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Compton and Driscoll win CrossVegas jackpot
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The women's podium repeated its 2008 order at CrossVegas Wednesday evening, as thousands of spectators saw a display of raw power and consistency. Later, under the lights at a soccer complex on the outskirts of the city, new faces emerged from the tactical men's race, frustrating an elite group of chasers.
In both races, domestic riders prevailed against European challengers in this city that is so uniquely — if sometimes regrettably — American.
A repeat win by Katie Compton (Planet Bike) showed the Colorado Springs, Colorado, powerhouse is on track to pursue another of her seasonal assaults on her personal Everest, the world championships.
And Jamey Driscoll (Cannondale-cyclocrossworld.com) out-duelled his breakaway companion Chris Jones (Champion Systems) to reinforce his breakthrough silver medal from last year's national championships with the biggest win of his career.
Duplicate podium for the women
Compton pulled away from the front in the second lap with Katarina Nash (Luna Chix).
When Nash crashed in a tight left-hander on the second lap, Compton opened a gap that only increased over the remaining two-thirds of the race. Compton made the slow-riding, sometimes lumpy grass surface look positively fast as she carried her momentum through the turns with what looked like a light touch on the pedals. Nash dangled about 40 seconds behind, never giving up, while another half-minute back her teammate Georgia Gould battled, successfully, with Kelli Emmett (Giant) for the third spot on the podium, a carbon copy of last year's first four places.
Nash is from the Czech Republic but lives in California. But CrossVegas' new face from across the Atlantic was Kona's latest recruit, four-time British national champion Helen Wyman.
Before the race Compton picked Nash and Wyman as her most dangerous rivals, and Wyman's impressive win at last weekend's Star Crossed race in Washington state (which Compton skipped) had many expecting great things.
Wyman looked smooth and quick on the first lap and a half, marking Compton's typical early acceleration. But she began to struggle in Las Vegas' dry air and soon fell well out of contention.
After the race she could hardly talk. "You can't pedal with no oxygen," she gasped. "I've never raced in conditions like this."
Men: Don't call it a breakthrough
Driscoll had been a junior and U23 phenom for years, and has been well known to Northeast ’cross fans as an emerging powerhouse. But even after his nationals silver medal last December, few would list the Vermonter as a favorite in an elite race that included international riders like Swiss champ Christian Heule, three-time world champion Erwin Vervecken and Canadian Geoff Kabush.
Jones, whose best previous CrossVegas finish was 10th in 2007, was another underdog. An accomplished road racer with Team Type 1, the California native took up ’cross in 2007 while living in New England as his wife attended Yale University. Jones is a quiet and efficient rider, with a good tactical sense, if not a killer sprint.
After the field of 114 got through a chaotic opening lap that produced a lead group of about 21, Jones attacked on the second lap, quickly opening a large gap.
Driscoll had got tangled in the pack on the first lap, rejoining the leaders soon after Jones took off. Teammate Tim Johnson told Driscoll to go after Jones and he complied, quickly bridging up.
The chase group contained some serious horsepower, and forays by two-time CrossVegas winner Ryan Trebon and Heule reduced the group to seven riders within two laps.
But while Trebon's blistering attacks shed all but the superfast, the tactical spurts did not bring Jones and Driscoll any closer. The two worked well together; Driscoll showed the effort, his mouth agape and sweat glistening under the lights. Jones looked more composed, his mouth nearly closed as he enjoyed the draft from his larger break mate.
The two opened a 25-second gap while Trebon and Heule traded attacks, many marked by Johnson or Driscoll's other teammate in the chase, Jeremy Powers. The others in the chase were Vervecken, Todd Wells (Specialized) and Jon Page (Planet Bike).
Thirty minutes into the one-hour race, Johnson lost contact and quickly went backwards, grimacing and riding with his right hand off the bars, favoring the shoulder he injured in a last-lap crash at Star Crossed. He dropped out that lap; team director Stu Thorne said the pain from Saturday's injury became too much to take.
From there it was road tactics on the course famous with riders for its heavy slow grass. Riders say the course is punishing to anyone taking a hard pull at the front, but favors the drafters, leading to negative racing. A tired Trebon rarely attacked in the second half, leaving the aggression to Page and Heulot, with an occasional test by Vervecken. Powers was the dutiful team rider, marking every move.
"I've had it done to me in Europe so many times, it's great to be doing it to them for once!" Powers said after the race.
Wells, just back from the mountain bike world championships in Australia and the final two mountain bike world cups in Europe, had limited matches to burn. He said he was holding back in the first half hour, contemplating an attack in the second. "But when we got near the end, I had all I could do to stay with them," he said.
Attacks by a frustrated Page and Heule brought the gap down to about 11 seconds at times, but when the chase group re-gathered, it went right back to 20-plus seconds. With two laps to go it was clear Jones and Driscoll would stay away to the end.
Up front, Jones attacked on a run up with a lap and a half to go, but was unable to shake Driscoll, who took the front for much of the final lap. Driscoll felt he had the power and the sprint to take the win. But rather than risk an attack through any of the turns or barrier sections, he waited until the pair got through a tight double hairpin with about 450 meters to go, then pulled away.
"I wanted to be safe," he said.
Heule tangled with a lapped rider on the last lap and crashed, losing contact with the chase, while Page emptied his frustration — and revealed his exceptional form — by easily taking the sprint for third, to earn his best CrossVegas finish yet.
Page, America's most successful male cyclocross racer, said before the race that he doesn't like the mostly non-technical Vegas course because it doesn't suit his abilities. "I'm going to learn to like it," he said, not sounding terribly convinced.
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