Powers coming in for the win at the Boulder Cup. © Jesse Pisel
The USA Cycling Professional Cyclo-cross Calendar (Pro CX) greeted November with a five-event weekend. Three races in the Cincinnati area, including a UCI 1 race on Saturday, and a pair of contests in Northampton, Mass., provided a plethora of scoring opportunities for riders vying for USA Cycling’s $40,000 prize purse.
The weekend started in Covington, Ky., with the Cincy3 Darkhose Cyclo-Stampede before continuing on Saturday in Mason, Ohio, with the Cincy3 Lionhearts International-Cross After Dark, a UCI 1 race, which not only provided triple-point scoring opportunities for elite riders, but also held a UCI juniors race. The NEPCX-The Cycle-Smart International 1 and 2 were contested in Northampton, Mass., on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The Cincy3 Harbin Park race was also held on Sunday in Cincinnati.
Despite posting a pair of top-five results over the weekend, Jeremy Powers’ (Easthampton, Mass./Rapha-Focus) lead atop the Pro CX men’s standings has been cut to only three points. Ben Berden (BEL/Raleigh-Clement), who finished fourth in each of the three races in the Cincinnati area, has moved into second place with 523 points. Timothy Johnson (Topsfield, Mass./Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) broke the tie with Ryan Trebon (Bend, Ore./Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) and now owns third place outright with 497 points. Johnson won the Cincy3 races on Saturday and Sunday after placing second to Trebon on Friday. Trebon now holds fourth place with 478 points. Raphael Gagne (CAN/Rocky Mountain Factory), who won Saturday’s race in Northampton before placing second to Shawn Milne (Beverly, Mass./Keough Cyclocross p/b Felt Bicycle) in Sunday’s contest, rounds out the top five with 308 points.
Elle Anderson (San Francisco, Calif./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized), who competed in the Cincinnati-area races, finished fifth on Saturday and third on Sunday to maintain a slim lead in the Pro CX women’s standings. Anderson has now amassed 455 points through the season, only 30 points more than her closest competitor, Meredith Miller (Boulder, Colo./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized). Miller strung together three top-five results in the races in Cincinnati to close her deficit on Anderson. Katerina Nash (CZE/Luna Pro Team) won the Cincy3 women’s races on Friday and Sunday in addition to placing second in Saturday’s race to vault up the standings into third place with 405 points. Crystal Anthony (Beverly, Mass./Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) won Saturday’s race in Northampton before placing second in Sunday’s competition to hold on to fourth place with 335 points. Laura van Gilder (Cresco, Pa./Van Dessel p/b Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers) edged Anthony on Sunday after placing second to her on Saturday to move into fifth place with 314 points, only one point ahead of Katie Compton (Colorado Springs, Colo./Trek Cyclocross Collective).
The juniors riders returned to action with races on Saturday and Sunday in Ohio. Peter Goguen (Hopedale, Mass./Race Cf-Racecf.org @Racecf) remains the Pro CX juniors men’s standings leader with 170 points, 34 points ahead of Austin Vincent (Simsbury, Conn./Race Cf-Racecf.org @Racecf). David Lombardo (Crystal Lake, Ill./WCJ Racing), who won Saturday’s race in Mason, Ohio, moved into third place with 90 points. Raphael Auclair (CAN/Subway-Sigma-Pivot Cycles) dropped one spot into fourth place with 88 points, only two points behind Lombardo and 14 points ahead of Maxx Chance (Boulder, Colo./Clif Bar Development Cyclocross Team), who holds fifth place with 74 points.
Men’s Standings
- Jeremy Powers (Easthampton, Mass./Rapha-Focus) — 526
- Ben Berden (BEL/Raleigh Clement) — 523
- Timothy Johnson (Topsfield, Mass./Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) — 497
- Ryan Trebon (Bend, Ore./Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) — 478
- Raphael Gagne (CAN/Rocky Mountain Factory) — 308
Women’s Standings
- Elle Anderson (San Francisco, Calif./California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized) — 455
- Meredith Miller (Boulder, Colo./California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized) — 425
- Katerina Nash (CZE/Luna Pro Team) — 405
- Crystal Anthony (Beverly, Mass./Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) — 335
- Laura Van Gilder (Cresco, Pa./Van Dessel p/b Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers) — 314
Juniors Men’s Standings
- Peter Goguen (Hopedale, Mass./Race Cf-Racecf.Org @Racecf) — 170
- Austin Vincent (Simsbury, Conn./Race Cf-Racecf.Org @Racecf) — 136
- David Lombardo (Crystal Lake, Ill./WCJ Racing) — 90
- Raphael Auclair (CAN/Subway-Sigma-Pivot Cycles) — 88
- Maxx Chance (Boulder, Colo./Clif Bar Development Cyclocross Team) — 74
