The men’s podium at Rochester: Zach McDonald, Raphael Gagne and Anthony Clark (L to R). © Anthony Clark
While looming gray clouds threatened rain all day at Ellison Park in Rochester, New York, today, the sky stayed rain-free as racers sailed around the course, which featured some technical sections as well as some strength-sapping hills.
Day 1 Women’s Elite Podium – 1st – Laura Van Gilder, 2nd Mo Bruno Roy and 3rd Natasha Elliott. © Brian Boucheron
In the women’s race, it was Laura Van Gilder (Mellow Mushroom/Van Dessel), Mo Bruno Roy (Bob’s Red Mill) and Emma White who took an early lead. White was dropped from the leaders and eventually fell back to fifth—an amazing race for the first-year UCI racer, and Van Gilder and Bruno Roy battled in earnest at the front, launching attacks and vying for position. Eventually, Van Gilder attacked—an atypical move for the sprinter—and took the win over Bruno Roy, who easily rolled in for second. Canadian racer Natasha Elliot moved up through the course of the race to round out the podium.
Zach McDonald hops the barriers on Saturday at Ellison Park. © Brian Boucheron
In the men’s race, surprise entry Zach McDonald (Rapha-Focus) was the obvious choice for the winner but Raphael Gagne (Rocky Mountain) was not to be discounted either, after a recent podium finish at Providence two weeks earlier. And the lead of the race played out as spectators expected, with Gagne and McDonald off the front, but the real surprise was that the JAM Fund rider hanging on to that lead group wasn’t season standout Stephen Hyde, but rather, Anthony Clark of “Sick What” fame. Jeremy Durrin, another race favorite, had an early mechanical that ended his race on the first lap.
Mike Van Den Ham and Dan Timmerman scream down the chute on Saturday at Ellison Park. © Brian Boucheron
With three laps to go, Clark was ridden off of the top two, and McDonald and Gagne began to launch attacks on each other. “He went earlier than I expected,” McDonald later said of Gagne’s race-winning move, where he created a small gap on the final climb, leading into the technical descent and taking the win by seconds. Clark, well behind, was still comfortably in third, his first-ever UCI podium.
Racing continues tomorrow, and stay tuned for photos, bike profiles and interviews!
Elite Women Ellison Park Day 1 2013
| Place | Last Name | First Name | Team | Total Laps | Lap Down |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VAN GILDER | LAURA | VAN DESSEL P/B MELLOW MUSHROOM PIZZA BAKERS | 6 | 0:45:49 |
| 2 | BRUNO ROY | MAUREEN | BOB'S RED MILL P/B SEVEN CYCLES | 6 | 0:45:53 |
| 3 | ELLIOTT | NATASHA | RARE VOS RACING-STEVENS | 6 | 0:46:41 |
| 4 | THIEMANN | NICOLE | TEAM CF | 6 | 0:46:52 |
| 5 | WHITE | EMMA | CYCLOCROSSWORLD.COM | 6 | 0:47:05 |
| 6 | MAXIMENKO | CASSANDRA | RARE VOS RACING / VAN DESSEL | 6 | 0:47:16 |
| 7 | HUNTER | JULIE | PHAUP ST. JOURNAL | 6 | 0:48:06 |
| 8 | MORRISON | FRANCES | C3-TWENTY20 CYCLING CO. | 6 | 0:48:27 |
| 9 | LYSAKOWSKI | KATHLEEN | CYCLE LODGE | 6 | 0:48:41 |
| 10 | BOWMAN | BRITTLEE | HOUSE INDUSTRIES - RICHARD SACHS - RGM | 6 | 0:48:44 |
| 11 | IVES | JENNY | VERGE SPORT-TEST PILOT | 6 | 0:49:12 |
| 12 | HURFORD | MOLLY | NJ/NY COLAVITA WOMEN'S TEAM | 6 | 0:49:19 |
| 13 | BIRCH | CHRISTINA | JAM FUND / NCC | 6 | 0:49:28 |
| 14 | BARCLAY | VICTORIA | STAN'S NOTUBES WOMEN'S ELITE TEAM | 6 | 0:49:29 |
| 15 | CUMMING | KATHRYN | TEAM YACHT CLUB | 6 | 0:49:40 |
