Brother-Sister White Duo Sweep Podium at Day 2 of the Verge Northampton International

by Lauren LeClaire, Vittoria Series Media Coordinator

Day 2 of the Verge Northampton International saw a clean sweep from the Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com squad with wins from siblings Curtis White and Emma White. Both the Elite Women and the Elite Men’s UCI Category 2 races featured fast, tactical racing on a dry, chilly day in Northampton, Mass., with the men’s race coming down to a sprint finish.

Emma White Leads Early and Late for the Win

In the Elite Women’s race, Emma White put out a confident early effort to take the lead on the first lap. It was her first top step of the podium for a UCI Elite Women’s race this season on the USA Cycling Professional Cyclocross Calendar.

The start of the Elite Women’s race on day two. © Chris McIntosh

“It was really, really tactical,” said White, who sits number two overall in the Pro CX Women’s standings going into today. “I was in the front in the first lap and a half and I realized I was putting out a lot more energy than I probably should have. And I was worried that when Ellen (Noble) attacked, that I felt like I had done a little bit more, and burned a little bit more matches, than she has, so it was just about making that final match everything I had. It had to be one big acceleration. Right before we went into the woods that last time she (Noble) had the lead and had a pretty good gap and I was with Maghalie (Rochette) and we were trying to bring her back and I just realized that I had to do it on my own.”

Ellen Noble and Maghalie Rochette would do much of the pace making early on in the lead group. © Chris McIntosh

White would finish six seconds ahead of Aspire Racing’s Ellen Noble. “I was drilling it and then I came into the kinda technical sections just before all these straights and she (Emma White) was closer than I anticipated, and I could even see her through the 180’s. And by the time we got to here (final lap), she was closer to me than I thought, so I was like ‘anything can happen on this sand stuff’. If she had to put a foot down I wanted to be right there. And yeah, I was a couple seconds off, but anything could have happened.”

The Elite Women’s podium, Emma White, Ellen Noble, and Maghalie Rochette. © Chris McIntosh

Rochette (Luna Pro Team) would follow in third place, after her win on Day 1 at Look Park. “It was super technical and we were just kind of following each other. And Emma (White) was really, really strong. For her, it’s a good thing she won, she was definitely the strongest out there today. It was cool though, the technical section was super fun. It kind of split up on the last lap I guess, I was catching up to Ellen (Noble) who was second in the woods and then I face planted in the run up.”

Curtis White Edges Jeremy Powers at the Finish

The Elite Men’s race featured a huge 70-rider field at the start and was full of one-on-one battles. Curtis White went back and forth with Jeremy Powers (Aspire Racing) for several laps. The victory for White is his second for the weekend, and fifth C2 win for the Pro CX season.

Dylan McNicholas lead the race from the start and would finish third on the day. © Chris McIntosh

“Powers was going hard. There were probably three straight laps where he didn’t look back once. He knew what he was doing, he was on a mission,” said Curtis White about his antagonist for the day. “The best I could do was just try to hang on. We kind of went back and forth the last lap and half, two laps or so. On the last lap I tried to get in front and take control, but every time he came back and was able to hit it hard. He led the last 500 meters, or so and I thought. He almost had me on the second to last straight away, but I knew if I could win the corner I could hold it to the finish.”

Powers and White duked it out until the very end. © Chris McIntosh

The battle with Powers came down to the very final turn. Powers, who swept the opening weekend of C1 and C2 races this season at Rochester Cyclocross, finished five seconds back for another podium, just not the top step.

Curtis White for the win on day 2 of racing in Northampton, Mass. © Chris McIntosh

“Right in the final, he just got around me,” Powers said about trying to hold off White. “I thought he was going to over-cook it in the last turn. He was going so hot, but I think that was his goal, like either I make this or I don’t, and I crash or I win. So he won and that’s how you have to do it. I backed off a little bit because I thought for sure he was going down, but that’s how it goes.”

The Elite Men’s podium, Curtis White, Jeremy Powers, and Dylan McNicholas (and the big cookie from Tart Baking Company!). © Chris McIntosh

Rounding out the podium, it came down to another sprint finish between Jeremy Durrin (Neon Velo Cycling) and Dylan McNicholas (Polartec). McNicholas took third place over Durrin in a head-to-head sprint to the line. Canadian Jeremy Martin (Focus CX Team Canada) was fifth.

The Verge Northampton International, now in its 26th year, is the oldest UCI race in the U.S. It is the second of four events in the Vittoria Northeast Cyclocross Series presented by Cycle-Smart.

Next on the calendar for Pro CX will be Supercross Cup in Suffern, N.Y., and CXLA Weekend in Los Angeles, Calif. Both events have two days of C2 racing for Elite Women and men Nov. 19-20. CXLA also offers separate UCI races for junior men (17-18) and U23 men.

Be sure to view the entire Photo Gallery below the results.

2016 Northampton International Cyclocross Results Day 2: Elite Women

2016 Northampton International Cyclocross Results Day 2: Elite Men

2016 Verge Northampton International Photo Gallery – Day 2: