Page and Elliot win at Gloucester opener

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Jonathan Page (Planet Bike) treated his New England fans to a solo victory, while giving his competitors a lesson in mud racing at the Gran Prix of Gloucester’s round one. Jamey Driscoll (Cyclocrossworld.com) gritted his teeth to hang on to a distant second place ahead of a battle for third that was eventually won by Chris Jones (Champion System).

"This is what I was looking for today and the conditions made it that way, one step and a time and this is just the beginning," said Page who enjoyed an over-sized glass of beer courtesy of sponsored Great Brewers. "I’m in good form and I’d like to keep it that way. My whole family plus a van load of friends came down to watch and it’s good to have them here."

Page welcomed the victory after rolling a total of three tires in the previous weekend’s Planet Bike Cup held in Madison, Wisconsin. What could have been two potential wins ended in two hard-fought third place finishes. According to Page, no-one was to blame for the unfortunate mechanicals.

"I glued a lot of tires this week," laughed Page, in reference to his mechanical-free ride today. "I know I have good form and I’m just glad that everything came together and I’m just happy to be in front of New England and my family, it’s a lot of fun."

The Gran Prix of Gloucester weekend holds a place on both the North American Cyclo-Cross Trophy (NACT) series and the Verge New England series. Page currently leads the NACT series which began at Star Crossed and Rad Racing two weeks ago. Dan Timmerman (Richard Sachs/RGM Watches) leads the second series after his wins in season openers held in Vermont the previous weekend.

Mud and cyclo-cross 101

The rain started in the early morning and poured persistently upon on the elite men as they lined in preparation for the mud, guts and glory of New England cyclo-cross’s famed Gran Prix of Gloucester. There aren’t too many cyclo-cross riders who can handle thick, sloppy mud as well as the 2007 World Championship silver medallist Jonathan Page.

"I had to laugh this morning when I woke up to a real down pour," Page said. "It just made for a real fun race. You can’t not have fun when you’re a grown man riding around in the mud. I get paid to do it and it’s a hell of a job!"

Born and raised in Tilton, New Hampshire, the New Englander is no stranger to the cruel autumn conditions that make ‘cross racing in this region so comparable to Belgian conditions.

Page wasted no time separating himself from his opponents, padding nearly 30 seconds by the end of the second lap. Tim Johnson (Cyclocrossworld.com) followed closely for a short period, but the effort proved to be too demanding for his first race back after separating his shoulder two weeks ago.

Page displayed his technical talent, negotiating slick turns, taking advantage of minute patches of grass and powering his way through the mud. Asked if he was surprised to look over his shoulder and see no company Page simply said, "That’s the way I like it. I’ll just say it’s nice to be alone."

Driscoll worked his way forward after a slower start and found himself on the heels of Page, riding in second place four laps into the race. Driscoll, 22, joined forces with cyclocrossworld.com last year and is one of America’s rising talents. He displayed his strength this year with a podium finish in the season opener, Rad Racing, followed by winning Cross Vegas.

"Vegas was a pure surprise for me just because of all the riders that were there and it was cool to pull that off because it is such a cool yet different race from everything else," Driscoll said. "Here, it’s a pretty good test of how you’re riding fitness-wise because as much as it is skills in the mud, there is a lot of strength involved too. I was happy to pull off a second."

The battle for the scraps

First and second place was sewn up long before the closing laps and the real racing came from behind between Jones, Johnson and Andy Jacques-Maynes (Bissell). The third and last step the podium was prestigious given the quality of the field, the plentiful series’ points and the large cash prizes on offer.

Jacques-Maynes caught and passed Johnson on the fourth lap. Johnson, a former US National Champion, yo-yoed on and off Jacques-Maynes' pace. Jones bridged across to the pair with four laps to go. His catch seemed to come out of no where, but according to Jones, he chose a more conservative start to avoid crashing and made up ground little by little.

"Normally I go really hard in the mud and the rain and I get out there and I crash," Jones said. "This time I decided to take it easy on the first lap, keep it upright and see how that went. It worked. I kept picking guys off and guys were bobbling or making silly mistakes. I didn’t crash at all today, the first time in the mud."

Jones and Jacques-Maynes both put in several strong attacks in the final two laps, as they tried to rid themselves of one another. Meanwhile Johnson hung on in the train’s third position. Jacques-Maynes was the first to fall off the pace. Jones put in one more attack with half a lap to go, enough to solo in for third place.

