Wissahickon Cyclocross UCI C2 - Round 4 Ludwig's Corner
Jeremy Powers wins from the front. Roadie Laura Van Gilder takes third win in her new passion for CX.

By Ken Getchell

October 19, 2008; Conshohocken, PA, USA: The UCI C2 Wissahickon Cyclocross, round four of the MAC Powered by SRAM Series, served up an exhibition of different ways to win a cyclocross race today. Laura Van Gilder (C3-Sollay.com) won the Women’s race in the last minute of the competition, while Jeremy Powers (Cyclocrossworld.com) won his race from jthe front in the first minute of action.

The Wissahickon course at the Ludwig’s Corner Horse Show and Country Fair Grounds is fast with lots of power sections and a couple of tricky off-camber hairpins. The venue is a wide-open hilltop to the northwest of Philadelphia, and has become well-known for its windy conditions. Today it was the setting for one of the most competitive MAC Powered by SRAM Women’s races ever held. Rebecca Wellons (Ridley Factory Team), took the early lead, but almost immediately was joined by defending MAC Powered by SRAM champion “Mo” Bruno-Roy (MM Racing Presented by Seven Cycles), yesterday’s Granogue winner “Dee Dee” Winfield (Velo Bella-Kona) and Van Gilder in a breakaway that would define the race. Behind them a chase formed that, at various times, consisted of yesterday’s runner-up Kathy Sherwin and Anna Milkowski of Velo Bella-Kona, Josie Jacques-Maynes and the only rider on the track who had previously won the race, Barbara Howe (unattached).

Women's Race
Uber sprinter Laura Van Gilder’s strategy in the tactical battle soon became obvious - stay second wheel behind Winfield. Van Gilder, who’s MAC Powered by SRAM winning streak had been halted by a first lap flat at Granogue yesterday, was looking for redemption at Wissahickon. “My plan was to ride an aggressive race. I felt like I had a lot to make up for after yesterday,” said the road veteran in her rookie year of cyclocross. “And not having ridden with the girls yesterday to see how their fitness and tactics were, I was a little more conservative in the wind. And Dee Dee, she was just killing it on the front, so I was content to sit in and as the laps counted down, I really wanted to assess where I wanted to make my move to try to gain any sort of advantage.”

At the same time, Winfield, Wellons and especially Bruno-Roy were also assessing where they wanted to make their moves, as they didn’t want the race to be together on the long road finish with one of the greatest women road sprinters of all time in their midst. Said Winfield, “I wanted to lead through the circle of death (a cinnamon bun shaped spiral feature on the course) because it was so easy to slip out through there. I figured it would be better to take it at my own pace, hoping that somebody would come around and pull through the windy sections, but that didn’t happen. So I thought it would be better to just ride my race and if they were there, they were there and I’d just do the best I could. A couple time I tried to get away, but I think should have, maybe, let them come around and attack from the back. I thought maybe I could accelerate through the corners ad get a gap, but I couldn’t hold anything.”

Winfield had won the sprint on a similar uphill asphalt finish yesterday at Granogue, but nobody seemed to fancy her chances against the powerful Van Gilder. As the pressure ramped-up in the last kilometer, Bruno-Roy lost contact. Then, unexpectedly, Van Gilder attacked across the barriers on the Victory Brewing run-up, just as she had one month earlier at the Charm City Cyclocross. Winfield and Wellons tried to respond, but once they hit the pavement just five turns later, Van Gilder was able to light her afterburners and seal her third win of the short season. Winfield held off Wellons for second, capping a profitable weekend in the chase for UCI points.

Afterwards, Van Gilder revealed that she had caught the cyclocross bug. “I find that ‘cross, although it’s short and intense, you really have to be on your toes both mentally and physically and especially with your technical skills. You know, all those things are coming into play throughout the lap in so many ways. Each lap you’re trying to asses where your weakness is and improve on that. And really it feels like the whole 40 minutes you’re just evaluating everything. And there’s the competitors around you, and that’s just one more element. For me I really like that mental and physical aspect because it just encourages me to fight harder.” Later she said of cyclocross, “I’m very, very fond of it and I find the atmosphere so welcoming.”

