There was no shortage of themes to come out of the second day of the 2005 Liberty Mutual U.S. Cyclo-cross National Championships in Providence, Rhode Island. On a day when, among others, collegiate men, under-23 men, junior men 17-18 and elite men all raced for stars-and-stripes jerseys, there was a handful of constants overlapping the day’s most prestigious races.

It was a big day for Brent Bookwalter, who won the collegiate men’s race for Lees-McRae College and then finished third in the U-23 race for Kona-Easton. It was a bigger day for the TIAA-CREF-Clif Bar team, which took wins with Danny Summerhill in the juniors race and Troy Wells in the under-23 race. It was a tough day for defending national champions, as last year’s junior national champion Bjørn Selander (Alan Factory), U-23 national champion Jesse Anthony (Clif Bar) and elite national champion Jonathan Page (Liberty Mutual) all finished on the podium but off the top step.

But the biggest story of the day was the back-to-back wins by the Wells brothers, Todd and Troy. After the younger Wells dethroned six-time national champion Anthony in the U-23 race, older brother Todd followed suit, riding away from a struggling Page, who was weakened by food poisoning, and barely fending off a hard-charging Ryan Trebon (Kona). In doing so, Wells (GT-Hyundai) collected his second U.S. national cyclo-cross title on Saturday to go along with the jersey he won in 2001, his first year of ‘cross racing.

"This win for sure means more to me than the other does," Todd Wells said. "The first time I won I wanted [former teammate] Marc Gullickson to win that race. I would have given him the jersey. If we were away I would have let him win, just because he had helped me out so much all year. It wasn’t handed to me, but I wasn’t trying for it. But for the past three or four years I’ve been trying to get it back and I haven’t been able to, so that makes this sweeter. Plus, today Troy and I won on the same day. It doesn’t get much better than that."

Clash of the ‘cross titans
Seven elite men came into the race with a realistic shot at the national title: Page, Wells, Trebon and his Kona teammate Barry Wicks, 2000 national champ Tim Johnson (Cyclocrossworld.com-Louis Garneau), 1997 national champ Mark McCormack (Clif Bar) and former national junior and under-23 ‘cross champion Adam Craig (Giant).

Illness erased Page's edge

Photo: Chris Milliman

Or make that six. Rumors of Page’s sudden illness were confirmed Saturday morning — after a serious bout of diarrhea and vomiting, Page spent much of Friday night at a local hospital that had him on an IV drip to replenish fluids. Speculation was rife beforehand as to whether the three-time champ would start the race, and from the first lap it was clear that Page was not his usual self.

"I had some bad luck," a shivering, pallid Page said. "I guess I got some food poisoning. I started having diarrhea Friday morning and then started throwing up. I was at the hospital until 10:30 [Friday night]. I haven’t eaten anything since 7 a.m. Friday morning except some applesauce and saltines."

As New Englanders, Page, Johnson, McCormack and Craig could all count on impartial support from the bundled-up spectators encircling the course in Providence’s Roger Williams Park. But it soon became clear that illness had taken the snap out of the three-time U.S. champion's legs, and as Wells opened the throttle on the snowy, slushy course, Page gradually conceded ground until the race had settled into a two-way contest between the GT-Hyundai rider and the lanky Trebon. Behind, Craig and Johnson chased in vain.

As expected, the snowstorm that hit the Northeast Friday made for adverse conditions, and wreaked havoc with many participants’ machines. Because of the slippery course, many riders risked pinch flats by running the lowest-possible tire pressure.

"I had a great start but I got a flat in the first corner," said Johnson, who often excels in snowy conditions. "I rode the whole first three-quarters of a lap with a flat. I tried to hide it, but finally on the road section JP was like, ‘Dude, you’ve got a flat.’ I was still in third at that time, and I didn’t get passed by all the guys until I was close to the [mechanical assistance] pit."

But the calamities weren’t over for Johnson. Next, a cleat pulled free of its shoe, but not of its pedal. Johnson had a spare set of shoes in his trailer, but not in the pit, and thus rode the rest of the race with only one foot clipped in. Astoundingly, he still managed to place fifth — and kept a positive attitude about it.

"I don’t want to put ‘disappointing’ in the same sentence with ‘cross for me this season," Johnson said. "It’s been all gravy. Nothing’s been disappointing for me this year. It would have been nice to have a shot at the win. I was talking with Jonathan, and his getting sick took his shot at winning away. For me to have a couple of instances of bad luck, there’s nothing worse than that, but it’s okay. You can’t get bummed about it. Shit happens."

Ahead, Wells had his own mechanical situation to deal with. "The three of us rode together for a few laps, and then I crashed running up the stairs and broke my handlebars," Wells said. "But they were double-wrapped so they didn’t fall off. I missed the pit because I wasn’t sure where it was on the backside, but I got a fresh bike the next time through. Then Trebon bobbled on one section, and that was where I attacked."

And once Wells was gone, he was gone. Trebon put in a valiant effort to bring him back, but to no avail. Wells seemed smoother on the bike, but the powerful Trebon drove relentlessly in the final laps, and as the two front-runners approached the finish line they were separated by less than 10 seconds, nearly close enough for a two-up sprint.

