McConneloug and Powers Take Victories in Northampton

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 10, 2009
CONTACT:
Jeff Bramhall
Media Coordinator, Verge New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series
(617) 669-5056
jeffrey.bramhall@gmail.com

The 19th annual Cycle-Smart International started off with a bang today. Under clear blue skies, The Verge NECCS sprung back into action for its 9th round. The elite fields were won by two local favorites in decisive fashion. Mary McConneloug (Kenda/Seven/NoTubes) and Jeremy Powers (Cannondale/cyclocrossworld.com) both continued their stellar seasons in Northampton, today.

The Elite women split up quickly from the gun with Mary McConneloug and Natasha Elliott (Garneau/Club Chassure/Ogilvy) breaking away from the field on the first lap. A chase group formed behind them with series leader Maureen Bruno-Roy (MM Racing), Laura Van Gilder (C3/Athletes Serving Athletes), Minuteman Road Club racers Andrea Smith and Anna Barensfeld as well as Sara Bresnick-Zocchi (pedalpowercoaching.com/Landry’s Bicycles). McConneloug and Elliott were able to stretch their advantage on the chase group and were matching each other move for move until Elliott bobbled in the sand. McConneloug, hearing of Elliott’s bobble over the loudspeaker, threw down a huge attack and held Elliott at an arm’s length for the rest of the race, eventually finishing with a twenty second advantage. Behind them, Van Gilder proved to be too strong for the chase group and soloed in for third place ahead of Bruno-Roy. Barensfeld outsprinted Smith for fourth.

With a field over fifty strong, the Elite men was chaos at the start. A broken chain caused a massive pile-up only 100 meters from the start which took down several riders, leaving many riders to walk their bikes off the course, asses damage and prepare for Sunday. Ahead of the chaos though, were Jeremy Powers and Jamey Driscoll of the dominant Cannondale/cyclocrossworld.com team. With them were series leader Dan Timmerman (Richard Sachs/RGM/Radix) and Nicholas Weighall (California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized). Not far behind them were Jerome Townsend (bikereg.com/Joe’s Garage/IF) and Adam Craig (Giant MTB Team). Powers and Driscoll controlled the front of the race the same way they’ve been controlling races all season. Their pressure proved to be too much for Weighall as he fell off the hard pace, eventually holding on for fourth. Like Weighall, Timmerman was unable to match the pace, but rode valiantly to keep the leaders within a few seconds until the last two laps. Timmerman was able to hold on to third, thirty seconds back, and retain his series leader’s jersey. Adam Craig looked like he was going to be able to bring himself to the leaders but with two to go, he dropped his chain and lost several spots but fought back for 5th place in his return to racing in New England. The U-23 race came down to a two-up sprint between Jerome Townsend and series leader Luke Keough (Team Champion System) with Townsend taking victory.

The Masters 35+ race was a three-way battle again, but this time Johnny Bold and Kevin Hines (Corner Cycle) were joined by Matt Kraus (Richard Sachs/RGM/Radix) instead of series leader and national champ Roger Aspholm (Westwood Velo) who was plagued by a poor first lap and found himself fighting back. Keen tacticians, Bold and Hines took advantage of Aspholm’s absence and, with Kraus’s help, opened an insurmountable lead. The three at the front remained intact as a group and hit the finishing straight together, Bold crossing the line first with Hines behind him and the Sachs rider pulling in third. Aspholm was the next in, his fourth place finish not enough to keep him in the series jersey.

The U-19 juniors had a bit of a shake up with the return of Evan McNeely and Karl Hoppner, both Canadian racers for the EMD/Specialized squad. McNeely soloed to his fourth series victory this season with Hoppner behind. Third place went to the consistent Curtis White (Clif Bar Development Cyclocross Team) for his second podium of the Verge NECCS season.

The U-15 juniors had Austin Vincent (CL Noonan/KAM/Coast to Coast) alone off the front, in his favorite position. Behind him was Peter Goguen from Minuteman Road Club in second and Cooper Willsey (White’s Bikes/GMBC/Catamount) in third.

Of note, in a bizarre accident at the end of the Masters race, UCI Official Harry Lam was seriously injured. While details are not readily available, he was admitted to a regional hospital. A collection will be opened to help his family during his recovery. Details on his condition and the collection will be forthcoming.

The Verge New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series will continue in Northampton, MA on Nov 7, Sterling, MA on Nov 28, and the series finale in Warwick, RI on Dec 5.  This year series is generously supported by Verge Sport, makers of fine cycling clothing and products since 1993; by Cycle-Smart, purveyors of personalized cycling coaching and solutions for riders across the country; by BikeReg.com, the official online registration service of the NECCS; by Paul Weiss Photo/Video, the official photographer of the NECCS, by October Handmade Bicycles, and by Ryders Eyewear.  You can visit these sponsors and get more information on the series by going to the web at http://www.cycle-smart.com/neccs.

2009 Verge New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Schedule:

• Green Mountain Cyclo-Cross Weekend – September 26th and 27th – Williston, Vermont
• Great Brewers Grand Prix of Gloucester – October 3rd and 4th – Gloucester, Massachusetts
• Providence Cyclo-Cross Festival – October 10th and 11th – Providence, Rhode Island
• Downeast Cyclo-Cross – October 24th and 25th – New Gloucester, Maine
• The Cycle-Smart International – November 7th and 8th – Northampton, Massachusetts
• Bay State Cyclo-Cross – November 28th and 29th – Sterling, Massachusetts
• NBX Grand Prix – December 5th and 6th – Warwick, Rhode Island