Elite Men's Race
In the men’s race, a stacked field of over 50 riders lined up for the drag race up the start/finish straight. And like a drag race, it was all over in a little over 6 seconds. Jeremy Powers (cyclocross world.com), in the midst of a season in which he’d already won four UCI races, took the holeshot and explode off the front of the field in a start that Jeremiah Bishop, yesterday’s third place finisher, described as “pinball”. Bishop (Trek/VW) was mid-pack heading into the first turn and in full pursuit mode. Lap after lap Powers continually extended his lead over an ever-changing chase group. Defending MAC Powered by SRAM champ Davide Frattini of Colavita/Sutter Home and Jamie Driscoll of cyclocrossworld.com lead the charge with one of the season’s revelations, Dan Timmerman (Swan Cycles). They were eventually joined by both Ryan Trebon and Barry Wicks of Kona, Andy Jacques-Maynes (Specialized/ KMC presented by California Giant Strawberries), Troy Wells(Team Clif Bar) and Power’s cyclocrossworld.com teammate Tim Johnson. The chase changed size and shape like a lava lamp as gaps would develop between groups of riders only to rejoin the main chase again. One rider who never looked comfortable on the day was Ryan Trebon, who was one of many to crash on the day. “Some days you just go slow,” he said afterward.

Trebon did actually lead the chase at one point, but once he pulled over, Tim Johnson hit the front and brought the pace down, allowing Powers to bring his lead up to 27 seconds. Meanwhile, Jeremiah Bishop was continuing to hopscotch his way toward the front from group to group until he high-sided spectacularly with 4 ½ laps to go. “What happened was that the road was slippery because it had a lot of gravel, but the grass was pretty grippy. I slid on the slick, but when I hit the grass, the bike stood up and I went over the handlebars.” Undeterred, Bishop carried on, “that’s probably my strength, pressing on regardless.”

With Power’s lead over 30 sec, Tim Johnson suddenly switched from defense to offense. “That’s the beauty of having teammates,” he said. “Because once Jeremy had a lead that was established, then it was up to me to get away from those guys and finish second. So I hit it a couple of times to just string it out and see who was there after it happened and it was just Jacques-Maynes and Timmerman at first. I let Andy (Jacques-Maynes) ride for a little while, and then I attacked those guys twice before I finally got away. But then once I got away, I just kept the gas on. Jeremy had such a big gap that it was just about staying away from the guys behind me. It was a great day for the cyclocrossworld.com Cannondale team.” Then he added, “But we miss Lyne (Tim’s wife Lyne Bessette). She’s retired now and travelling is just a little bit different without her.”

Powers went on to become the first repeat winner in Wissahickon cyclocross history with a jubilant finish 29 seconds in front of Johnson. Bishop recovered from his crash to finish third, with Timmerman outsprinting Jacques-Maynes for fourth. “I’ll take a win any ay I can get it” said Powers immediately afterwards. “This is one of my favorites. All the best guys in the country are here and I’m really happy with how the day turned out.”

Race Notes:
• 15 year old High School Sophomore Jeff Bahnson extended his winning streak to 7 and remained undefeated in MAC Powered by SRAM Category 3/2/4 adult completion. It was his fifth win in 10 days following a sweep in Cincinnati last weekend and the Granogue/Wissahickon double header this weekend. He was also part of the organizing committee that produced yesterday’s Granogue race.
• Roger Aspholm dominated the Elite Masters class, again. With the win, Aspholm stays undefeated for the year in MAC Powered by SRAM action.
• Philadelphia’s Sturdy Girl Cycling Club provided bonus primes for competitors aged 35 and over in the Elite Women’s race, while racing chiropractor Barry Wahner donated primes for several of the amateur classes.
• One of the more unusual sponsors of the race was actually another race. The 2009 New Jersey State Fair SpectaCross sponsored the Men’s B (category 2/3/4) race at Wissahickon. According to organizers, it will be a “supercross-style arena cyclocross race” on the opening weekend of New Jersey’s State Fair and take place in the same arena used for tractor pulls, and demo derbies. Plans call for a cyclocross with a run-up over a car, a mtb trials competition and unicycle jousting to entertain the fairgoers between races.

