For a man whose chief cyclo-cross training in 2005 has involved more hours spent remodeling his house than racing, Todd Wells (GT-Hyundai) has been using his race days to their fullest. With a strong elite men’s field gathered in anticipation of next weekend’s U.S. Cyclo-cross National Championships, Saturday’s W.E. Stedman Grand Prix in Wakefield, Rhode Island, round five of the 2005 Verge New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series, was a regional race with national implications. But Wells put paid to the rest of the field’s dreams, dominating the cold, wind-whipped course from start to finish.

Wells and Barry Wicks (Kona), the chief animators in the San Francisco USGP race, sprinted off the front on the first lap, leaving a host of big-name contenders taken aback by the ferocity of their pace. The speed was too much for Wicks, who fell off Wells’s wheel during the second lap, but Wells showed no signs of slowing down.

Adam Craig (Giant) saw Wells make the break and took off in pursuit. With his last race a Red Bull adventure race in South Africa two weeks ago, Craig started the the day unsure of his fitness. But he passed the fading Wicks and got within four seconds of Wells, though he could never make the final push up to the former national champ. It was the closest anyone came to Wells all day.

"I was kayaking all day yesterday and the day before that," said Craig. "I did some single-speed mountain biking back home in Bend last week, but other than that…. So I wasn’t really sure how I would feel. But it seems like the form is sticking around. At least I know I’m well rested."

Wells said he felt that being fresh "and having a lot of stored-up fitness" was doing the trick for him.

"It’s been a relaxed fall for me and there’s only really one race all year I want to do well in and that’s next weekend.," he said. "So winning here was a big boost, I felt great."

With the top two positions all but written in stone, a quartet with New England Series implications battled for the final podium spot. Series leader Tim Johnson (Cyclocrossworld.com-Louis Garneau) entered the day with a slim lead over four-time defending series champ Mark McCormack (Team Clif Bar). McCormack and Johnson, along with Jeremy Powers (Jelly Belly-Pool Gel) and Jesse Anthony (Team Clif Bar) diced back and forth through three-quarters of the race. But Johnson launched a fierce attack with less than two laps to go, and on the next turn, perhaps pushing too hard to close the gap, Powers slid out and blocked both McCormack and Anthony, giving Johnson all the margin he needed to take third and expand his series lead.

In a case of addition by subtraction, the elite women’s race turned into a last-lap cat-and-mouse thriller, a scenario made possible by the absence of series leader Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com-Louis Garneau). Bessette’s trip to Europe allowed series contenders Mackenzie Dickey (Bicycle Alley) and Maureen Bruno Roy (Independent Fabrication) to race for the win, the first time all season they’ve had such an opportunity.

Dickey dogs Bruno Roy

Photo: Chris Milliman

With the small women’s field splintering early, Bruno Roy and Dickey rode in tandem for the duration, neither able to make a decisive move. A noted regional sprinter, Dickey kept Bruno Roy on a short leash in the closing laps and overpowered the smaller rider in a two-up sprint for the win.

"This is a huge result for me," said Dickey. "It means I’m coming into good form right in time for nationals. Mo’ and I have been racing each other all season, because Lyne has always just taken off and left us to battle each other. But to get a win like this is pretty special."

The Verge New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series concludes on Sunday with the Caster’s Grand Prix in Warwick, Rhode Island.

WE Stedman Grand Prix, Wakefield, Rhode Island
Verge New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series, race No. 5
Elite men
1. Todd Wells (GT-Hyundai)
2. Adam Craig (Giant)
3. Tim Johnson (Cyclocrossworld.com-Louis Garneau)
4. Mark McCormack (Team Clif Bar)
5. Jeremy Powers (Jelly Belly-Pool Gel)

Elite women
1. Mackenzie Dickey (Bicycle Alley)
2. Maureen Bruno Roy (Independent Fabrication)
3. Amy Wallace (Verizon Wireless-Wheelworks)

Complete results