| 16 | SNYDER | JESSICA | MAC5 BIKES | 6 | 0:49:52 |
| 17 | GROGAN | JOANNE | CYCLOCROSSRACING.COM | 6 | 0:50:43 |
| 18 | GILGEN | JAMIE | BLACKSMITH CYCLE | 6 | 0:51:44 |
| 19 | THAMM | ANTJE | INVITA-FCV | 6 | 0:53:03 |
| 20 | GATES | VICTORIA | JAM FUND / NCC | 6 | 0:54:17 |
| pull -1 | MASCELLI | ERIN | PEANUT BUTTER & CO. HUMAN ZOOM | 5 | 1 |
| pull -2 | KELLY | SIOBHAN | ADRENLINERACER/TO WHEELS | 4 | 2 |
| pull -2 | PATERSON | KELLY | WOLVERINE RACING/ACFSTORES.COM | 4 | 2 |
| pull -3 | DUBE | JORDAN | KEOUGH CYCLOCROSS P/B FELT BICYCLE | 3 | 3 |
| dnf -4 | LEWIS | MARINE | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| dnf -5 | YOZELL | ERICA | BICYCLE THERAPY / MELITTA | 2 | 5 |
Elite Men Ellison Park Day 1 2013
| Place | Last Name | First Name | Team | Lap Down |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GAGNE | RAPHAEL | ROCKY MOUNTAIN FACTORY | 0:58:19 |
| 2 | MCDONALD | ZACH | RAPHA-FOCUS | 0:58:25 |
| 3 | CLARK | ANTHONY | JAM FUND / NCC | 0:58:52 |
| 4 | MCNEELY | EVAN | NORCO FACTORY TEAM | 0:59:35 |
| 5 | WATSON | ANDRE | NORCO FACTORY TEAM | 1:00:10 |
| 6 | DODGE | CAMERON | SCOTT BIKES | 1:00:16 |
| 7 | VAN DEN HAM | MICHAEL | CYCLE-SMART | 1:00:17 |
| 8 | HYDE | STEPHEN | JAM FUND / NCC | 1:00:32 |
| 9 | MARION | ROBERT | AMERICAN CLASSSIC PRO CX TEAM | 1:00:50 |
| 10 | WELLS | JAKE | STAN'S NOTUBES ELITE CX | 1:00:51 |
| 11 | OBERMAN | COLE | BREAKAWAYBIKES.COM | 1:01:20 |
| 12 | L'ESPERANCE | ANDREW | NORCO FACTORY TEAM | 1:01:43 |
| 13 | ST. JOHN | DERRICK | STEVENS RACING-THE CYCLERY | 1:01:56 |
| 14 | TOWNSEND | JEROME | BIKEREG.COM / JOE'S GARAGE | 1:02:03 |
| 15 | MYERSON | ADAM | TEAM SMARTSTOP/MOUNTAIN KHAKIS | 1:02:03 |
| 16 | TIMMERMAN | DAN | HOUSE INDUSTRIES - RICHARD SACHS - RGM | 1:02:17 |
| 17 | OKEEFE | SAM | C3 - TWENTY20 CYCLING CO. | 1:02:21 |
| 18 | GARRIGAN | MIKE | VAN DESSEL | 1:02:29 |
| 19 | DILLON | JOSHUA | BIKEREG.COM / JOE'S GARAGE | 1:02:39 |
| 20 | GLASSFORD | PETER | TREK CANADA | 1:02:52 |
| 21 | ST. GERMAIN | ADAM | ENGVT / SPECIALIZED | 1:03:44 |
| 22 | CHABANOV | DAN | HOUSE INDUSTRIES - RICHARD SACHS - RGM | 1:03:58 |
| 23 | FARABAUGH | ADAM | GARNEAU-QUEBECOR PRO CYCLING TEAM | 1:04:03 |
| pull -1 | HUFF | EVAN | CROSSRESULTS.COM | -1 |
| pull -2 | YORK | ADAM | WOLVERINE RACING/TREK | -2 |
| pull -2 | BURKE | TOM | WOLVERINE RACING/TREK | -2 |
| pull -2 | VIALLE | ALEXANDRE | ESPRESSO SPORT | -2 |
| pull -2 | BURNS | CORY | FULL MOON VISTA | -2 |
| pull -3 | ERGUIN | JON | ORBEA-ORCA-UDABERRI | -3 |
| pull -3 | BASSETT | STEPHEN | SOPHISTICATED LIVING P/B BOB'S RED MILL | -3 |
| pull -3 | O'BRIEN | CONOR | STEVENS RACING PB THE CYCLERY | -3 |
| pull -4 | LYSAGHT | ANDREW | CUPPOW/GEEKHOUSE/B2C2 | -4 |
| pull -4 | VRAMBOUT | OLIVIER | THE BIKERY DU NORD | -4 |
| pull -5 | WATERMAN | KAILIN | BICYCLE BLUE BOOK/HRS/ROCKLOBSTER | -5 |
| pull -6 | SKOMRA | AUSTIN | TBS RACING P/B PLAN2PEAK | -6 |
| pull -6 | ST. JOHN | DERRICK | STEVENS RACING-THE CYCLERY | -4 |
| dnf -4 | LIVERMON | TRAVIS | TEAM SMART STOP-MOUNTAIN KHAKIS | -3 |
| dnf -3 | MESI | PAUL | FAST FRANKIE COACHING/CLR | -3 |
| dnf -5 | KEOUGH | NICHOLAS | KEOUGH CYCLOCROSS P/B FELT BICYCLE | -5 |
| dnf -5 | TIMMERMAN | MATT | CANNONDALE | -5 |
| dnf -5 | KEOUGH | JESSE | KEOUGH CYCLOCROSS P/B FELT BICYCLE | -2 |
| dnf -8 | DURRIN | JEREMY | OPTUM P/B KELLY BENEFIT STRATEGIES | -8 |
| dnf-9 | FAVATA | CHRISTIAN | TRT BICYCLES P/B STANS NO TUBES | -9 |