Wissahickon Cyclocross Results
MAC Powered by SRAM Series #4

Category: Elite Men
1 0:56:33 2 Powers Jeremy Cyclocrossworld.com 
2 0:57:04 1 Johnson Tim Cyclocrossworld.com/Cannondale 
3 0:57:17 15 Bishop Jeremiah Trek 
4 0:57:23 49 Timmerman Dan Swan Cycles
5 0:57:23 6 Wells Troy Team CLIF BAR Durango CO
6 0:57:23 22 Jacques-Maynes Andy Specialized/KMC pb Cal Giant 
7 0:57:38 4 Wicks Barry KONA Corvallis OR
8 0:57:42 7 Driscoll Jamey Cyclocrossworld.com/Cannondale
9 0:58:02 3 Trebon Ryan KONA Loma Linda CA
10 0:58:02 9 Frattini Davide Team Colavita/Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light 
11 0:58:04 8 Baker Jonathan Vitamin Cottage p/b XP Companies Boulder CO
12 0:59:01 11 Shriver Matt Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team Durango CO
13 0:59:02 13 Schempf Weston C3-Sollay.com! Centre Hall PA
14 0:59:03 18 Dillon Josh Fiordifrutta / Cannondale Essex Junction VT
15 0:59:58 10 Spinelli JustinSRM Watches/Richard Sachs/Boathouse Inc.
16 1:00:03 46 Dugan WilliamSRM Watches/Richard Sachs/Boathouse Inc.
17 1:00:17 14 McGrath Adam Team Van Dessel Portland OR
18 1:00:22 21 Kincaid Stephan Fuji Gilbertsville PA
19 1:00:25 12 Kraus MattSRM Watches/Richard Sachs/Boathouse Inc. 
20 1:00:40 44 Galegher Sean Hunt Valley Bicycles/HVB Parkville MD
21 1:00:46 51 Hamblen JonSRM Watches/Richard Sachs/Boathouse Inc.
22 1:00:58 52 DeWald Ryan Batley Harley Davidson
23 1:01:02 17 Wittwer Greg ALAN North America Cycling Team 
24 1:01:06 29 Elliston Bill Fuji Easton PA
25 1:01:30 40 Hammaker Kyle Scott bicycles Marysville PA
26 1:01:38 20 Wren Tyler Colavita / Sutter Home Presented by Cooking Light 
27 1:01:41 16 Keough Nicholas Jittery Joe's/ Sonic Cyclocross 
28 1:01:44 27 Hebe Michael VisitPA.com 
29 1:01:55 30 Lea Bobby Fuji Mertztown PA
30 1:01:58 36 Minturn John Empire Cycling - CRCA Philadelphia PA
31 1:02:12 34 VanKrimpen Guy Rapid City Cycle St. Catharines ON
32 1:02:17 35 Burns John Bikeman.com Yarmouth ME
33 1:02:37 42 Bradley Patrick Rutgers University Cycling Team 
34 1:02:43 26 Price Harlan FT/ IF Lionettes Philadelphia PA
35 1:03:03 43 Rubijono Peter Embrocation/Cambridge/Igleheart/madAlchemy 
36 1 lap 45 Hesel Todd Hunt Valley Bicycles/Marathon Roofing Parkville MD
37 1 lap 33 Nelessen Guillaume Van Dessel Factory Team Belle Mead NJ
38 1 lap 41 Shaffer Nicholas Human Zoom/ Pabst Blue Ribbon Phoenixville PA
39 1 lap 38 Reynolds Joseph Engin Cycles folsom NJ
40 1 lap 50 Romenow Myles South Hampton WY
41 1 lap 28 McKeegan Andrew Kelly Benefit Strategies/LSV Amateur Cycling 
42 1 lap 37 Brewer John Haymarket Bicycles p/b Function Drinks 
43 1 lap 24 Wulfkuhle Andrew C3-Sollay.com Lancaster PA
44 1 lap 23 Szczepanski Adam Wissahickon Philadelphia PA
45 1 lap 31 Totaro chad Human Zoom / Pabst Blue Ribbon 
46 1 lap 53 Mitchell Eric Human Zoom / Pabst Blue Ribbon
DNF 39 Wolfson Kevin Fitness Together/IF p/b Lionette's 
DNF 19 JOHNSON TYLER TARGETRAINING 
DNF 32 Langlois Dan Embrocation/ Circle A Cycles 
DNF 48 Hines Justin Handlebars CC Montreal ONT
DNS 5 Anthony Jesse Jamis Beverly MA
DNS 47 Tisza Zoltan P-NIVO Beton Expressz 2000 
DNS 25 Yozell Michael VisitPA.com Emmaus PA

