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Wells and Gould tops in Mercer Day 2
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Cooler, windier weather on Day 2 of the U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross Mercer Cup, presented by Knapp's Cyclery, in New Jersey, made Saturday's tough race conditions look easy by comparison.
Thicker, stickier mud competed with gusting winds for an extra punch in the gut but Day 2 saw a repeat for the women, with LUNA teammates Georgia Gould and Katerina Nash clinching gold and silver by a wide margin. It was GT’s Todd Wells who emerged the victor in the men’s event.
"This is extreme," Nash remarked about the mud that reached a depth of four inches in spots. "This is definitely one of the most 'running' cyclocross courses we'll get all year."
Slowed by the muck, the teammates stampeded through the sticky sections, each trying to get a leg-up on the other. Nash fiercely tailed Gould throughout most of the three-lap race while Gould narrowly held her distance.
"It was the same pace if you were running or riding," Gould said. "If you ride, you could come to a complete stop; then you lose time if you keep getting on and off your bike. I just felt like I could stay smoother and make fewer mistakes if I was running."
Gould medal racing
Gould, who swept last year's Mercer Cup with commanding leads each day, repeated the feat this year under far less favorable conditions.
While the absence of racers like Alison Sydor, Lyne Bessette, and Kelli Emmitt was noticeable to some racers, the new guard of competition proved no less formidable. Multi-talented Rachel Lloyd (California Giant Berry Farms), Canadian national champion, Wendy Simms, and first place finisher in the women's 30-34 age category at last year's nationals, Maureen Bruno Roy (MM Racing, presented by Seven Cycles), each took turns jockeying for the podium with Bruno Roy taking third on Saturday and Lloyd in third on Sunday.
Gould finished off rounds 3 and 4 of the USGP in the leader's jersey, just ahead of Nash, who could take it back in round 5 in Portland, Ore. on December 6.
Johnson sidelined
Day 1 men's winner, Tim Johnson (Cyclocrossworld/Cannondale), suffered a crash midway through his race on Saturday and found himself unable to ride on Sunday. An injury to his left knee triggered enough swelling and pain finally forced Johnson to make the decision to pass on Sunday's race.
“It’s not the kind of decision you make lightly,” said Johnson. “I’ve never not started a ‘cross race. It was tough to stand and watch from the sidelines.”
With Johnson out, Barry Wicks (Kona) stepped to the front and started hard by leading the field into the first turn. Powers, Trebon, Jacques-Maynes, and the Wells brothers took over from there and, toward the end of the first lap, the lead group was down to just Todd Wells and Powers.
Brother act
Todd Wells, a two-time Olympian and national cyclocross champion, yielded nothing to Powers, who responded by pressuring Wells to keep the pace high and to make few errors.
"We began together going so hard and looking for the other one to bobble in order to get a gap," Wells said. "But we are evenly matched. I crashed a few times and, since he was right behind me, he sort of did too."
Wells and Powers flew around the course, each making enough errors along the way, which eventually allowed the younger Wells to bridge the gap and match pace.
"To get up there, I was just getting my lines right," Troy Wells said. "It was easy to catch people who were bobbling up front or who were making mistakes. I thought if I can get through there without a mistake, that's time back. That's how I was trying to catch them."
By the race's midpoint, the Wells brothers moved away from Powers and turned their attention on each other with a series of late-race charges.
A surge in the last lap by Todd Wells distanced him from his younger brother by twenty bike lengths, a gap that he stretched to eleven seconds by the finish.
To go with his second place finish, Troy Wells also picked up the award for the Most Aggressive Rider for his battle against the elements and a field stacked with top 'cross talent.
Race note
● With the action raging at the front of the field, fans found a way to liven things up for the riders just hoping to survive the day. A crowd of fans planted at a turn at the top of a soupy run-up, began placing dollar bills in the muck, encouraging riders to reach down to pluck the cash from the mire, which drew cheers from the crowd, especially for those who managed the most stylish retrievals.
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