"I was going as hard as I could, and I think Trebon just figured out some of the sections," Wells said. "He is so powerful, but he was just going too fast through some of the snowy sections. He would get a little off course and bog down in the snow. I was taking it a little slower and just trying to stay on the trail."

Coming into the final straight, Trebon was just six or seven seconds behind, but Wells hung tough to regain the stars-and-stripes jersey that he first donned in 2001.

"Towards the end of the race I just wasn’t feeling it," Trebon said. "I didn’t have too much left. I really wasn’t feeling good today. I started to struggle towards the middle of the race. The last two laps I just forced it. I was hurting on all the run-ups, and hurting on all the pavement sections trying to catch back up. Todd was riding well. I knew he was going to go good today, I just didn’t know I was going to be feeling that bad."

Page, who was sponsored at nationals by Liberty Mutual, made a race of it despite his illness and hung on for third. "I tried, I go down fighting I guess, but it was just a little too much for me," he said. "I relied on bike-handling skills more than anything."

Trebon was less philosophical about his own performance. "I’m not really happy with my race. I wish I had a little better legs. I just wasn’t feeling 100 percent. I’m not taking anything away from the way Todd rode, it’s just that some days you’re going good and some days you’re not."

Wells attributed some of his victory to an adjusted race schedule that saw him race cyclo-cross for only six weeks. Wells took a break from racing following the conclusion of the cross-country season and came into the weekend riding a high after wins at the U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross finale in San Francisco on November 20 and the W.E. Stedman Grand Prix December 3 in Wakefield, Rhode Island.

"My strategy this season has paid off, for sure," he said. "Usually I do all the races, and I win a couple here and there, but I’m not that fired up. I’m usually thinking about not riding my bike any more when I’m at ‘cross nationals. When I got here this time all I was thinking about was the race."

Another Wells wins
Another Wells was winning in similar fashion earlier in the day. Todd’s younger brother Troy held off a hard-charging Anthony to take the the U-23 national cyclo-cross crown and break Anthony’s 6-year-old winning streak at nationals.

Troy Wells takes the under-23 race

Photo: Chris Milliman

Anthony suffered a spot of bad luck early on, flatting on the first lap of the 50-minute race and dropping out of the top 10 as Bookwalter punched it, trailed by Wells. Shortly after, Bookwalter, who earlier had won the collegiate championship postponed by Friday's snowstorm, had a bit of a bobble in his own visit to the pits and Wells took a gap over the Kona-Easton rider.

"I had one lap to pre-ride the course, and Bookwalter raced it all morning, so I figured I would go with him and see the lines and see the speeds you could hit everything at," said Wells, who was also signed up for the collegiate race but dropped out when Friday’s inclement weather forced its postponement to Saturday.

"I figured since he did the collegiate race he would go out and pin it since he was all open and ready to go. I just tried to stay consistent, I didn’t try to do anything special in the technical sections, but I would just pin it on the paved sections as hard as I could each time."

Behind them, a revitalized Anthony put the hammer down and cut a swath through the field, driving into third place and shooting past second-placed Bookwalter. Anthony appeared to be the stronger of the two as the clock ticked down, but Wells was showing some stellar handling skills.

"I thought I had it under control, because I heard the gap [to Anthony] was 15 seconds for three laps," Wells said. "I just figured, keep it consistent. By the time I had a gap of over 20 seconds I was just trying to conserve. I figured if he came back up to me I could just attack again. When you’re in second you’ve got to give it everything you’ve got. When you’re in the lead you’ve got to be consistent and not make stupid mistakes."

And so, while Anthony eventually closed to within a handful of seconds, he was unable to catch the TIAA-CREF rider, who ended the defending champ's long-running stars-and-stripes streak.

Anthony was philosophical about his second-place finish.

"I fell so far back on the first lap," Anthony said. "In the barrier section, trying to get into my pedals, the snow was just clogging everything up, and I got a flat soon after that. I lost about 30 or 40 seconds. I just put my head down from the end of the first lap and started riding as hard as I could, as smooth as I could. I felt great. I was riding really well, not making many mistakes, but Troy was riding so strong. I clawed to within about five seconds, but he was riding so well.

"He definitely deserved the win today. It’s a bummer not to win, and I feel like I could have won today, but that’s bike racing. That’s cyclo-cross. It’s happened to other guys who I have raced, and it’s benefited me before. What goes around comes around. I gave it my best shot today, and that was really all I could do."

After taking the collegiate title ahead of defending champion Matt Shriver (Fort Lewis College), Bookwalter, who rode for the Advantage Benefits-Endeavour domestic road team in 2005, was pleased with his third-place finish.

"It’s icing on the cake," he said. "It’s been a long season, and the ‘cross stuff I really enjoy doing. It’s a lot of fun. It was a big relief taking the collegiate race for our team. I knew anything could happen in the U23 race, so I just gave it my all in the collegiate race. I was opened up, definitely. I had a good 30 minutes of gas in my system. The wick ran a little short in the end, but these guys are spectacular ‘cross riders, so if I have to finish third place it’s great to finish behind Jesse Anthony and Troy Wells."

