November 15, 2009. Team Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com Team Newsletter. Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com trekked to West Windsor, New Jersey to tackle the third weekend in the US Gran Prix of Cyclocross Series. Muddy, heavy conditions had Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com licking their chops, and success soon followed. For more information, go to www.cannondale-cyclocrossworld.com.
Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com entered the weekend of the Mercer Cup, the fifth and sixth races on the USGP calendar, in the USGP driver’s seat. Jamey Driscoll held the lead in the series standings, tied on points with Kona’s Ryan Trebon, but having the best recent result. Mid-week rain had made the turf in the Mercer County Park a sticky mud pit, where straight-line power was at a premium. Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com came to New Jersey one man short, with Jeremy Powers sitting the weekend out with a nasty sickness, while Driscoll and team captain Tim Johnson were on the line to fly the team’s colors.
It didn’t take long for America’s best cyclocross talent to emerge from the mud, with Johnson making the day’s elite selection, following Trebon’s accelerations. Driscoll’s day did not start as planned, finding himself in the mid-twenties as the first lap got underway. “The first half of the race, I didn’t feel like a real ‘cross rider, but the second half I definitely got my stuff together and felt like an actual bike racer,” said Driscoll. Not to be deterred, Driscoll picked his way through the field with clinical precision, pulling his way all the way up onto the podium. “I finally felt more efficient and made up some serious ground.” Driscoll’s determination netted him a third place finish on the day, and also scored the young man from Vermont the Sram Most Aggressive Rider Award for day one.
Up ahead, Johnson and Trebon were waging a battle for the ages. Johnson doggedly pursued Trebon through the course’s most difficult sections, keeping Trebon on his toes deep into the race. Trebon finally managed to inch away from Johnson, despite the his best efforts, and Johnson would end his day in second place. “I tried to ride as fast as I could; I tried to ride Ryan’s pace. He was overextending me on a lot of the early difficult sections, and I was trying to recover whenever I had a chance. I was really pushing it to try and stay with him,” said Johnson of his fight with Trebon. “I was pretty happy with today’s race, I just got beat.”
Sunday’s event saw the course dry out to a significant degree, playing into the hands of riders with a knack for bike handling. Driscoll’s start was better on Sunday than it was on Saturday, and Driscoll was in the mix early. “I started much better after everyone heckled me for starting poorly yesterday. I started well but Tim started even better; it was really about how strong you were, and even if I had been up with him I don’t think I could have stayed there.” While Johnson was attacking the field up front, Driscoll was keeping tabs on the team’s rivals and work his way up to the front. For a time, Driscoll set himself to holding on to riders accelerating from behind, first trying to hold the pace of Trebon, who was charging from behind after his bad start. After settling into his own pace Driscoll was alone chasing early leader Geoff Kabush when Todd Wells, who also had suffered from a poor starting position, gave Driscoll another strong wheel to follow. Driscoll, who was paying for his extraordinary effort on Saturday, rode solidly in the closing stages of Sunday’s event, holding on to fifth place. “Trebon and Wells caught me and whacked it pretty hard and I couldn’t stay on them, but that’s life, it’s still a great result.”
Not wanting to wait for the race to unfold, Johnson took the race’s first initiative, attacking the field early in the first lap, and quickly establishing a gap that would never be contested. “I tried to knock off a couple perfect laps and get a gap. If you can do that it’s so much easier to race your own race, and to pick your own lines and pick some turns where you can really hit it hard,” said Johnson. Johnson’s ability to handle the course to the highest degree saw him increase his advantage with every passing lap, and Johnson was able to bring home his seventh overall victory on the season, his second in the USGP series, and the team’s sixteenth victory in UCI competitions. Johnson said, “we have a great group of guys who get us set up and ready to go, and when you’ve got so many people behind you and so many people supporting you, you don’t want to let them down just like you don’t want to let yourself down.”
Despite losing the USGP leader’s jersey, the teamenjoyed a very successful weekend. The team will now head to Southampton, New York, for the final races on the North American Cyclocross Trophy competition, the Whitmore’s Landscaping Supercross Cup, at the top of the leaderboard. Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com holds the top three positions in the competition and Johnson can close out the series overall with a win on Saturday in Southampton.
NACT Overall Standings:
1 Tim Johnson (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com) 305
2 Jeremy Powers (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com) 234
3 Jamey Driscoll (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com) 229
4 Jonathan Page (Planet Bike) 190
5 Andy Jacques-Maynes (Bissel Pro Cycling) 103
