Johnson and Van Gilder Take Day 2 at Supercross – Gallery, Report, Results

Van Gilder pushes to the win at Supercross Cup Day 2 2013. © Meg McMahon

On Sunday at Supercross Cup, Mid-Atlantic superwoman Laura Van Gilder and Massachusetts’ Tim Johnson took the wins in their respective races. In the women’s race, Van Gilder was followed by Arley Kemmerer and, for her second day in third and another fantastic result for the young racer, Emma White in third. In the men’s race, Johnson took the win for the second day in a row, while Jeremy Durrin was able to redeem himself from the day prior when, after a great start, he slipped back to fifth at the end. Kerry Werner scooped up the last podium spot.

by Marc Bertucco

STONY POINT, NY—On the second day of Supercross Cup presented by the Kissena Cycling Club and Hampton Velo, well over 700 amateur and professional racers alike were abruptly reminded that in late November, in northerly places like New York, it gets cold…really cold. Swirling, bitter winds resulted in a National Weather Service warning, “flying” iron course barricades and “feels like” temperatures in the single digits. Fortunately, when it was time for the UCI C2 elite fields to take to the sinewy course, filled with short punchy climbs, rooty off-camber descending turns, and an asphalt straight-away long enough to have everyone fighting for a spot in the draft, things got hot.

After having to settle for second on day 1 to an on-form Arley Kemmerer (C3-Twenty20 Cycling Co.), Laura Van Gilder (Van Dessel Factory Team p/b Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers) took a decisive win on day 2. On the men’s side, Tim Johnson (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld) added to his win column for a second straight day.

Elite Women

Without wasting a second of their 40-minute race, an elite group of five riders, including Kemmerer, Van Gilder, Emma White (Cyclocrossworld.com), Amanda Carey (Stan’s No Tubes Elite) and Cassandra Maximenko (Rare Vos Racing/Van Dessel/Powerbar) quickly separated themselves from the 33-rider field. As the screws were turned and the gap to the field grew, Maximenko was the first of the leaders to come unglued. She clung to a seven second gap for the remainder of the lap before Kemmerer pushed the pace through the grassy, infield “twisty-turnies.” Leading into an awkwardly spaced concrete staircase run-up, only Van Gilder could match the pace of the rider from Charm City.

And then the lead group of five, became two distinct groups of two with the fifth chasing both from behind. By the last half of the last lap, Kemmerer and Van Gilder had extended their lead to 27 seconds over White and Carey. Van Gilder was the first to hit the finishing pavement with a few seconds in hand and crushed the final sprint in her trademark style. Kemmerer easily rolled in for second. The battle for third had its own subplot as Carey found herself, with one lap to go, yo-yoing off the rear wheel of White. White kept the turbos on full boost and took third, with Carey coming in for fourth. Rounding out the top five was Maximenko.

Elite Men

In a repeat of day one’s start, Jeremy Durrin (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) nails day two’s hole-shot, a rising right hand bend, the first of many punchy climbs. After three laps, an unexpectedly large group of nine, including Durrin, Johnson, Mike Garrigan (Van Dessel Factory Team), Kerry Werner Jr. (MOB CX Team), Curtis White (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld), Cameron Dodge (Scott Cross Team), Robert Marion (American Classic Pro CX Team), Christian Favata (TRT Bicycles p/b Stan’s No Tubes) and Michael Van den Ham (Cycle-Smart) get cleanly away from rest of the field.

Just one lap later, Durrin, not content to race to the finish line with such a large group, revs up the turbo and keeps it floored for the next two laps; only Johnson, Werner, White and Dodge stayed with him in the lead. The pace and attacks were relentless; the group of five remained intact until 2 laps to go when Johnson, heretofore riding “quietly,” pushed pace, carving turns on the grassy infield like he was a sharp knife on Thanksgiving. Cannondale teammate White lost contact, as did Dodge, leaving Durrin and Werner fighting for second place. Coming into the final sprint, Johnson took his second win of the weekend, adding 70 points to his total in the USA Cycling Pro CX standing, moving him ahead of Ben Berden and just behind Jeremy Powers.

With C1 racing in Bend and World Cup racing after that, Jeremy Durrin’s second place finish is not only his best of the season, but is perhaps indicative that he’s coming into form at the perfect time of the year. Warner finished in third, White in fourth and Marion rounded out the top five.

Gallery below results.

Supercross Cup Day 2 Elite Women Results 2013

Supercross Cup Day 2 Elite Men Results 2013

Supercross Cup Day 2 Gallery from Meg McMahon