by Austin Turner
The Ogden CX race course used to be a landfill. Now it’s a world class, year-round, cyclocross venue. The newly designated Ogden Cyclocross Park brought out strong fields in its inaugural race, with equal pay-out to the Men and Women’s Pro races. Steep, long climbs and a challenging sand-pit forced many splits in the fields and created decisive race moves. With high goals to build the race and venue, along with strong community and city government support, Ogden CX presented by TRP Brakes claimed its stake in the cyclocross racing scene and community as a race to attend and keep on the future radar.
Caroline Mani (Raleigh-Clement) rode away with the women’s race victory, but not without early contention. 14-year old Park City resident, and current Junior Cyclocross National Champion, Katie Clouse (Alpha Bicycle Co.) hung with Mani for the opening lap, much to the local crowd’s excitement. Despite fading, Clouse traded places with Mindy McCutcheon (Canyon Bicycles) before attacking hard on uphill barriers in the final lap to secure her well-deserved second place spot. McCutheon rolled into an impressive third place after already racing earlier in the day. Laura Winberry (Speedvagen) from Bend, Oregon raced smoothly and consistently to fourth while Lindsay Wetzel-Polin (Sprintin’ Kitten) rounded out the top spots in fifth.
Jamie Driscoll, along with teammate Kerry Werner (Raleigh-Clement) went to work early in the last race of the day, with the duo distancing themselves from the field in the first lap. After just three more laps, and a strong chasing group consisting of Troy Wells (Clif-Bar), Ben Berden (WCup-Stoemper) and Justin Lindine (Apex Tech. – NBX), Driscoll made the move to forge ahead solo. Driscoll went ahead to comfortably win by over a minute on the next finisher. Werner and Wells exchanged positions on the continuing laps before Wells was able to put a gap on Werner and ride into second place. Local Ogden resident, Lindine appeared to be chipping away at fourth place finisher Berden, but wasn’t able to fully close the gap, bringing home a fifth place finish. Notable finishes from Molly Cameron (Portland Bicycle Studio) in sixth place and Jonathan Page (Fuji/Spy) in ninth place gave spectators a cyclocross A-list cast at the Ogden Cyclocross Park.
Caroline Mani (Raleigh Clement) leads the pack through the sand pit first lap. © Catherine Fegan-Kim
