Justin Lindine raced to a strong third place in the men’s race at the Qiansen Trophy UCI C2 Cyclocross Event. © Cyclocross Magazine
Lindine rolled in for third, his second podium of the year after finishing second behind Todd Wells at Nittany. “This whole trip has been pretty awesome,” he said. “I didn’t know what to expect with the race, but they put together a great course. The race itself… There was an interesting assortment of people and you didn’t know how anyone was going to ride.”
He explained how his race played out, saying, “I got a front row call up, which was great, so I tried to have a good start. There was some chaos on the first lap with the stairs, but made it through cleanly. I was riding in second for a while but Thijs attacked and was gone. I was towing his teammate around until he attacked me too. I was pretty psyched with third, there was a lot of talent.”
Lindine added, “I was afraid I would not live up to that start position so I was glad I proved that I deserved to be on the front row.”
Raleigh’s Steve Fisher finished sixth with a strong second half. Elite Men, Qiansen Trophy UCI C2 Cyclocross Event. © Cyclocross Magazine
Raleigh / HiFi wheels’ Steve Fisher also had a strong ride, moving through the field to finish sixth. “China as a whole has been awesome. The course is fun, it has some steep drops that you don’t see in the US,” he said. “The race went excellent. I got sixth which was way above my expectations. I’m coming off a big road season and the travel went well for me.”
China’s first UCI men’s podium. Jouffroy, Al, and Lindine. Elite Men, Qiansen Trophy UCI C2 Cyclocross Event. © Cyclocross Magazine
The American Dream
Several other Americans proved to be contenders for parts of the race, with Brian Matter starting strong in the lead group behind Lindine. Matter would later drop back from fourth to fade to 14th. “I was 14th, it was quite the experience,” he explained. “The course was good. Fast. I felt like in the bumpy sections everyone complained but I felt really good there. I had a great start, I was battling for top five the first half of the race. I knew I was way above my head but you can’t just stop when you’re in the top five. Got popped off the back of that group and was in no man’s land. Then I was just hanging on for dear life.”
