Johnson Fends off Powers, Miller Solos for Win, Gloucester Day 2 – Race Report and Full Results

Meredith Miller took the win on day two in Gloucester. File photo © Bart Hazen

by Marion Hambrick

Gloucester, MA – The Elite Women and Men returned for Day Two of the Great Brewers Gran Prix of Gloucester. Meredith Miller (California Giant-Specialized) soloed to her first win after a close second-place finish on Day One. On the men’s side, the Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com train steamed through the Gloucester station, with teammates Tim Johnson, Jeremy Powers and Jamey Driscoll earning the one-two-three finish.

Miller Dominates Start to Finish
Laura van Gilder (C3-Athletes Serving Athletes) and Meredith Miller (California Giant-Specialized) sprinted for the finish with the win going to van Gilder on Day One. Would van Gilder earn a second victory in Gloucester, or would Miller return the favor? In the end, Miller upped the ante and soloed in for the Day Two win.

The race unfolded as Miller took the early lead with van Gilder on her wheel. Sally Annis (Crossresults.com p/b JRA Cycles), Wendy Simms (Kona) and Maureen Bruno-Roy (Bob’s Red Mill p/b Seven Cycles) chasing the two leaders. At one point, Simms passed Miller during a run-up but couldn’t hold the lead. Miller regained the top spot with two laps to go and soloed off the front, gaining a 10-second gap on the chasers. With one lap to go, Miller widened the gap to 20 seconds, while Annis, van Gilder, Bruno-Roy and Natasha Elliott (Garneau-Club Chaussure-Ogilvy) gave chase. In the end, Miller’s torrid pace proved too much for the racers as they soon turned their attention to the remaining podium spots. In a repeat of the previous day’s finish, van Gilder found herself in another sprint to the line, this time with Annis. The powerful road sprint of van Gilder is tough to beat, and Annis had to settle for third on the day.

After a close second-place finish Saturday, Miller celebrated Sunday’s solo win, tweeting, “Finally! Phew, feels good to get the win! Thanks Gloucester for some awesome racing.”

Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com Too Tough to Handle
Jeremy Powers (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) clinched Saturday’s win after teammate Tim Johnson was forced to make an untimely bike change during the last lap. Day Two found Powers looking for back-to-back victories and Johnson seeking a reversal of fortune after Saturday’s mechanical.

Powers created an early gap between himself and Johnson, Jamey Driscoll, (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com), Ryan Trebon (Kona), Luca Damiani (Kenda p/b Geargrinder) and Davide Frattini (Hudz-Subaru). Powers set a fast pace, gaining a 12-second gap and splintering the field. Johnson and Damiani aligned to form the first chase group, while Trebon, Driscoll, Valentin Scherz (Cyfac-Champion System p/b Revolution Wheelworks) and Jesse Anthony (California Giant-Specialized) queued up behind.

With Powers still at the front, Johnson and Driscoll made repeated moves to catch the race leader. The three combined forces and eventually the Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com train put a 20-second gap on Damiani, Anthony and Frattini. Driscoll later fell back as Johnson and Powers went head-to-head. With one lap to go, Johnson put some distance between himself and Powers and the gap never closed. Johnson finished first with Powers in second and Driscoll in third. Damiani outsprinted fellow Italian Frattini for fourth and fifth, respectively, while Anthony finished sixth.

Elite Women:

Elite Men:

Stay tuned for race photos!