Saturday, October 31, 2009

Utah Cyclocross #5: Wheeler Park, Salt Lake City, Utah- Results, Report, and Photos

Photos and writing by: Shannon Boffeli

Click Here to check out all the photos from today's cross race

Ali Goulet edges Bart Gillespie for the men's A win


Once again Utah cyclocross riders were treated to fantastic racing conditions while most of the west struggled to dig out from several feet of snow. So much snow in fact several Utah racers were prevented from traveling to the Boulder Cross event due to the closure of Interstate-80 because of 4-foot snow drifts.

With sunny skies and temperatures in the 60s no one was complaining about missing the Boulder race.

Erika Powers pushes the envelope on her way to the win

The women were the first to kick things off. And things got off to a very rough start. After a slightly confusing start Dayna Deuter (Church of the Big Ring) crossed up wheels with another rider and hit the deck taking at least one other racer with her. As the dust flew behind the leaders, Erika Powers (Revolution/Peak Fasteners) led the field into the opening singletrack section followed by her teammate Jen Hanks (aka Bat Girl), Tanya Swenson (Cole Sport), Laura Patten (Ski Utah), and Chantel Olsen. The Revolution duo hooked up in the first lap but soon after Powers got a gap and kept building on it with each lap.

Jen Hanks dressed as Bat Girl and took third place on the day

Powers rode cleanly on the tight and twisting singletrack course using her skills as a mountain biker to keep the pace high while powering through the flat open sections. Behind the leader, Hanks did her best to hold off a fast group of chasers behind. Swenson,Patten, and Olsen worked together briefly until Swenson broke free and bridged the gap to second place. Despite riding a mountain bike Swenson closed it up on the open road sections eventually passing Hanks with just two laps to go.

Meanwhile, Deuter was left to pick up the pieces from her wreck. After being in last place, she quickly moved through the pack picking off riders one at a time. The Church of the Big Ring rider made her way all the way up to 5th by second to last lap and even a second crash couldn't stop her from moving into the fourth spot.

Tanya Swenson finishes the run up

At the finish line it was Powers with a hefty lead followed by Swenson with Hanks just behind. Deuter moved herself up fourth by the finish with Laura Patten taking fifth.

The men were all back together this weekend with Ali Goulet (Church of the Big Ring) returning from his trip back east. He would be matching up against Monavie-Cannondale.com teammates Alex Grant and Bart Gillespie, both sporting Halloween costumes, Eric Rasmussen (Specialized) was also on hand.

From the start, it was Reed Wycoff (Contender) taking the lead. But once again, Wycoff did not have the power to keep Gillespie, Grant, Rasmussen, and Goulet from charging to the front. Once at the front a hard-fought battle ensued with each rider trying to break the others. Goulet continually gapped the other riders by jumping the one set of barriers on course while the others ran.

Bart Gillespie runs better than most babies

Alex Grant took several flyers off the front forcing the others to chase back on but it was never enough to get him clear of the high-powered bunch. On the last lap, Goulet once again jumped his way into the lead and this time he finally unhitched Grant from the end of the train. That left Gillespie and Rasmussen to contend for the win but his increased pace on the last lap broke Rasmussen.

Goulet and Gillespie wound it up in the final half mile with Goulet taking the lead heading into the finish. As the rounded the final turn the short finishing straight left no time for Gillespie to come around leaving Goulet with a well-deserved win. Rasmussen took third followed by Grant and Thomas Bender (Kuhl/Scott) who followed his now well-known habit of starting slow and chasing his way to the front.

Race Notes

Imported beer. Fancy...

In true Halloween fashion many riders raced in full costume, which included a Beer Bottle, Tigger, Bat Girl and Robyn, Naughty Nurse, Spiderman, Skunk, Bumble Bee, and the Incredible Hulk to name a few. Race promoters gave away a Cannondale cyclocross frame to the rider with the best costume

Pile up at the start of the women's A race


Results

Men A
1, Ali Goulet
2, Bart Gillespie
3, Eric Rasmussen
4, Alex Grant
5, Thomas Bender
6, Reed Wycoff
7, Sean Mitchell

Women A

1, Erika Powers
2, Tanya Swenson
3, Jen Hanks
4, Dayna Deuter
5, Laura Patten
6, Chantel Olsen
7, Alison Vrem
8, Heather Edwards
9, Kelsey Bingham
10, Stephanie Skoreyko
11, Jennie Wade
12, Christy Clay
13, Meaghan Cunningham
14, Mary Foss
15, Meg Plank
16, Carolyn Holliday