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McCormack, Bessette tops in Tacoma 'cross
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Two very different race stories developed at the Rad Racing Gran Prix of Cyclocross, held at Fort Steilacoom Park in Tacoma, Washington, on Sunday, the second round of the Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross
The first scenario, in the elite women’s event, held a similar plotline to that of one day earlier, as Canadian Lyne Bessette charged to the front of the race and never looked back, crossing the finish line comfortably ahead of an outclassed field.
The second, in the elite men’s event, offered up more plot developments than a bestselling-mystery novel, as a six-man lead group ebbed and flowed with a series of attacks and counterattacks that resulted in a thrilling three-man sprint for the line, won by veteran racer Mark McCormack.
LAYING DOWN THE GAUNTLET
Just as the scenarios were starkly contrasting, the course and conditions in Tacoma couldn’t have been more different than those a day earlier in Portland, Oregon. While Portland’s course was twisting and turning with thick, sticky mud, Tacoma’s course was dry and fast, with a brutally steep and pivotal 80-meter run-up thrown in to separate the contenders from the pretenders.
After a win at a UCI event in Portland, Bessette had expected to take a favorable call up at the start of the women’s race. Instead, the Cyclocrossworld.com-Louis Garneau rider was informed that her UCI points would not count until the numbers had been crunched by the sport’s governing body, meaning she would again take the start behind any and all women who had earned points over the past 12 months.
If anything, the unexpected start position angered Bessette, who battled her way to the front the first time up the monstrous run-up and wasn’t seen by the field again.
“Riding from the back makes me nervous, at least in the moments before the start,” Bessette said. “I knew I wanted to be in first going into the run-up, because I didn’t want anyone ahead of me to slow me down.”
Behind Bessette, three Kona riders — Ann Knapp, Georgia Gould and Wendy Simms — pursued, joined by Velo Bella’s Barbara Howe. But what was a 15-second gap after one lap turned into a 25-second disadvantage a few laps later, and by the end of the 45-minute race Bessette’s lead had ballooned upwards of one minute.
“I wanted to show that I could ride hard all the way through the race, not just at the start,” Bessette said of her impressive solo effort.
With Bessette’s win in hand, the sprint for second place went to Howe, who capitalized on Knapp’s early lead out along the long, paved finishing stretch to come around easily at the line for her best-ever finish in a U.S. Gran Prix race. Likewise, Knapp’s teammate Simms, the Canadian national champion, finished third, while Knapp, who had worked hardest in the chase group, was forced to settle for a fourth-place finish, off the podium.
“We haven’t really been in a situation like that yet as teammates,” Knapp said. “It was great to know that we can all be at the front of a race and work together, but it’s not something we expected or prepared for. We’ll have to talk it over to figure out how we might do things differently in the future.”
SIX CONTENDERS, ONE WINNER
While the elite women’s race had one clear leader from beginning to end, the elite men’s race was a 60-minute dogfight that saw multiple leaders and left spectators guessing as to who would win down the last seconds of the race.
As they did in Portland, Kona riders Ryan Trebon and Barry Wicks took to the front from the gun. This time, however, they had company. Joining the pair of six-foot-five Kona riders was Andy Jacques-Maynes (Giant Strawberries-Specialized), followed by Geoff Kabush (Maxxis), Adam Craig (Giant), and Mark McCormack (Clif Bar) jockeying for position. Russell Stevenson (Benaroya) and Andrew Pinfold (Symmetrics) briefly held contact with the front group before dropping backwards.
Perhaps the most impressive ride of the day belonged to 2000 national champion Tim Johnson (Cyclocrossworld-Louis Garneau), who like his wife Bessette, returned to cyclo-cross racing this season after a near three-year break and had no UCI points to his name for call ups. After finishing the first lap in 16th position, Johnson put in a tremendous effort to bridge across to the leaders on the second lap.
Soon after Johnson made contact with the leaders, the third ascent of the run-up split the group, with Trebon, Wicks and McCormack pulling away from the rest, followed by Craig and a four-man chase group of Johnson, Stevenson, Kabush and Jacques-Maynes. Not liking the numbers, McCormack attacked on a series of small climbs following the run-up, dropping Wicks and isolating Trebon. Coming into the start/finish area at the end of the third lap, the front of the race had split into four two-man groups: McCormack and Trebon, Wicks and Craig, Johnson and Kabush, and Stevenson and Jacques-Maynes.
With Trebon sitting on McCormack, Craig and Wicks were able to rejoin the leaders with seven laps remaining. Nine seconds separated them from Kabush and Johnson, while Stevenson and Jacques-Maynes trailed further back. It was then clear that the day’s winner would emerge from the selection of the six lead riders.
For the remaining laps, a pattern of hard efforts over the course’s run-up and descent was followed by a slowing period through the flats of the mechanical pits and start/finish area, as the lead riders time and again assessed the situation and took inventory, sizing each other up in what was becoming a more and more tactical battle as the minutes counted down.