Junior men: Summerhill wins a tough one
Defending junior champ Bjørn Selander (Alan Factory Team) and USGP of Cyclocross series winner Danny Summerhill (TIAA-CREF-Clif Bar) quickly turned the junior men's national-championship contest into what their meetings have been all season — a two-man race. But as in the U23 race, a mechanical played what may have been a deciding role.

Selander and Summerhill had built an insurmountable lead in the 40-minute race when their bikes came into incidental contact during the final lap. Selander, the son of former European ‘cross star Dag Selander, got the worst of it — a ruined rear derailleur and a bent derailleur hanger. In a sportsmanlike gesture, Summerhill hesitated, soft-pedaling while he waited to see if his rival could get back in the game. But when it became clear that Selander could not, Summerhill soloed away for the win.

"We had been swapping positions, way more than at the USGP series, where I was usually just following his line," Summerhill said. "We were sharing the load at the front. When we crashed, I was telling him to hurry up, saying ‘I don’t want to win like this,’ and he told me, ‘No, dude, just go ahead.’ I asked him if he was sure and he said he was."

As for Selander, he shouldered his bike, ran to the pit for a fresh machine and got back in the hunt. But while he fought gamely back into third place, that was as far he'd get - Summerhill rode to the victory, followed by teammate Alex Howes.

"I didn’t know what happened at first," Selander said. "I thought he rolled my wheel. I didn’t know I broke my derailleur hanger, but then I couldn’t pedal, so I got off and started running and ran all the way to the pit."

"It happens," Selander continued. "You can’t do anything about it. It’s no use crying over spilt milk. I was hoping it was going to come down to a sprint, although I’m sure one of us would have made a move on the last lap.

"If I was in Danny’s shoes, I would have waited a little bit like he did, but it’s not worth losing a national championship waiting for me. I would have been mad at him if he would’ve done that."

For more photos from Chris Milliman, click here. 'Cross nationals continues Sunday with the elite women's race and the Liberty Cup, an open, non-UCI race of former and current national champions. Chris Horner, Lyne Bessette and Marc Gullickson are expected to start the race.— Editor

Liberty Mutual U.S. Cyclocross Championships
Roger Williams Park
Providence, RI. December 10Elite men
1. Todd Wells, GT-Hyundai, 59:03
2. Ryan Trebon, Kona, at 0:14
3. Jonathan Page, Liberty Mutual, 1:52

U23 men
1. Troy Wells, TIAA-CREF-Clif Bar, 54:23
2. Jesse Anthony, Team Clif Bar, at 0:20
3. Brent Bookwalter, Easton-Kona , at 0:45

Junior men 17-18
1. Danny Summerhill, TIAA-CREF-Clif Bar, 38:05
2. Alex Howes, TIAA-CREF-Clif Bar, at 0:44
3. Bjorn Selander, Alan Factory Team, at 0:47

Junior men 15-16
1. Alex Coelho, 27:40
2. Steve Fisher, Oh Boy, at 2:49
3. Nick Bax, Artemis, at 3:09

Junior men 13-14
1. Benny Swedberg, Rad Racing, 32:26
2. Bryan Klingele, Rad Racing, at 1:13
3. Morgan Gerlak, Alan Mid-Atlantic, at 3:34

Junior men 10-12
1. Logan Owen, Redline, 39:15
2. Jarred Reuter, at 0:18
3. Austin Clevenger, Runningshoes.com, at 1:12

U23 wWomen
1. Clara Beard, Diet Cheerwine, 37:42
2. Larssyn Staley, Team Andeer Interflon Scott, at 0:04
3. Tela Crane, Rad Racing Northwest, at 0:23

Junior women 17-18
1. Arielle Filiberti, Team Bike Alley-Nert/Phillips Academy Andove, 34:39
2. Stephanie White, Gearworks-Spin Arts, at 1:16
3. Hanna Walton, Housatonic Wheel Club, at 5:36

Junior women 15-16
1. Samantha Schneider, Endeavour, 39:33
2. Danielle Haulman, Hot Tubes, at 0:37
3. Nina Santiago, AcT-UPMC

Junior women 13-14
1. Kaitlin Antonneau, Nova Iscorp, 37:33
2. Hollis Owens, Bikes Unlimited, at 1:42
3. Tatum Tyynismaa

Junior women 10-12
1. Elizabeth White, NEBC, 40:27
2. Catherine Maier, Rad Racing
3. Tiffany Bontorno, JRA Cycles

Collegiate men
1. Brent Bookwalter, Lees-McRae College, 44:11
2. Matt Scriver, Fort Lewis College, at 0:43
3. Cory Burns, University Of New Hampshire

Collegiate women
1. Melodie Metzger, University of California-Berkeley, 34:39
2. Daniele Staskal, University of North Carolina, at 2:05
3. Tina Dominic, Fort Lewis College, at 2:35

Master Men 30-34
1. Justin Robinson, California Giant Strawberries-Specialized, 46:23
2. Johannes Huseby, Fiordifrutta, at 0:06
3. Matt Kraus, Alan, at 0:11

Complete results