On another beautiful fall day riders were treated to a fantastic race at the Weber State Fairgrounds. Compared to last weekend’s racecourse, the Weber course offers up fast-paced, wide-open racing that encourages close competition. Every event today featured some of the tightest races of the 2009 Utah cyclocross season.
Reed Wycoff leads Alex Grant over the barriers
The women’s race got off to a fast start with Erika Powers (Revolution/Peak Fasteners), taking the early lead with Dayna Deuter (Church of the Big Ring), Jen Hanks (Revolution/Peak Fasteners), Chantel Olsen (PCIM), and Stephanie Skoryenko (University of Utah) in tow.
Erika Powers on the front with Dayna Deuter just behind
On the flats Skoryenko moved into the lead heading into the twisting section of the circuit until her crash on one of the barriers sprung Deuter off the front.
Hanks led the chase giving everything to bridge the gap to the leader. Despite Hanks’ best efforts Deuter maintained her advantage while the effort chasing took a toll on Hanks dropping her from 2nd into 5th.
Now it was Powers’ turn to try and bridge up to Deuter. Quickly Powers started eating into the leader’s advantage. But a barrier brought Powers’ chase to an end as her chain fell off after crossing a barrier. The mishap allowed Skoryenko and Olsen to once again join the chase group. Hanks continued to dangle just seconds off the back.
Stephanie Skoryenko launches attack against Erika Powers and Chantel Olsen
As the laps wound down it was clear no one was going to bring Deuter back. Her smooth dismounts and sheer power were too much for the rest of the contenders. Skoryenko was the first of the chasers to drop off just before an ill-timed flat tire dropped her back in the field. Powers' continual accelerations finally unhitched Chantel Olsen from her back wheel allowing her to cross the line in second. Olsen hung on for 3rd place with Hanks crossing the line in 4th. Skoryenko held off a strong challenge from Tanya Swenson (Cole Sport) to take the final podium spot.
The field charges out at the start of the men's A race
For the men, all the top challengers were once again accounted for. Ali Goulet (Church of the Big Ring) and Bart Gillespie (Monavie-Cannondale.com) were the heavy favorites but Eric Rasmussen (Specialized) excels on the flatter courses and Alex Grant (Monavie-Cannondale.com) would be looking to capitalize on his good condition. Idaho rider Sam Krieg would be looking to have another top performance on the same course he won the Utah State Cyclocross Championship race on in 2008.
Goulet took the hole shot but couldn’t pull clear of Gillespie, Grant, Krieg, Rasmussen, and Reed Wycoff (Contender). Gillespie established an early lead and it looked like he was going to solo to another win. But he was quickly caught by the chase group who were down to four after shedding Wycoff.
Bart Gillespie jumps one of the barriers as Eric Rasmussen runs beside him
Once together the group stayed tight for several laps until Gillespie was once again off the front. It seemed no one could maintain his pace as he sped over the open terrain and jumped all four barriers on course. Behind the leader the group now began to fall apart. Goulet was first to go after several crashes and a mechanical dropped him off the pace. Next came Sam Krieg who also suffered a mechanical forcing him to change bikes.
The confusion behind allowed Rasmussen to begin pulling away from Grant who was riding one of his cleanest cross races of the season, keeping his bike upright and avoiding any flat tires.
In the end it was Gillespie once again taking the win followed by Rasmussen and Grant. Sam Krieg recovered for a fourth place finish followed by Reed Wycoff who rebounded for a podium finish.
Click here to view our entire photo gallery from today's race
Results
Men's A
1, Bart Gillespie
2, Eric Rasmussen
3, Alex Grant
4, Sam Krieg
5, Reed Wycoff
6, Ali Goulet
7, Bryce Young
8, Connor O'Leary
9, Taylor Foss
10, Chris McKay
Women's A
1, Dayna Deuter
2, Erika Powers
3, Chantel Olsen
4, Jen Hanks
5, Stephanie Skoryenko
6, Tanya Swenson
7, Kelsey Bingham
8, Karen Appleby-Krieg
9, Meg Plank
10, Jennie Wade
11, Rachel Cieslewicz
12, Mary Foss
13, Jessica Morris
14, Alison Vrem