"Last time I did this was in 2007 and it felt like a grass crit," Jones said. "Today it was definitely a course that you had to take one step at a time. The running and all the pedaling took its toll on me. Jonathan, I didn’t even know he was in the race anymore he was so far ahead of us. I heard his name a couple of times but I never saw him. Maybe tomorrow I’ll take a faster start."

Round two of the Gran Prix of Gloucester will continue tomorrow under predicted sunny skies.

Women's Elite Report

Natasha Elliott (Garneau Club Chaussure Ogilvy) kicked off the opening round of the Gran Prix of Gloucester in winning fashion. It was a victory that indicates she is well on her way to success at the upcoming Canadian National Championships, to be held in Argyll Park in Edmonton, Alberta on October 10.

"I was a little bit nervous and I hope everything will go well next weekend," said Elliott. "The off camber sections, the mud and some of the tricky sections I was riding better. I knew that if I was still with them on the last lap I could attack on the off camber and it worked out well."

Mountain bike professional Amanda Carey (Kenda/Trainwitheric) led the field for the majority of the race but slipped into second place on the last lap ahead of former Canadian National Champion Lyne Bessette (October Factory Racing).

"I thought I’d give it a try," said Amanda, who hails from the high desert of Victor, Idaho. "I’m a mountain biker and I tend to focus on endurance type stuff. All my friends are getting into ‘cross and I was getting jealous because they looked like they were having a lot of fun. I like to ride for 100 miles so I figured suffering in small packages I could probably pull off too."

Elliott is leading the Verge New England Cyclo-cross series after her two victories and a second place. She chose to focus on the one series to limit travel time and optimize funding. The Gran Prix of Gloucester is also a key to the North American Cyclo-Cross Trophy (NACT) series, which Sue Butler (Monavie-Cannondale) currently leads.

"That was one of my goals this year was to not run around the US and do all different series'," Elliott said. "I want to just focus on one. I chose the Verge series because a lot of the races are close to home and it's good competition."

And then there were three...

The morning rain softened the grassy terrain but by the time the elite women race started there was no grass to be seen. The Stage Fort Park, host of the Gran Prix of Gloucester, was one giant mud slide by mid-afternoon. Some 40 women took their places at the starting gates on the tarmac and it was Elliott who scored the hole-shot onto the mud.

A leading group of six riders separated themselves on the first lap. They included Elliott, Bessette, Carey, along with Laura van Gilder (C3 Athletes Serving Athletes), Maureen Bruno Roy (MM Racing/Seven Cycles), Sue Butler (Monavie-Cannondale), Kristin Gavin (Human Zoom) and Amy Dombroski (Richard Sachs).

Elliott set a strong pace from the start that no one could follow. She continued through the slick twists and turns of the opening lap with impeccable skill and an advantage of nearly 10 seconds. Shortly into the second lap, power-house combo Bessette and Carey bridged across to the escapee for a three-way battle to the end.

Carey, a cyclo-cross newcomer, used her ample mountain biking experience to plough her way through the muddy conditions at top speed. She gained valuable time on Bessette and Elliott who were forced to take turns closing the margin.

"I went for the whole mountain biker strategy, the gun goes off and you pin it," said Carey. "There is no strategy; you just go until you’re empty. I never ride mud because I’m from out west where it’s high and dry. You have to trust your bike. I learn something new every corner."

Bessette fell off pace several times but she remained persistent and used her years of experience and patience to bring back both riders. She is a retired professional road cyclist who turned to cyclo-cross as her next endeavour. Her accomplishments extend to three national titles to placing inside the top ten on the International Cyclist Union World-Cup circuit.

Through cyclo-cross is now just a past-time, the ever athletic French-Canadian is pursuing new challenges. "I’m competing in the Toronto marathon next week," said Bessette, who has won the Gran Prix of Gloucester on six occasions. "And I’m preparing to compete in the Hawaii IronMan next year."

The trio took turns taking the lead over the course of the remaining lap but in the end it was Elliott who manoeuvred her way off the front one last time and held a several second advantage across the finish line.

"I knew if I was on the front I could ride away from them," Elliott said. "So I tried to make sure I could get on them, I got around them, got out front and it worked out well. I’m definitely looking to win again tomorrow."