No Excuses: Ellen Van Loy Goes Wire-to-Wire, Job-to-Job to Win China’s Qiansen Trophy Cyclocross Race

Lisa Jacobs leads Lucie Chainel-Lefevre before Lefevre dropped her chain. © Cyclocross Magazine

“Since [last year] I have been working a lot on my skills and race tactics,” Jacobs told Cyclocross Magazine, but finishing second behind the world’s sixth-best racer was not what she had planned on. Asked if she expected to be on the podium today, Jacobs replied, “No, No, not at all! I was just hoping to have a good race.”

“My objective was to come and put [those skills] into play. I think I did that so I’m happy.  I think it was a strong field with some great riders.”

Jacobs is the current Australian National Champion, her second of two titles, and has yellow and green FMB tubular tires to match her Nationals jersey. Flying through the woods in her white and yellow jersey while chasing van Loy, spectators asked, “Who is the other Telenet Fidea teammate?” Her speed, skills, and work schedule, not just jersey colors, justified the comparison.

Jacobs will fly directly to California to contest the West Sacramento Grand Prix, a cyclocross race boasting the largest women’s prize list in California. While she hopes to escape to Lake Tahoe to take in some mountain biking in the Sierra, she’ll make her way to Cross Vegas and race against Compton and the deep field there.

3 in 1 Is Better than 1 in 2

Most racers would be thrilled to star their season with a UCI win.

Last year, Belgium-based Dutch and Danish racer Margriet Kloppenburg sprinted to victory to win the first-ever UCI cyclocross points ever awarded in China. Little did she know those C2 points would be very costly.

Kloppenburg crashed during the 2013 race and despite getting back on her bike and taking back the lead and win, she suffered a bad hematoma on her knee but didn’t realize it. After flying home, her knee swelled up so badly she couldn’t ride for three weeks. Her doctor said she was lucky—since flying with such a condition could potentially be life-threatening. The injury ruined her season, but Kloppenburg has been hard at work putting together a new program with new sponsors for this cyclocross season, hoping to have a much better season than last year.

Until a week ago, Kloppenburg, like van Loy and Jacobs, was working full-time, staffing a BMC concept store in Belgium, but she just quit that job to focus on cyclocross.

Margriet Kloppenburg didn’t win but stayed upright, injury free and came back with more UCI points. © Cyclocross Magazine

Returning to China to finish third in the upgraded C1 event, while not the dream scenario, was still a better scenario for Kloppenburg than her C2 win a year ago. “I didn’t crash, I won more UCI points and will get prize money…I’d call that a good day!” Kloppeburg exclaimed.

Stay tuned for more rider interviews and reports from American and other racers.

Notes:

Easily worth its own story, China’s cyclocross racers took a huge step up this year after struggling to keep pace last year. Jialing Han pleased the home crowd to finish fifth in the women’s race, showing the promoter’s effort to grow participation in cyclocross is working.

Jialing Han wowed the home crowd and fellow racers with a fifth place. © Cyclocross Magazine

Lisa Jacobs says she may be joining be joining Jeremy Powers’ team for a European campaign but revealed she already knows she cannot race the 2015 Cyclocross World Championships in Tabor.

Van Loy raced a Ridley X-Night with SRAM CX1.

Miserly loves company: Chainel-Lefevre’s jammed chain was followed by her husband also dropping a chain and ripping his Campagnolo derailleur off his bike.

American Andi Zolton (Nemesis Racing) led home the Americans, finishing in sixth and was ecstatic with her result. Zolton rode much of the race with fellow American Jenni Gaertner (Vertical Earth), and the two are familiar with racing each other in the Pacific Northwest. Gaertner said she hasn’t done any racing in months before lining up in China.

Christine Vardaros, a Belgium-based American, rode inside the top five early in the race but was stung by a wasp and is allergic. She suffered with her inability to breathe and finished ninth, behind Gaertner.

Anna Jo Dingman finished in 18th, while Sarah Lukas (Amy D Foundation) finished in 24th, after tangling with a crashed rider early in the race.

Jenni Gaertner (Vertical Earth) leads Andi Zolton (Nemesis Racing) to top ten finishes. © Cyclocross Magazine

The Brits had a great showing, with 18-year-old Hannah Peyton (Morvelo) returning for a second go and finishing in seventh between the two Americans. Medical student Sarah Murray, racing for Cyclocross Magazine’s very own UK-based cxmagazine.com team, contesting her first-ever UCI race, finishing in the points and the money in thirteenth, outkicking Jennifer Saegesser from Switzerland.

Sarah Murray, racing for cxmagazine.com’s UK team, sprinted to lucky 13th and announced her arrival in her first-ever UCI race. © Cyclocross Magazine

2014 Qiansen Trophy Cyclocross Race - Women's Results