Remembering that Craig, last year’s winner at Steilacoom, took victory in 2004 after slipping off the front of a similar lead group that was too slow to respond, McCormack – the strongest sprinter in the group both years – took it upon himself this time around to answer any and all moves.
“I made a note to myself not to let that happen again this time,” McCormack said. “This is not a good course to let someone open up a small gap, so I made sure I was always sitting second wheel. Stay with whoever was attacking, and be ready to close down a gap if need be. I didn’t care if that meant the whole group stayed together.”
With three laps remaining, Trebon slowed down the pace before he attacked, and it was McCormack who parried first. Craig was next to go at the top of the run-up, and again McCormack responded. It was a move McCormack would later call his hardest effort of the day.
“I figured I could probably get rid of Mark on the descent,” said Craig, the world-class cross-country racer who has twice won the national Super-Downhill title. “I was taking risks and giving it all I could, but somehow Mark was able to ride lines he never would have found on his own. It’s like he casts a web around you and just won’t let you go.”
Craig’s effort momentarily blew up the front group, forcing Kabush and Wicks again off the back. Again the leaders were split into pairs, this time with New Englanders Craig and McCormack in the front, followed by Trebon and Johnson and Kabush and Wicks. But as the laps counted down, it was becoming McCormack’s race to lose. With two laps remaining, the 35-year-old McCormack launched a huge attack up the run up, opening a five-second lead and relegating Craig back into fourth position behind Trebon and Johnson.
“I actually felt like I was the best runner today,” McCormack said. “But I had to work twice as hard as these mountain bikers, Ryan, Barry and Geoff, on the descents.”
Trebon and Johnson reached McCormack at the start/finish area with one lap remaining, and with Craig struggling to come across, it appeared the winner would emerge from these three. Johnson was next to attack, opening a slight advantage. McCormack slowly reeled him in with Trebon finally closing the gap. From there, years of experience on both road and in ‘cross, along with a fearsome sprint, brought McCormack to victory.
“Tim made a nice attack on the run up, held a heavy pace, and kept it at the top,” McCormack said. “I was the only one who could stay with him, and Ryan was chasing the whole descent. He didn’t catch us until the barriers coming into the start/finish. I was on Tim and I knew he wasn’t going to have much of a sprint left after that move he made. I was hoping to get behind Ryan at some point before the final turn. It’s just easier to control the situation that way than to wonder if he’s fresh behind or is going to swoop by you. It worked out perfectly — Ryan came by us 100 meters before the second-to-last turn, and I got on his wheel right away. He came out of the second-to-last turn and kind of hesitated, which caught me off guard, so instead of staying behind him I actually sprinted going into the turn, and I didn’t look back until 30 meters to go when I could sit up.”
Trebon finished second, with Johnson in third. A late-charging Kabush took fourth, while Wicks kicked in a sprint to take fifth spot Craig. Given his poor start, Johnson was pleased with his ride, but added that he felt Trebon might not be as satisfied with his own ride.
“We were trying to kick the bag out of each other,” Johnson said. “Ryan doesn’t believe me when I tell him this, but he is so unbelievably strong. If he had gone as hard as he could have for the last two laps he would have won no question. But when you try and play McCormack’s game he’s going to lose, because Mark already has 150 finished just like that in his brain.”
Said Trebon: “I couldn’t keep up with Mark out of the corners, out of the accelerations. I don’t know… I knew he was probably going to roast me, but I thought I could maybe try and stay with him, if I could just get on his wheel and try and get around him. I saw Kabush coming up pretty fast, and I didn’t want to give him a chance to catch up, so I went to the front and then Mark came around me, and that was it. I think I may have wasted a little energy in some places, but even if I had more energy I don’t think I could have beaten Mark in a sprint.”
RACE NOTES
• Defending national masters champion Richard Feldman left nothing to chance in the Men’s 35+ race. A day after watching Kona’s Dale Knapp take the win, Feldman soloed away for a convincing win in Tacoma. Knapp finished second, with John Gallagher (Cole Sport) in third.• Just as they did in Portland on Saturday, the same cast of characters animated the junior men’s race in Tacoma. Unhappy with settling for third place a day before after a puncture, defending junior national champion Bjorn Selander (Alan) got the better of TIAA-CREF teammates Alex Howes and Danny Summerhill with an impressive solo effort.
Elite Men
1. Mark McCormack (Team Clif Bar)
2. Ryan Trebon (Kona)
3. Tim Johnson (Cyclocrossworld-Louis Garneau)
4. Geoff Kabush (Maxxis)
5. Barry Wicks (Kona)
Elite Women
1. Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld-Louis Garneau)
2. Barbara Howe (Velo Bella)
3. Wendy Simms (Kona)
4. Ann Knapp (Kona)
5. Georgia Gould (Kona)
Junior Men
1. Bjorn Selander (Alan Factory)
2. Danny Summerhill (TIAA-CREF)
3. Alex Howes (TIAA-CREF)
Masters 35+
1. Richard Feldman
2. Dale Knapp (Kona)
3. John Gallagher (Cole Sport)
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