Velo Bella’s Amy Dombroski’s time at home in Vermont has paid off, as she’s continued her winning ways by taking perhaps the biggest Elite Women win of her young career by winning Day 1 of the Gran Prix of Gloucester. Dombroski battled a group of four other women to win the first half of New England Worlds. Ryan Trebon (Kona) on the other hand is used to big wins, and picked up his 5th win on the home turf of Tim Johnson. Full report below.
Report by Alan Atwood
Dombroski’s weekend got off to a rough start as a first lap crash on Saturday put her in the second group on lap 1. But she eventually recovered to take the lead in a group with Sally Annis (NEBC/CycleLoft/Devonshire Dental), Sarah Kerlin (HRS/Rock Lobster), and Rebecca Wellons (Ridley). The foursome dueled most of the rest of the race until Kerlin ran out of gas, leaving the group at 3. Dombroski then decided to put pressure on the remaining 2 others, sprinting out of the gate on the last lap and holding it for a solo win. Annis surprised Wellons on the final climb with a sprint for 2nd place that left the Ridley rider perplexed and shooting for a better performance tomorrow.
All the pre-race hype for the men centered around the battle between the last 2 national champions, past national champ Trebon and current champ Tim Johnson (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com). But on day 1 the action was centered around 2 others, NECCS leader Jamey Driscoll (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com) and a returning Jesse Anthony (Jamis), who was sporting a wrapped right wrist and was eager to get going with the cross season after fracturing the wrist just ten weeks ago. Anthony managed to get himself in the first group after 2 laps, surprising even himself when questioned about it later. But Driscoll raised everyone’s eyebrows by dropping the rest of the group and was able to maintain a 15-20 second lead solo in the middle of the race. That was just perfect for teammate Johnson, who forced Trebon to do all the chasing and the threesome eventually caught Driscoll with 2 to go. A series of bursts by Trebon then blew the group apart, popping a tired Driscoll first and then letting Anthony go. Johnson held on for dear life but also eventually was popped from Trebon’s wheel, giving round 1 of the battle to the Kona superstar. Johnson and Anthony held on to take the remaining podium spots.
Photos by Paul Weiss:
 leads down the hill on the way to the win .JPG "Dombrowski in the lead")
 goes on a solo fly off the front early in the race.JPG "Jamie Driscoll")
 leads Tim Johnson (Cannondale Cyclocross world).JPG "Ryan Trebon leads Tim Johnson")
