(St. Louis, MO) – Competitors at the 2014 Gateway Cross Cup in St. Louis, MO saw an entirely new course from years past and unseasonably warm temperatures that sought to test the rider’s limits and provide dynamic racing to both the men’s and women’s fields.
With the sun creeping down the horizon, the men’s field leapt off the line at blistering speeds and took to the hilly, undulating course with a fury meant to break the race to pieces as quickly as possible. The opening laps saw a driving pace at the front due to the efforts of Cody Kaiser, Troy Wells, Zach McDonald and the Raleigh Clement duo of Ben Berden and Jamey Driscoll.
The relentless pace forced many riders off the back as a group of fifteen pried themselves loose in the early stages of the race. With the fast dry conditions, Wells sensed the need for an attack and surged to the front in the fourth lap, whittling the lead group down to five with McDonald, the Raleigh riders and a storming Brian Matter hanging on.
A couple of laps later, Driscoll and Berden set a pace that pulled them clear of the break and it looked like they would ride together for a Raleigh Clement one-two. Berden ultimately lost the front and was caught by Matter while Driscoll built a commanding lead. Berden held on for second with a late surge, as Brian Matter took third. Zach McDonald appeared to wilt in the heat and dropped down the lead group, eventually finishing 11th.
As explosive as the men’s race was, the women’s race was as much a war of attrition as the top of the field fought the grueling course and searing heat. Courtney McFadden and Nicole Duke both drove the pace early on and split the field into groups from the start. A lead group of five formed with last year’s winner Amanda Miller, Duke, McFadden, Erica Zaveta and Samantha Schneider of IS-Corp all in the mix. Dangling just behind, Caroline Mani of Raleigh Clement tried to keep the leaders in sight while local rider Sunny Gilbert of Michelob Ultra Big Shark hung gamely between.
As the lead group fragmented and faded, the steady diesel approach of Gilbert and Mani paid off as both made contact with the front group and put themselves into podium position. Gilbert took the lead for half a lap before being overtaken by Erica Zaveta who soloed in for the win ahead of Gilbert and Mani.
The Gateway Cross Cup continues tomorrow with day two at Queeny Park in St. Louis. If day one is any indication, the field will have as much competition from the course and the unseasonable heat as from their competitors.
2014 Gateway Cross Cup Women's Elite Race Full Results
Result | First Name | Last Name | Team | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Erica | Zaveta | Team Redline | 46:20.0 |
2 | Sunny | Gilbert | Michelob Ultra - Big Shark Racing | 46:41.0 |
3 | Caroline | Mani | Raleigh / Clement | 47:22.0 |
4 | Amanda | Miller | UCI WPT: Team TIBCO/ To the Top | 47:40.0 |
5 | Nicole | Duke | Marin/SPY | 48:10.0 |
6 | Emily | Kachorek | 48:32.0 | |
7 | Amanda | Carey | 49:13.0 | |
8 | Carol jeane | Sansome | County Cycles Masters CX p/b Trek | 49:36.0 |
9 | Samantha | Schneider | ISCORP | 50:20.0 |
10 | Katherine | Kelter | Team Colavita/ Parisi Coffee | 50:32.0 |
11 | Ksenia | Lepikhina | SDG Bellwether pb Krema Peanut Butt | 50:42.0 |
12 | Jennifer | Nichols | Infinity Racing/Tom Williams BMW-Mi | 50:47.0 |
