by Jacob Sisson, Photo by Michael Franken
Unfortunately for Todd Wells (GT Bicycles), his win on the second day of the Whitmores Landscaping Supercross Cup was overshadowed by the bad luck by two of his colleagues. Wells, however, performed masterfully in handily winning day two, despite having to work very hard to take the top step of the podium. Both Ryan Trebon (Kona) and Jeremy Powers (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com) were the victim of rear flat tires, scuttling the chances for Trebon to repeat his day one win and for Powers to possibly take the top step of the podium.
As the gun went off on Sunday’s affair, it was Andy Jacques-Maynes (Specialized/KMC pb Cal Giant) taking the holeshot. Trebon, the winner on day one and the heavy favorite for a repeat victory, was riding in fifth. Little had changed in the race’s order as the field crossed the line following the opening prologue loop, and as they headed out to the first ascent of methane hill, there was a sense of tension about the field, waiting for someone to make the first move. The first move was something no one had expected. Somewhere between methane hill and the day’s second steep ride up, the integrity of Trebon’s rear wheel had failed, and Trebon was riding just ahead of the last group of riders on course.
Trebon was quick to make it to the pits, despite a slow half lap of cautious riding, and was faced with a 61 second deficit. Sensing that today could be their day, a group of five riders took up the fight at the front including Wells, Jacques-Maynes, Powers, Jesse Anthony (Jamis) and Jamey Driscoll (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com). Just behind them was the day’s standout rider, Nick Keough (Sonic/Louis Garneau), who was having one of the best rides of his young career.
It didn’t take long for the heads of state to emerge from the lead group. Wells and Powers were both looking to improve on their efforts from the first day, with Powers trying to move up from second and Wells hoping to move up from third. Wells and Powers took turns attacking the lead group, and soon had removed Anthony, Driscoll and Jacques-Maynes. Anthony and Driscoll would spend much of the race together trying to haul themselves back up to Wells and Powers and would never get any farther back than 30 seconds, but never any closer.
Farther back in the race, Trebon was putting on an incredible display of resilience. He started out the day 60 seconds back, and despite the fact that he’d never get any closer than 40 seconds from the leader, he was picking off riders at an alarming rate. Trebon worked his way through the 30’s, the 20’s and teens and despite still being 50 seconds shy of the lead, he found himself behind Matt White (Bikereg.com) and his teammate Erik Tonkin (Kona). White tried in vain to get away from Trebon and did managed to get away from Tonkin but soon enough, they both became Trebon’s next victims. Trebon had moved from about six away from last to sixth on the course.
Next up on the target list was Andy Jacques-Maynes. Trebon had closed the gap to the leaders to 45 seconds as he picked his way through Jacques-Maynes and set his sights on fourth. With four laps to go, Driscoll decided that if he didn’t make a move, eventually he would be a casualty of Trebon’s comeback. He laid down some power and was soon away from Anthony, who was struggling to hold off the flood of power coming from Trebon. At the front, Wells and Powers were taking turns putting in attacks to try to shed the other. Neither was making much headway as each was able to bring back the other’s attacks.
With two to go, the race hit its climax. Trebon’s return to the front had pulled back Anthony and the Kona rider was one spot away from a podium finish, something few had expected after the first lap of the race. At this point, disaster struck the front of the race. The same issue that had faced Trebon on lap one hit Jeremy Powers, when his tire went flat in the same place that Trebon was bitten. When the dust settled, Powers had dropped from fighting for the win, to chasing Jesse Anthony in fifth place. With that, Wells was free at the front of the race to cruise safely home to victory, while Driscoll, Trebon and Anthony had each moved up one place.
Wells easily held off Driscoll to take home the win, confirming his status as one of the elite racers in America. Driscoll proved that he is the real deal by cruising home in second place. Trebon made the biggest waves, however, by clawing his way back all the way to the podium. Powers would have to settle for fifth, behind Anthony and ahead of Andy Jacques-Maynes, who held on for sixth. Seventh place went to Nick Keough who had one of his best races to date.
While the victory in the North American Cyclocross Trophy standings was already assured for Ryan Trebon, there was a shakeup on the final podium. With his victory, Todd Wells was able to leapfrog Jeremy Powers for third place. Unfortunately for Powers, he would have been able to hold on to third if disaster had not hit his rear wheel.
Results
1 Todd Wells (Team GT)
2 Jamey Driscoll (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com)
3 Ryan Trebon (Kona/FSA)
4 Jesse Anthony (Team Jamis)
5 Jeremy Powers (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com)
6 Andy Jacques-Maynes (Specialized/KMC pb Cal Giant)
7 Nicholas Keough (Sonic/ Louis Garneau)
8 Matt White (BikeReg.com / Joe’s Garage)
9 Justin Spinelli (RGM Watches – Richard Sachs – Boathouse Inc)
10 Erik Tonkin (Kona)
11 Davide Frattini (Colavita Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light)
12 Derrick St. John (Stevens Cyclocross)
13 Brian Matter (Gear Grinder)
14 Adam Myerson (Cycle-Smart/Van-Dessel)
15 Sean Babcock (Team S&M)
16 Andrew Wulfkuhle (C3-Sollay.com)
17 Matt Kraus (RGM Watches – Richard Sachs – Boathouse Inc)
18 Nat Ross (Subaru-Gary Fisher)
19 Nathaniel Ward (BikeReg.com / Joe’s Garage)
20 Giancarlo Dalle Angelini (Team Redline)
21 Ryan Iddings (Lapierre USA)
22 Troy Wells (TIAA-CREF/CLIF BAR)
One lap down
23 Guillaume Nelessen (Van Dessel Factory Team)
24 Peter Bradshaw (Embrocation/Igleheart/Cambridge/Mad Alchemy)
25 Zoltan Tisza (PNIVO-Betonexpressz 2000)
26 Patrick Bradley (Rutgers University Cycling Team)
Two laps down
27 Christopher Consorto (Henrys Bikes)
Three laps down
28 Nicholas Shaffer (Human Zoom/ Pabst Blue Ribbon)
Four laps down
29 Scott Dolmat-Connell (University of Vermont Cycling Team)
30 Greg Carpenter (DEVO/NSO/Giant)
