Ed Sanders kicked of the Mabracross series this past weekend. © Schieken/CXHAIRS.com
The Ed Sander Memorial Cyclocross Race took place September 26th at the Lilypons Water Gardens in Adamstown, Md. Although early rain threatened to give over 500 racers another year of battling it out in the mud, clear skies prevailed, and the racing was fast and furious. Hosted by NCVC and United Healthcare, the Ed Sander race was the first event in the 11-race BikeReg.com MABRAcross series.
Taking home top prizes and the first Verge Sport MABRAcross leaders in the Elite fields were Joe Dombrowski (Haymarket Bicycles) and Jennifer Maxwell (Van Dessel-Sterke Meiden). Both Dombrowski and Maxwell were able to open up time gaps on the field and lay down the power to take the win.
Dombrowski made his winning move by countering an early surge by his Haymarket teammate, Jared Nieters. Dombrowski capitalized on the road fitness he gained by putting in many hard miles after signing with Trek-Livestrong. While Dombrowski powered on up front, Nieters played the good teammate and sat on defending MABRAcross champion Wes Schempf (C3-Athletes Serving Athletes). Taking advantage of an opportunity to ride Wes’ wheels for half the race, Nieters put in a strong attack in the last lap to secure second place. Schempf finished in third.
Maxwell also was able to use road fitness and power to separate herself from most of the field, with only Patricia Buerkle (River City Women’s Racing, Fruit 66/Artemis) able to keep pace. Maxwell successfully defended the MABRAcross leader’s jersey she won in 2009. Buerkle held on for second and Lindsay Honaker (Potomac Velo Club) picked up third.
In the men’s Master Elite field, Michael Magur, founder of Verge Sport, made good use of his trip down to Maryland to check out the MABRAcross series and see the leader’s jersey his company created and sponsors. Magur established himself at the front of a strong field and came away with the win and one of his own coveted jerseys. Michael Birner (Ben’s Performance Bikes) and Yanni Papadopoulos rounded out the top three finishers in that field.
Round 2 of the Bikereg.com MABRAcross series takes place October 2nd in Hagerstown, Md. with the Breast Cancer Awareness Cyclocross Challenge. Round 3 takes place the next day with the second annual Winchester Apple Harvest Cross.
Full results for the Ed Sander Memorial Cyclocross are available at MABRAcross.org.
Verge Sport MABRAcross Jersey leaders after race #1:
Joe Dombrowski (Haymarket Bicycle)—Cat 1,2,3 men
Jennifer Maxwell (Van Dessel-Sterke Meiden)—Cat 1,2 women
Alyson Tufano (NVRC-Cardio Sports Lab)—Cat 3 women
Robert Sheffield (NCVC-United Health Group)—Cat 3,4 men
Mike Magur (Verge Sport)—Cat 1,2,3 masters men
Steve Fife (Bike Doctor-Bayside Velo)—Cat 3,4 masters men
Fred Wittwer (Van Dessel Factory Team)—Masters 55+ men
