuman (International Bike) 17 Benoit Simard (Durand Sport) 18 Scott Livingston (Team Horst Engineering) 19 Joseph Saperstein (Coyote Hill) 20 joe rodrigues (cyclonauts) 21 Kurt Perham (XC Skier) 22 Todd Crisafulli (Boston Bicycle Club/Community Bike) 23 John Baker (Putney West Hill) 24 Justin Medeiros (AFD) 25 Michael Deveron (Southern Maine Masters) 26 James Conopask (Tokeneke Road Club) 27 Christopher Cyr (Portland Velo Club) 28 Byron Holt (BRC/Vintage/ATA) 29 Erik Miller (UMass Bicycle Racing Club) 30 Joshua Begin (Unattached) 31 Matt Manna (NEBC/CycleLoft) 32 Tom Giordano (NEBC/Cycle Loft) 33 Euclides Amado (SYRC Stedman) 34 Mark Robson (Team Bicycle Alley) 35 Eric Goodson (BRC) 36 Andrew Parsons (BRC/Vintage) 37 David Connery (B2C/Community) 38 John Busel (Putney West Hill) 39 William Turner (Landrys-Litespeed) 40 Ryan Themig (B2C/Community) 41 Walter Conley (CCB International) 42 Arthur Roti (Team Horst) 43 Richard Battaglia (Southern Maine CC) 44 Stefan Hesselberg (BCA/Tosk) 45 Stan Pryll (Pedro's) 46 John Frey (NCC/Bikereg.com) 47 Edward C Parsons Jr (Laurel Bicycle Club) 48 David Katz (Boston Road Club) 49 Greg Montello (S & M) 50 John Burkhardt (NEBC) 51 mark arrington (BRC/Vintage, etc./ATA cycles) 52 Michael Cole (Landrys-Litespeed) 53 Malcolm Toynbee (NEBC/Cycleloft/EMC) 54 Phil Brubaker (Putney West Hill) 55 Roger Nauth (Team Horst) 56 Jeff Papineau (Cyclonauts) 57 Robert Frechette (CRUM) 58 John Bellinger (West Hill/UVM) 59 Shaun Berry (Farina s) 60 Bruno Vachon (Mont-Vélo/Import-Expert) 61 Thom Reid (Team Horst) 62 Gary Passler 63 Garvin Louie (Union Velo) 64 Brian Dahlman (B2C/Community) 65 Ian Everard (-) 66 Sara Bresnick (Landrys-Litespeed) 67 Tim Lucia (NEBC/CycleLoft) Amateur Women 1 Cheryl Payne (Unattached) 2 Abby Keiser (Farinas) 3 Nicole Kesselring (True Wheels) 4 Kristen Osborn (Unattached) 5 Amy Burrer (Bike Alley) 7 Lori Whynot (NEBC/CycleLoft) 8 Joanne MacAyeal (Unattached) 9 Martha Wilson (Unattached) 10 Barbara Burnes (B.O.B.) Junior 10-14 1 Charles Marzot (Corner Cycle) 29.54 2 Matt Beriao (Team Bike Alley) 2.02 3 Ethan Tieger (ECV) 2.02 4 Robert Crowther (NCC/BikeReg.com) 4.23 One lap behind 5 A.J. Bontorno (Unattached) Beginner Men 1 Christopher Owen (NCC / BikeReg.com) 29.54 2 Todd Cassan (Unatttached) 3 Darrin Beek (Unattached) 4 Chris Mears (Unattached) 5 John Stimpson (Team Bicycle Alley) 0.57 6 Thomas C. Ball (MRC) 7 David Currie (Rage/Harpoon) 1.08 8 Kyle Hollasch (Unattached) 9 Kenneth Helmel (S.N.E.M.) 10 David Alden (Crank Racing) 11 Karl Weiedemann (Pedro's USA) 1.26 12 John Reilly (Boston Road Club) 1.38 13 Mark West (NCC/BikeReg.com) 14 Robert Bauer (Minuteman road Club) 2.02 15 Bo Daley (Team Bicycle Alley) 2.08 16 Larry Bettencourt (CCB International) 17 David Harrison (Kansas State) 2.16 18 Jason Arcelay (NEBC/Cycleloft/EMC) 2.21 19 Bruce Thompson (Minuteman Road Club) 20 Michael Oster (SYRC) 21 Brian Bicki (Team Hawaiian) 22 Paul Brais (Team Hawaiian) 2.40 23 William Hallahan (Derby Farm Flowers & Gardens) 2.45 24 Sean Harrison (Unattached) 2.56 25 Justin Haber 26 David Fredrickson (Unattached) 3.26 27 3.47 28 Mike Van Randwyk (Unattached) 3.56 29 Todd Serdel (Boston Bicycle Club) 4.06 30 John Nelhauser (Unattached) 4.28 31 Brendan Collins (Unattached) 4.34 32 Mark Oberlatz (Mystic Velo) 4.41 33 Lawrence King (Unattached) 5.02 34 Mike Broglia (Boston Road Club) 5.09 35 Mike Medas (Unattached) 5.23 36 Jon McNeill (Harpoon/Int'l) 5.33 40 Guy Walker 6.05 41 Varant Basmajial (Unattached) 42 Doug Salb (Crank Racing)
Paul Weiss sent us these pictures from the Verge cc race.