Category: Elite Women & Sturdy Girl Masters Women 35+
Winning Time: 43:35
1 43:35 112 van Gilder Laura C3 Sollay CRESCO PA
2 43:37 115 Winfield Deidre Velo Bella - Kona 
3 43:38 102 Wellons Rebecca Ridley Factory Team 
4 43:41 101 Bruno Roy Maureen MM Racing p/b Seven Cycles 
5 44:25 107 Sherwin Kathy Velo Bella - Kona 
6 44:43 120 Jacques-Maynes Josie Specialized/KMC pb Cal Giant 
7 44:48 105 Howe Barbara Velo Bella Berkeley CA
8 45:33 103 Milkowski Anna Velo Bella-Kona New Haven CT
9 45:48 114 Kemmerer Arley Hub Racing Silver Spring MD
10 45:57 109 Gavin Kristin Human Zoom/Pabst Blue Ribbon 
11 46:06 110 Thiemann Nikki Human Zoom Pabst Blue Ribbon 
12 47:01 104 Wallace AmySRM Watches/Richard Sachs/Boathouse Inc.
13 47:34 113 Webber Lauri Secret Henry's Team Newark DE
14 47:36 125 Kenzer AlieSRM Watches/Richard Sachs/Boathouse Inc.
15 47:40 123 Church Kristine Human Zoom/ Pabst Blue Ribbon 
16 47:58 117 Harlow Elizabeth C3-Sollay.com Baltimore MD
17 48:13 118 von Teitenberg Heidi C3-Sollay.com
18 48:21 108 MASON BETH C3-Sollay.com West Point NY
19 48:52 124 Swope Kristy EPS/CSS/Riptide Cycling
20 49:12 116 Grim Diane C3-Sollay.com Boyertown PA
21 49:24 111 Bilodeau Megan Hup United Easthampton MA
22 50:28 119 Waggett Jill Guy's Racing Hopewell NJ
23 52:28 126 Parsons Tara CRCA New York NY