13 | Samantha | Runnels | Team Super Awesome | 50:47.0 |
14 | Mackenzie | Woodring | U.S. National Paralympic Cycling Te | 51:36.0 |
15 | Nicole | Brandt | La Grange | 51:47.0 |
16 | Laurel | Rathbun | Raleigh/Clement | 52:46.0 |
17 | Rachel | Dobrozsi | Red Zone Cycling | 52:54.0 |
18 | Sarah | Szefi | PSIMET Racing | 53:28.0 |
19 | Katie | Isermann | PSIMET Racing | 53:48.0 |
20 | Katherine | Santos | Red Zone Cycling | 53:58.0 |
21 | Mackenzie | Green | Red Zone Cycling | 54:14.0 |
22 | Heidi | Wood | 333fab CX Factory Team | 54:39.0 |
23 | Lindsay | Zucco | PSIMET Racing | |
24 | Courtenay | Mcfadden | ||
25 | Elizabeth | So | Team TATI |
2014 Gateway Cross Cup Men's Elite Race Full Results
Result | First | Last | Team | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jamey | Driscoll | Raleigh / Clement | 01:51.0 |
2 | Ben | Berden | Raleigh / Clement | 02:06.0 |
3 | Brian | Matter | Team Wisconsin / Clif Bar | 02:20.0 |
4 | Travis | Livermon | UCI CT: Team SmartStop p/b Mountain | 02:58.0 |
5 | Troy | Wells | TEAM CLIF BAR Cycling | 03:17.0 |
6 | Tristan | Uhl | 787 Racing | 03:22.0 |
7 | Mitchell | Hoke | UCI CT/WPT: Team Optum p/b Kelly Be | 03:36.0 |
8 | Jake | Wells | 03:36.0 | |
9 | Lewis | Gaffney | 03:47.0 | |
10 | Benjamin | Sonntag | Team Clif Bar | 04:21.0 |
11 | Zach | Mcdonald | KCCX Elite Cyclocross Team p/b Chal | 04:55.0 |
12 | Christopher | Jones | UCI PCT/WPT: UnitedHealthcare | 05:01.0 |
13 | Adam | York | Cyclocross Network Racing | 05:16.0 |
14 | Robert | Marion | Carpediem Racing | 05:29.0 |
15 | Steve | Fisher | UCI CT: Jelly Belly Cycling | 05:37.0 |
16 | Maxx | Chance | 05:49.0 | |
17 | Nicholas | Lemke | HiFi/TheFeed/CraftHairStudio | 06:15.0 |
18 | Ian | Mcpherson | 06:28.0 | |
19 | Ian | Haupt | Milwaukee Bicycle Company Racing | 06:29.0 |
20 | Cody | Kaiser | LangeTwins/Specialized | 07:14.0 |
21 | Braden | Kappius | TEAM CLIF BAR Cycling | 07:24.0 |
22 | Spencer | Downing | Clif Bar Development Cross Team | 07:27.0 |
23 | Andrew | Reardon | Sophisticated Living/Bobs Red Mill | 07:29.0 |
24 | Kyle | Russ | Brazen Dropouts Cycling Team | 07:49.0 |
25 | Gabe | Varele | Vertical Earth | 07:50.0 |
26 | Michael | Dutczak | South Chicago Wheelmen | 09:14.0 |
27 | Gerald | Drummond | De Pijp Racing | |
28 | Zachary | Carlson | Matrix/RBM | |
29 | Josh | Johnson | Michelob Ultra - Big Shark Racing T | |
30 | Alex | Ryan | Mock Orange Bikes Pro CX Team | |
31 | Travis | Braun | Revolution Cycles | |
32 | Josh | Bauer | Twin Six | |
33 | Maxwell | Ackermann | ISCorp Cycling/NCSF | |
34 | Mark | Norton | KS Energy Services / Team Wisconsin | |
35 | Taylor | Squillaci | Get Out! | |
36 | David | Reyes | Heritage Race Club | |
37 | Jay | Strothman | Off the Front Racing | |
38 | Craig | Wohlschlaeger | Giant Southwest Racing | |
39 | Kaitin | Waterman | ||
40 | Adam | Finck | Team Velocity Bike Shop | |
41 | Andrew | Giniat | ||
42 | Brett | Heuring | Dogfish Racing Team | |
43 | Michael | Dogfish Racing Team | ||
44 | Nathan | Brown | ||
45 | Matthew | Kelley | Quantum Mesa Cycles | |
46 | Kevin | Bradford-parish | ||
47 | Dylan | Postier | EVOKE Racing | |
48 | Jim | Wood | ||
49 | Tavis | Werts | ||
50 | J p | Brocket | Ethos Racing | |
51 | Ryan | Knapp | ||
52 | Eric | Thompson | Mt. Borah Epic Team | |
53 | Skyler | Mackey | Team Soundpony | |
54 | Tyler | Cloutier | ||
55 | Isaac | Neff | 5Nines/Motorless Motion |