Gomez Villafane, Brunner Score Exciting Wins at Major Taylor Cross Cup Day 2 – Report, Results, Photos

.INDIANAPOLIS, IND.—Racers returned to Indy Cycloplex in Indianapolis for UCI Category 2 races on Sunday at Major Taylor Cross Cup.  Temperatures in the low-40s and dry conditions led to fast and tactical racing for both Elite Women and Men’s events.

The two final contests of the weekend were battles for points on USA Cycling’s Pro Cyclocross Calendar (ProCX) and for Ohio Valley Cyclocross (OVCX) Series.

Sofia Gomez Villafane (Argentina/Pivot Maxxis p/b Stan’s DNA Cycling) overcame a mistake halfway through the Elite Women’s event to take back-to-back victories. In the Elite Men’s contest, Eric Brunner (Boulder, Colo./FCX Elite) outsprinted Saturday’s winner Drew Dillman (Fairdale, Ky./SDG Factory Team) to claim his first ProCX victory of the season. Both winners had to recover from errors to take the win.

Cyclocross was on the marquee at the Major Taylor Velodrome. 2018 Major Taylor Cross Cup Day 2. © Mike Almert, Action Images Indy

Gomez Villafane Goes Two-for-Two

Similar to Saturday’s event, Gomez Villafane and her teammate Courtenay McFadden (Bellingham, Wash./Pivot Maxxis pb Stan’s DNACycling) went to the front of the 32-rider field early in the Elite Women’s race. By the end of the first lap, the duo had been joined by Sunny Gilbert (Ellisville, Mo./Van Dessel Factory Team), and Emma Swartz (Madison, Wisc./Marian University Cycling).

Emma Swartz leads out the holeshot. 2018 Major Taylor Cross Cup Day 2. © Mike Almert, Action Images Indy

But unlike Saturday’s race, a mistake caused Gomez Villafane to fall off the pace, dropping her into the chase group with Jennifer Malik (Columbus, Ohio) and Raylin Nuss (Lake St. Louis, Mo./Gateway Harley-Davidson Trek).

“I just made a shifting error, it’s really bumpy and my chain came off. I really should run a chain catcher, but I’ve been too lazy to buy one to be honest so there’s my karma. But it was a good day to practice the mental side of it all,”  Gomez Villafane explained.

At the front, Gilbert and Swartz worked hard to increase the gap while McFadden played the team card.

“I really, really chased. Thankfully one of the three people up front was my team mate and she wasn’t doing any work and it really benefited me a lot,” added Gomez Villafane.

Courtenay McFadden was back battling for a podium spot on Sunday. 2018 Major Taylor Cross Cup Day 2. © Mike Almert, Action Images Indy

One lap later, Gomez Villafane has closed the 20-seconds gap to rejoin McFadden and Gilbert at the front. Meanwhile, Swartz was yo-yoing off the back of the lead group, burning matches to try and keep up with the fast pace. The four were back together at the start of the bell lap. Gilbert put in an attack to lead through the technical sections but the group stayed together as they sprinted to the finish line.

Emma Swartz took her turn at the front of the lead group. 2018 Major Taylor Cross Cup Day 2. © Mike Almert, Action Images Indy

Gomez-Villafane finished the five-lap event in 43 minutes, 57 seconds. Crossing the line just behind were McFadden, who took second, and Swartz in third. It was the second podium of the weekend for Swartz, who finished second in Saturday’s contest.

Sofia Gomez Villafane celebrates her win. 2018 Major Taylor Cross Cup Day 2. © Mike Almert, Action Images Indy

“The course dried up a little bit more, I’m running a file thread on my rear, so I thought it was going to be a lot faster and a lot more tactical. I was a little tired from yesterday’s effort so there was a lot of sitting in, and I ended having to do a lot of chasing in this race. It just shows that the race isn’t over until you cross the finish line,” Gomez Villafane said of the Sunday race.