Category: Elite Masters
Place 45+ Time Bib # Last Name First Name Team City ST
1 47:06 300 Aspholm Roger Westwood Velo haworth NJ
2 @0:49 309 Kimball Troy Westwood Velo Randolph NJ
3 @1:08 315 Cassan Todd Westwood Velo NYC NY
4 @1:22 301 Weaver Dave ALAN N. America Cycling Team Towson MD
5 @1:35 303 Ferguson Greg Penn State Hershey Cancer Inst. Glassboro NJ
6 @1:37 302 Campos Robert GS Gotham/Toga Nesconset NY
7 @1:39 308 Gorski Andy SPK / Speedgoat / Salsa Allison Park PA
8 @1:42 311 Warmuth Ralf Westwood Velo Highland Park NJ
9 @1:46 304 Kutney Mark Van Dessel Cycles Charlottesville VA
10 @1:51 328 Howard Matthew GS Gotham New York NY
11 @2:00 310 Saunders Blair Secret Henry's Team Newark DE
12 @2:03 306 Wieczorek Brian Freddie Fu Cycling Ligonier PA
13 @2:05 355 Ferrari Matthew Mt Nittany Wheelworks State College PA
14 @2:07 316 Birner Michael Ben's Performance Bikes/BMC Woodbine MD
15 @2:33 337 Bruno Jonathan FT / IF powered by Lionette's Boston MA
16 @2:38 314 Reisinger Kirk Club Wissahickon / Engin Cycles Schwenksville PA
17 @2:43 318 Erndl Charles 3-D RacingTeam/Toms Atlantic cyclery Point Pleasant NJ
18 @2:45 307 Long Christopher GS Gotham/Toga Woodside NY
19 @2:56 319 Kolb Michael C3-Sollay.com Newark DE
20 @3:01 320 Root Randall Evolution Cycling Club Merrifield VA
21 @3:07 341 Fryberger Kevin Human Zoom/Pabst Blue Ribbon devon PA
22 317 Piccillo Joseph Evolution Racing Doylestown PA
23 @3:42 305 Turner Glenn Human Zoom/Pabst Blue Ribbon newtown sq PA
24 @3:44 351 Wilson David Northeastern Hardware/CJCT Morristown NJ
25 @3:54 362 Gadomski Joe Guys Racing Club
26 @3:55 349 Jones Martin Team Somerset • Van Dessel • Bike King High Bridge NJ
27 @4:13 322 Auer Kristopher C3-Sollay.Com baltimore MD
28 @4:14 339 Ragot Eric Kissena Cycling Club Brooklyn NY
29 @4:16 334 Zeimet Raymond Guy's Racing Ewing NJ
30 @4:20 321 Cline Kelly Wissahickon Glenside PA
31 @4:23 323 Lowe David Human Zoom/Pabst Blue Ribbon Bala Cynwyd PA
32 @4:24 358 Hunt David Team Somerset Whitehouse Station NJ
33 @4:30 325 Kruger Todd Heart House/CADV/CC Evesham Highland Park NJ
34 @4:34 326 Anestad N. Johan Evolution Racing Quakertown PA
35 @4:36 364 McGill Chris 29er Cannondale
36 @4:38 359 Saint Clair Kevin Main Line Cycling - Bikyle Philadelphia PA
37 @4:40 330 Milne Judd Squadra Coppi Reston VA
38 @4:45 345 Mealey Sean Hunt Valley Bicycles/Marathon Roofing York PA
39 @4:47 356 Cordisco Jeff C3-Sollay.com Kennett Square PA
40 @4:49 363 Runnals Mike Human Zoom/Pabst Blue Ribbon
41 @4:57 313 Chichester Charles Guy's Racing titusville NJ
42 @5:02 333 Wilson Scott Evolution Racing Warminster PA
43 @5:08 361 McDaniel Tom Henry's Bikes
44 @5:20 324 Gray Douglass Christiana Care PT+/FSVS Elizabethtown PA
45 @5:36 336 Appeltans Jeffrey Primus Mootry-Denver Boulder Couriers
46 @5:40 329 Kuhn Mike Cadence Philadelphia PA
47 @5:45 331 Breckenmaker Kevin Yellow Breeches Racing Hershey PA
48 @6:06 344 Kensinger Karl NCVC/Inova Health System Arlington VA
49 @6:12 353 Facas Chris Westwood Velo/Trade Manage Capitol Hillsborough NJ
50 @6:27 350 Piacine Bob Guys Racing Club Sellersville PA
51 @6:30 347 Freymann Werner Pure Energy Cycling/River Horse Brewing Conyngham PA
52 @6:44 352 Greene Albert Yellow Breeches Racing Woodbridge VA
53 @7:28 348 Ball Rick WW/High Gear CrESCO PA
54 @7:30 327 Klenk Frederick Evolution Racing Titusville NJ
55 @8:00 342 Feehan Jim Kissena Spring Lake NJ
56 - 1 lap 343 Stokes David Kissena New York NY
57 - 1 lap 346 Downs Jay Fort Factory Team/Wvu Healthcare Greensburg PA
58 - 1 lap 338 La Punzina Charles Kissena Cycling Club Brooklyn NY
59 - 1 lap 332 Bayat Fafar Highland Park Hermes Teaneck NJ

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