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Kona and Cyclocrossworld.com-Cannondale teams face off in the Mid-Atlantic
Is Anything Better than PB&J at Granogue and Wissahickon?
After last weekend’s split decision in Cincinnati, Gloucester and Edmonton, the best cyclocross racers in North America will meet head-to-head at the MAC Powered by SRAM’s “Royal Weekend” this Saturday and Sunday, October 18 and 19. The “Queen of the MAC”, the UCI C1 Cyclocross at Granogue, and “King of the MAC”, the UCI C2 Wissahickon Cyclocross will see the return of MAC Powered by SRAM Champion Davide Frattini, who is back from Italy and ready to defend his title. Also committed to compete at the two races are Kona’s twin-timbers: Ryan Trebon, who won both sides of the Erdinger Gran Prix of Gloucester double-header, and Barry Wicks. But the real story may be “is anything better than PB&J”?
Jeremy “Tool Thief” Powers of Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com stole a tres in Cincinnati, but only narrowly escaped with the win at Sunday’s Bio-Wheels / United Dairy Farmers C1 event when Trek VW’s Jeremiah Bishop blew a chain apart in the final sprint. And Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld’s U.S. National Champion Tim Johnson is still looking for his first major win of the season. Powers, Bishop and Johnson are powerful obstacles that Frattini, Trebon and Wicks will need to overcome.
On the women’s side, Katie Compton’s departure for Europe has made it a wide-open race. C3-Sollay’s Laura Van Gilder is currently undefeated in MAC Powered by SRAM racing. In fact the team currently leads both the Women’s and Men’s standings with Michael Gallagher and Wes Schempf leading the Men’s side of the table. Rookie rider Van Gilder has already proven she can win early in the season, but the question remains whether she can hold her fitness deep into the cyclocross season after a long road season. ‘Cross specialist Dee Dee Winfield and 2007 MAC Powered by SRAM champ Maureen Bruno-Roy, on the other hand, have already pressured Van Gilder in the early season and are just starting to come onto form. Frighteningly, Winfield doesn’t seem to have lost any speed after missing last year because of her (second) pregnancy. Josie Jaques-Maynes, Kathy Sherwin and Rebecca Wellons will also be competing following strong performance at this past weekend’s Erdinger Gran Prix of Gloucester.
In other classes, Mike Hebe is coming off a powerful and dominating win at last weekend’s Iron Cross Lite and is looking forward to his first meeting against the all-conquering Roger Aspholm in the Elite Masters division. Meanwhile, people are already asking if anyone can beat 15 year-old phenom Jeff Bahnson in the “B” men’s division. Bahnson is undefeated against adult competition this year, having extended his winning streak with three straight wins in Cincinnati this past weekend. Bahnso faces his toughest competition in the MAC Powered by SRAM, as the series includes Category 2 Men in its top amateur division as well as the usual Category 3’s.
Registration for all MAC Powered by SRAM classes is now open for Saturday’s Cyclocross at Granogue near Wilmington Delaware and Sunday’s Wissahickon Cyclocross in Ludwig’s Corner Pennsylvania (outside of Philadelphia). Historically two of the highest drawing races in the Mid Atlantic, field limits have been added. Early returns indicate that some classes may sell out before pre-registration closes, so early registration is recommended. For more information on MAC Powered by SRAM’s “Royal Weekend”, see BikeReg.com.
