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Gould, Trebon take day 1 at New Jersey USGP
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Georgia Gould (Luna) and Ryan Trebon (Kona – Yourkey.com) claimed their first U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross victories of the season Saturday at Mercer County Park. Fit and fast, both Gould and Trebon rode races marked by power, technique and perhaps a little luck on a course that required rhythm, balance and acceleration.
An interesting mix of twists and turns forced racers to stitch together angles and "highways" for an interesting race; a gigantic sandpit the size of three volleyball courts and eight 12-inch vertical steps made sure to drain them of any reserved energy.
After taking the hole shot, Alison Sydor (Rocky Mountain–Haywood) jockeyed for the lead with fellow Canadians Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com) and Wendy Simms (Kona–Yourkey.com). Riding in fourth position during lap one, Gould quickly inched her way forward until the chance came to charge ahead of her rivals.
"I didn't have as strong a start as I wanted to have but I was able to get to the front in the sandpit and I just tried to keep the pace high," said Gould. "When I got a little bit of a gap, I tried to stretch it out and stay on the gas the whole time and not let up at all."
The only one to successfully pull through the sandpit behind was Bessette, whose skills as a former runner proved valuable at each sandy pass. While Gould stretched her lead over second-place Bessette, Bessette responded in kind to the group on her tail containing Sydor and Simms.
"Georgia is really riding strongly right now so she's the one to beat," said Bessette. "I was happy to be with her at the beginning – technically she's a mountain biker and you can see she's a world-class athlete because at all these little turns, she's faster than me and when I'd get a tiny little gap, every time I'd have to close a little gap and after a while it hurts."
Sydor, Simms, Rachel Lloyd (Proman–Paradigm), and now Katerina Nash (Luna) chased after Bessette with Nash leading an attack at one point to bridge to Bessette. Unable to make contact and losing Simms in the process, Nash, Sydor, and Lloyd completed the podium lineup behind Gould and Bessette.
Gould's performance today earned her the series lead going into Sunday's fourth round of the USGP of Cyclocross.
The men's race saw a one-two finish by Kona–Yourkey.com's Trebon and Barry Wicks. At first it was Trebon, Wicks, Tim Johnson (Cannondale–Leer–Cyclocrossworld.com) Todd Wells (GT), Jeremy Powers (Cyclocrossworld.com) and Chris Jones (Nerac) all hustling for the lead. Twenty minutes in, Trebon and Wicks broke free, leaving behind Johnson, followed by Powers, Wells, and Jones.
"The first two laps I thought I'd just sit in and see how everybody else was riding – just taking it easy," explained Trebon. "Then I went to the front and started pushing the pace a little and Barry and I got away through the sand. Tim was coming back and going fast through the corners; he went down but he was riding hard enough to keep the same gap between us."
Johnson, riding solo and getting chased vigorously by the group of Powers, Wells, Jones and now Jesse Anthony (Jamis), gained and lost seconds to Wicks and Trebon on each lap. At the midpoint, Johnson hit the deck in an off-camber section when he tried to accelerate prematurely out of a turn.
"When I dropped in that corner, I only lost a few seconds so I wasn't that far back," said Johnson. "I just had to keep the gas on and hopefully – if I kept them under pressure - one of them might have a problem just like I did and that would put me back in the front."
Johnson ran out of time and, with two laps to go, Trebon stepped up the pace rode into first place with a nine-second lead over his teammate. Johnson crossed the line 28 seconds later in third place, which gave him enough points to hold onto the leader's jersey for another day.
Organizers did not plan to change the course overnight. However, rain and maybe even snow are expected to muddy things up for Day 2 at Mercer County Park.
Men
1. Ryan Trebon, Kona-YourKey.com, 0:55:04
2. Barry Wicks, Kona-YourKey.com, 0:55:13
3. Tim Johnson, C'dale/Leer/cyclocrossworld, 0:55:41
4. Jeremy Powers, cyclocrossworld.com, 0:56:10
5. Todd Wells, GT, 0:56:10
6. Geoff Kabush, Maxxis/Litespeed, 0:56:34
7. Jesse Anthony, Jamis Bicycles, 0:56:38
8. Adam Craig, Giant, 0:57:19
9. Christopher Jones Nerac Pro Cycling, 0:57:29
10. Davide Frattini, Colavita/sutter home presented by Cooking light
Women
1. Georgia Gould, Luna, 38:34
2. Lyne Bessette, cyclocrossworld.com, 39:08
3. Katerina Nash, Luna, 39:16
4. Alison Sydor, Rocky Mountain Haywood, 39:16
5. Rachel Lloyd, Proman/Paradigm, 39:20
6. Sue Butler, River City Bicycles, 40:21
7. Amy Dombroski, Velo Bella - Kona, 40:27
8. Kerry Barnholt, Tokyo Joes / Van Dessel, 40:36
9. Wendy Simms Kona-YourKey.com, 40:42
10. Barbara Howe, Velo Bella Kona, 40:43
