Noble, Ortenblad Have a Grand Sunday at GP of Gloucester Day 2 – Report, Results

GLOUCESTER, Mass.—The CRAFT Sportswear Gran Prix of Gloucester presented by Ipswich Ale Brewing continued today with Category 2 races at historic Fort Stage Park on Gloucester Harbor. It was the opening weekend of competition for the Vittoria Northeast Cyclocross Series presented by Clif Bar and Cycle-Smart. Tobin Ortenblad (Santa Cruz/Donkey Label Racing) would outsmart his competitors down the final turns to win his fifth race of USA Cycling’s Professional Cyclocross Calendar (ProCX). Ellen Noble (Aspire Racing) would solo her way to victory, her second of the year, in a confident and aggressive race on the women’s side.

Ellen Noble Turns in Dominant Ride

Noble controlled the race from the start. She established an early lead with Emma White (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com), and would then ride away from White with four laps remaining. White would suffer a mechanical, but hung on for second place. The third step of the podium would go to Beverly, Massachusetts native Crystal Anthony (Maxxis Shimano Pro Cyclocross), after surpassing yesterday’s third place-finisher Christel Ferrier Bruneau (SAS-Macogep).

Emma White and Ellen Noble battle early in Sunday’s race. 2017 GP of Gloucester Day 2. photo: Lauren LeClaire

Noble will take over the Vittoria Series leader’s jersey, while White will still remain in a Verge leader’s jersey as the top U23 woman. Together with Anthony, the three riders are currently ranked in the Top Five of the ProCX women’s standings.

“I felt like yesterday I kind of a raced a little complacently,” said Noble. “I didn’t plan on riding on the front the whole day, but I felt really, really strong technically today, much more focused than yesterday. So I just led through the technical sections, and I noticed that I was getting small gaps. So I just wanted to keep those gaps going, and eventually I was able to get one that stuck.”

Womens podium: Ellen Noble, Emma White, Crystal Anthony. 2017 GP of Gloucester Day 2. photo: Chris McIntosh

Ortenblad Wins Again on Sunday

For the Elite Men, it would be Jeremy Powers (Aspire Racing), like his teammate Noble, who seemed motivated to lead the charge early on and control the pace. Powers and Day 1 winner Ortenblad would go head to head for nearly the entire race, separating from the bunch on the second lap.

Powers and Ortenblad race up a run-up. 2017 GP of Gloucester Day 2. photo: Chris McIntosh

Ortenblad got the jump on Powers taking the inside line on the final turn onto the pavement. He would use a tailwind on the finishing sprint to win by 12 seconds over Powers. Curtis White (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com) would fight for third, escaping teammate Cooper Willsey and riding away to the final podium spot. Ortenblad now leads the Vittoria Series for the Elite Men, with Cooper Willsey leading the U23 men’s competition.

“Jeremy was definitely riding super aggressive today, you could tell he didn’t want it to be a group again,” said Ortenblad, who currently leads the ProCX standings for men. “He split it up pretty early. He and I just kind of went back and forth for the most part. Last lap, I kinda wanted to lead through the beginning and Jeremy also wanted to, so he came around me on the technical stuff. We both rode the stairs and this run-up thing really well, and I was able to kinda hang on his wheel again. Coming into the sprint, he definitely tried to slow down and make me come through and I did, but I was able to just hold it from there.”

Tobin Ortenblad won again on Sunday. 2017 GP of Gloucester. photo: Chris McIntosh

The Vittoria Series will continue in Northampton, Mass. with the Verge Northampton International Nov. 11-12. For more information on the Vittoria Series visit necyclocross.com.

ProCX racing continues Oct. 21-22 at DCCX in metro Washington, D.C. Races are part of the BikeReg Cyclocross Super Series, and Elite Women and Elite Men competitions are part of USA Cycling’s Professional Cyclocross Calendar (ProCX). DCCX was named the “best local bike race” of 2017 by Washington City Paper, noting that the venue used for the two-day event, The Armed Forces Retirement Home, is normally closed to the public.

Women's Results - 2017 Gran Prix of Gloucester Day 2

Men's Results - 2017 Gran Prix of Gloucester Day 2