Katie Compton (Spike-Primus Mootry) had to dig a little deeper in Sunday’s Boulder Cup to shell a gritty Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com), intent on avenging her loss on Saturday at Longmont’s Xilinx Cup.

Team Kona repeated its victory of the previous day, too. But it was not the white-clad U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross series leader, Ryan Trebon, crossing the line first at Boulder’s Harlow Platts Park — it was teammate Barry Wicks, collecting his first win in the 2006 USGP.

After simply riding away from the field on Saturday, U.S. national champion Compton was clearly the woman to beat in Boulder. But reigning USGP champion Bessette, whose pursuit in Longmont was smothered by Luna teammates Georgia Gould and Katerina Nash, was out for revenge.

Thing is, how do you beat the woman who is clearly the strongest among you?

"You have to be able to stay with her when she goes," Bessette said before Sunday’s race. "I really have to have my best day ever."

And she nearly did.

Once again, Compton grabbed the hole shot and led the way through the two-mile course’s first barrier section. But Bessette, flashing a grimace, hung with the American’s early accelerations. The Canadian national champion was the only racer to cling to Compton as she hit the afterburners on the course’s punchy climb and flew off the front.

USGP leader Gould got tripped up early on, crashing hard after leaving the course’s extensive sandpit. She leapt back up and remounted only to discover a front flat, limped to the pit for a bike change, and rejoined the race in the mid-20s.

"There’s nothing to lose after something like that. You just put your head down and try to get back," Gould said.

And chase she did. Gould shot through the women’s field, eventually linking up with Nash and Canadian Wendy Simms (Kona) to form the chase group.

Up front, Bessette appeared to have solved the Compton riddle. The two women worked together in the stiff cross wind, though Compton — wearing her trademark stoic gaze — spent more time on the front and seemed the more comfortable of the two.

"We were pretty evenly matched. We both tried to work together because of the wind," Compton said. "It’s an unspoken thing. We’re both strong competitors, and if either of us are going hard, we’re going to make it a fast race when we’re off the front."

But through the third and fourth laps, it became evident that Compton’s high tempo was wearing on the Canadian. By lap five, Bessette had slipped four seconds behind, and a lap later, she popped altogether.

"I couldn’t breathe anymore and I blew with two laps to go," Bessette said.

With Gould charging up from behind and Compton speeding away for the win, Bessette threw in a last-lap gasp. That final effort earned her another second-place finish, and moved her to within four points of Gould in the USGP series rankings.

"I was definitely suffering more today than yesterday," said Bessette, who finished a disappointing fourth in Longmont. "Katie was so strong today. I did all I could to stay with her."

For the water-carrier, a starring role
Trebon and Compton worked from similar playbooks on Saturday: Attack early, get a gap and make ’em chase. But while Compton has played a lone hand, Trebon has kept an ace up his skinsuit sleeve — teammate Wicks, who has helped him rake in the chips.

Wells and Trebon made it a two-man race . . . for a while

Photo: Patrick O'Grady

On Sunday, Wicks once again settled into the lead group, ready to chip in, as Trebon laid down his cards from the gun. The move drew out Geoff Kabush (Maxxis), Jonathan Baker (Primus Mootry) and U.S. champ Todd Wells (GT), sporting some 1980s-vintage Oakley goggles.

But this time teamwork was not enough to spring Trebon free. Unlike the Longmont course, with its long straight sections, the Boulder track was peppered with tight turns that broke up the big man's powerful pedaling rhythm.

Wells attacked Trebon relentlessly through the first two laps. His surges drew the lanky Kona rider and a surging Tim Johnson (Cannondale) into a three-way slugfest.

But Wells was not the only thorn in Trebon’s side. The series leader had to exchange bikes three times in the first half of the race, thanks to one flat and loose handlebars. On the fifth lap, a dejected Trebon abandoned Wells’s wheel and hit the pits to wrench on the bike himself. He didn’t leave for nearly a minute.

"It was super frustrating. My handlebars didn’t feel right, so I figured I’d just fix it myself," Trebon said.

With Trebon struggling, it seemed as though either Wells or Johnson would win the day. But Wicks was racing up behind, charging forward through the sixth and seventh laps, driven by the roars of the crowd, until he finally caught the leaders.

"It was a wall of sound going up the climb. It was awesome," said Wicks.

So, too, was Trebon. Buried in the mid-20s when he finally left the pit, the USGP leader began chewing through the meat of the field. As he spun through the start-finish for the final time, Trebon was less than 20 seconds down, and Wells went to the front and gunned it.

"On the last lap, I knew if Trebon caught up he would probably win the sprint, so I’d rather have us going for top three than racing for second through fourth," said Wells. "I killed myself at the end, but I wanted to at least be in there for the win when we hit the pavement."

And another two-man race develops between Johnson and Wells . . . but who's that coming up behind?

Photo: Neal Rogers

With his teammate inching closer, Wicks sat comfortably in second wheel as Johnson and Wells took turns drilling it. The trio hit the final paved straightaway with just three seconds on Trebon, and began the final 300-meter uphill sprint with Wells at the helm. That’s when Wicks, the reigning short-track mountain-bike national champion, unleashed his winning burst.

"Usually when Ryan is up the road I can just sit back and relax a little more," Wicks said. "When he’s not, all the responsibility is on me. I just put my head down and tried as hard as I could. I figured I was the freshest, so I should be able to outsprint them."

He figured right.

The USGP series now moves to the Pacific Northwest for its final weekend of racing with the Rad Cup Presented by Seasoned Skewers November 18 in Lakewood, Washington, and the Scion Stumptown Cup November 19 in Portland, Oregon. For more information, see www.usgpcyclocross.com.

2006 Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross
Boulder Cup
Elite men
1. Barry Wicks (Kona)
2. Tim Johnson (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com)
3. Todd Wells (GT)
4. Ryan Trebon (Kona)
5. Geoffrey Kabush (Maxxis)

Women
1. Katie Compton (Spike-Primus Mootry)
2. Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com)
3. Georgia Gould (Luna)
4. Katerina Nash (Luna)
5. Wendy Sims (Kona)

Complete results