Women’s podium: Sofia Gomez Villafane, Courtenay McFadden and Emma Swartz. 2018 Major Taylor Cross Cup Day 2. © Mike Almert, Action Images Indy

Brunner Edges Out Win Over Dillman

After a fast start quickly shattered the 27-rider field, Brunner, Dillman, Jamey Driscoll (Park City, Utah/Pivot Maxxis pb Stan’s DNA Cycling) and Caleb Swartz (Madison Wisc./Marian University Cycling) formed the lead group.

Slick corners and tired legs re-shuffled the front group in the first few laps. Brunner and Driscoll took advantage of a crash by Dillman to get a five-second gap to the closest chaser. But halfway through the eight-lap event, Brunner slid out and had to chase back onto the group. Soon after, a flat slowed him down.

“I was in the front from early on and then I just had a few mistakes, I had a little bobble in the field about midway through the race. I had a flat with three to go and switches bikes and chased back on,” explained Brunner who wasn’t sure he could chase back to the lead group. “I really didn’t know because Driscoll came around me, he saw that I had a flat so I knew that he was going to push it. Once I got a new bike though, I was pretty confident.”

Brunner made it back to the lead duo of Driscoll and Dillman with two laps to go. The bell lap brought a few test attacks by Brunner before he made his move on the barriers.

Jamey Driscoll leads Drew Dillman and Eric Brunner. 2018 Major Taylor Cross Cup Day 2. © Mike Almert, Action Images Indy

“I pushed it a couple of times early in the lap but I saw that he [Dillman] was pretty strong, we dropped Driscoll. I knew that I was the only one hopping barriers so I just knew that I had to get around him before that,”  Brunner said of his dueling with Dillman.

Eric Brunner hopped the barriers and edged out a narrow win. 2018 Major Taylor Cross Cup Day 2. © Mike Almert, Action Images Indy

“He took the barriers a lot faster than I expected,” Brunner said. “He was still on my wheel coming into the last straight. I didn’t know until the very end.”

Drew Dillman and Eric Brunner battle at the front. 2018 Major Taylor Cross Cup Day 2. © Mike Almert, Action Images Indy

In a tight two-man sprint, Brunner took the victory in a time of 1 hour, 1 minute, 51 seconds. Dillman was second.

Photo finish. 2018 Major Taylor Cross Cup Day 2. © Mike Almert, Action Images Indy

Saturday’s runner-up Driscoll crossed the line 36 seconds later for third place.

Men’s podium: Eric Brunner, Drew Dillman and Jamey Driscoll. 2018 Major Taylor Cross Cup Day 2. © Mike Almert, Action Images Indy

Next Up on Pro CX Calendar

Following a break for Thanksgiving holiday, ProCX races return Dec. 1-2 with dual events in Rhode Island and Texas.

The NBX Grand Prix of Cyclocross, now in its 14th season, will feature Category 1 races on Saturday for the first time, followed by C2 events on Sunday.

The event returns to Goddard Memorial State Park, which features fire pits scattered around the course and Christmas lights on the carousel. NBX Gran Prix of Cyclocross is one of 18 two-day ProCX events across the country. It is also the fourth and final weekend for the Vittoria Northeast Cyclocross Series presented by Clif Bar and Cycle-Smart.

Visit the website at nbxbikes.com

The Resolution Cross Cup returns to Garland, Texas for two days of UCI C2 races. It is the seventh year for the cyclocross event and the only ProCX racing in Texas. All races are hosted by the Texas Cross Syndicate.

Races are held at the Winters Park Amphitheater in Garland (Northeast Dallas), with amateur events being the third and final weekend of the North Texas Cyclocross Race Series (NTXCX). This year’s course includes a new wooded section, varied use of the park’s steep contour and a new stairs section.

Visit the website at texascross.com.

Full race results for the Elite and Junior Men races are below.

Elite Women's Results: 2018 Major Taylor Cross Cup

Elite Men's Results: 2018 Major Taylor Cross Cup

Junior Men Results: 2018 Major Taylor Cross Cup