Powers Fights for First After Barrier Crash, Wyman Keeps her Winning Ways at Rapha Super Cross Gloucester: Updated – Full Results

Wyman takes another win, Miller and Anthony Crash Out

Helen Wyman rode superb from start to finish. Durrin was able to ride to third with Kaitlin Antonneau taking second. © Andrew Reimann

Forget the muddy or cold Gloucester cyclocross of years past. For the last two years, Gloucester has provided a venue of clear skies and dusty lines: great for the spectators, a difficult challenge for riders. Corners were harder to hold with the loose gravel and of course, the heat was brutal for the high intensity racing. For the fourth straight weekend, waterbottles on the bikes of elite riders like those shown on Wyman and Anthony’s bikes above were not an uncommon sight.

At the start of the course, Helen Wyman (Kona) and Meredith Miller (Noosa) both contested the holeshot up the pavement leading to the back of the course. For the first part of the race, Miller dictated most of the speed up front, rarely catching the view of dust picked up from tires. Near the end of lap two, she had to pull into the pit area for a bike exchange, which cost her the front placing as she followed the lead group of eight riders.

Meredith Miller was able to give Wyman a few scares during the race until a crash took her out of the race. © Andrew Reimann

Wyman, Crystal Anthony (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies), and Miller were soon trading places with a few laps to go, while Kaitlin Antonneau (Twenty16 Professional Cycling Team) and Gabby Durrin (Team Neon Velo) both were able to make their presence felt in the lead pack.

With a lap and a half left, Anthony’s front wheel slid out from her and both she and Miller were caught up in a brutal crash, with Miller cutting her knee open, by some accounts on the rocks in the course, by others, a part of Anthony’s bike such as the chainring. The course spectators at Gloucester got to show up the Giro VIP tent in the CrossVegas crowd as true cyclocross fans; several of them helped Miller, keeping pressure on her wound and stop the bleeding until paramedics came by.

Meanwhile, Wyman was able to dig in for a lead with Antonneau and Durrin able to remain in her review mirror. A small sandpit sat at the front end of the course, and likely Wyman was able to use this as a slight advantage, although probably not as well as the four stretches of sand in Charm City Cyclocross the week before.

Once she caught the pavement, she sprinted forward, and had enough time to lift her arm in the air before crossing the line. Antonneau followed behind in second with Durrin taking third.

Miller and Crystal Anthony descend after Wyman. Both women looked strong throughout a race, but after a nasty crash around this area, they needed to pull out. © Andrew Reimann

Currently, Miller is in the hospital getting taken care of, likely bypassing Sunday’s race. Anthony, although a little bruised and battered, thanked everyone for their support on Instagram, and looks to be ready to throw herself back in the gauntlet for a second day.

Powers Puts Forth Two Big Attacks for First Place, Timmerman Craftily Gets Second

Jeremy Powers shows smooth remounting action right after one of Gloucester’s many run-ups. © Andrew Reimann

In the first lap into the race, it looked like the Rapha Super Cross might turn into a duel between Allen Krughoff (Noosa) and Jonathan Page (Fuji/Spy). Both riders looked incredibly strong, and it was Krughoff that made the first large attack going into the race. Over an hour before the race started, he told us he was suffering from a cold, but looked like he had shuffled of the effects at the start line.

After a few laps in, Lukas Winterburg (MG-Cycling Team) successfully chased down Krughoff and created a full ten second gap of his own, while Jeremy Powers (Aspire Racing) and Tim Johnson (Cannondale Cyclocrossworld) worked back with Krughoff.

Halfway through the race, Powers decided it was time to launch his attack.

Eight seconds after Powers came through, the small chase group followed, all battling each other for the tight space they had. © Andrew Reimann

About 2/3rds through the race, Jeremy Powers’s bike had a nasty spill (pictures below), although miraculously, Powers was somehow able to keep himself upright. With his bike ripped from his hands and behind him, Powers bled a good deal of time, allowing the rest of the pack to catch up.

Soon after, Powers put in a second effort, and this one stuck, giving him a sizable gap on the rest of the field as he came in for first.

Powers created two large gaps during the course of the race, but the last one, shown here, stuck to the end. © Andrew Reimann

Dan Timmerman (House Industries/SimpleHuman/Richard Sachs) played the part of the cyclocross sage well today. Caught with a large chasing group, he attacked at the right moment in the course, putting in a sizable amount of time with two laps to go.

Jamey Driscoll (Raleigh/Clement) quietly worked his way through the field today, and by the time he reached his teammate, Ben Berden, the two of them began working together to chase Timmerman down. Their efforts were in vain, though, as the rider with the steel bike was able to take second. Berden was able to put in a last effort for third.

Dan Timmerman attacked at the right time, and kept off the others for the last two laps. © Andrew Reimann

Anatomy of a Crash Gone Well

When most of us take barriers at elite-level speed and stumble, it’s difficult to avoid pulling a “Joey is Okay.” Halfway thorough the men’s race, Jeremy Powers grazed the first barrier, and somehow managed to have the cognizance to safely get himself over the second barrier. The move cost him a solid ten seconds as he dropped his bike behind him, but it could have been far worse. Amazing to think he smiled to the crowd right after, and then put in a second major dig in the race.

Rapha Super Cross Day 1 Women

Rapha Super Cross Day 1 Men