Anthony claims gruelling Granogue Cross
Lindine and McGrath finish second and third
Jesse Anthony (Cal Giant-Specialized) soloed to his first UCI win of the season at the Granogue Cross Expo held in Wilmington, Delaware. Justin Lindine (Bikereg.com) won a two-man sprint to the line for second place ahead of Adam McGrath (Feedback-VanDessel) in third.
“This is the first time I felt like a real bike racer this cross season,” said Anthony who recently completed in a lengthy road racing season. “I wasn’t planning on racing here this weekend because I was feeling tired. I took last weekend off and felt recovered enough in training to try to get a few more UCI points here. It is such a great event too.” The Granogue Cross course wrapped its way around the Dupont Estate grounds, offering two days of back-to-back racing on some of the toughest terrain in the country.
“There were lots of hills but it had a few less turns than in the past,” Anthony said. “There was a big hill, off camber corners, lots of woods and that really technical descent after the tower. I was able to ride the barriers going up the hill today and work on my bunny hopping.”
Anthony launched his winning move at the start of the second lap over a steep hill through the wooded single track on the first section of the circuit. He opened his lead further on the pavement leading into the steepest uphill topped by the Granogue Tower.
“Valentin took the hole shot and had a good start,” Anthony said. “He came with me and when we hit the pavement Lindine came with us and there were three of us at the front for a bit. I gave it a bit of gas part way through the second lap. From then on it was go, go go. I settled into a nice rhythm and held it all the way to the end.”
A chase group formed that included McGrath, Lindine and Swizerland’s Valentin Scherz (Cyfac-Champion System), who fell off Anthony’s quick pace in the opening laps. As Anthony rode in for the win, Lindine manoeuvred his way into a second place finish after he outpaced McGrath in a sprint to the line.
“The race seemed to flow really well this year,” Anthony said. “There were faster and more flowing corners and I really liked that because it was using more consistent power. The climbs were tough but I was able to ride them. I like this type of course and it was nice to finally get into a rhythm.”
The Granogue Cross Expo UCI C2 two-day event is a member of the Champion System Mid Atlantic Cyclo-cross (MAC) Series and attracted many of the talented east-coast ‘cross specialists. In previous years, it was a single day race traditionally followed by Wissahickon Cross.
1 | Jesse Anthony (USA) California Giant-Specialized | 1:02:05 |
2 | Justin Lindine (USA) BikeReg.com / Joe's Garage / Scott | 0:01:25 |
3 | Adam Mcgrath (USA) Feedback Sports-Van Dessel | 0:01:37 |
4 | Valentin Scherz (Swi) Cyfac-Champion System Racing Team p/b Revolution Wheelworks | 0:02:01 |
5 | Joe Dombroski (USA) Haymarket Bicycles-SEAVS | 0:02:13 |
6 | Weston Schempf (USA) C3-Athletes Serving Athletes | 0:02:57 |
7 | Jerome Townsend (USA) BikeReg.com / Joe's Garage / Scott | 0:03:16 |
8 | Steve Fisher (USA) Rad Racing Nw-Hagens Berman Llp | 0:03:17 |
9 | Jared Nieters (USA) Haymarket Bicycles-SEAVS | 0:03:19 |
10 | Joshua Dillon (USA) Richard Sachs-RGM Watches-Radix | 0:03:40 |
11 | Andrew Wulfkuhle (USA) C3-Athletes Serving Athletes | 0:03:41 |
12 | Adam Myerson (USA) Cycle-Smart | 0:03:55 |
13 | Peter Bradshaw (USA) Embrocation Cycling Journal / Mad Alchemy | 0:04:27 |
14 | Greg Wittwer (USA) ALAN North America Cycling Team | 0:05:11 |
15 | Stephen Cummings (USA) Haymarket Bicycles-SEAVS | 0:06:06 |
16 | David Wilcox (USA) Pedro's Grassroots Cycling Club | 0:06:14 |
17 | Shaun Adamson (Can) Cycle-Smart | 0:06:37 |
18 | Michael Mihalik (USA) Freddie Fu Cycling Team | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
19 | Mark Broadwater (USA) C3-Athletes Serving Athletes | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
20 | John Burns (USA) Bikeman.com | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
21 | David Weaver (USA) ALAN North America Cycling Team | Row 20 - Cell 2 |
22 | Nathan Wyatt (USA) Carolina Fatz p/b Industry Nine | Row 21 - Cell 2 |
23 | Cary Fridrich (USA) Embrocation Cycling Journal / Mad Alchemy | Row 22 - Cell 2 |
24 | Matt Spohn (USA) Cyfac-Champion System Racing Team p/b Revolution Wheelworks | Row 23 - Cell 2 |
25 | Patrick Bradley (USA) Rutgers University-Raleigh-Kim's Bike Shop | Row 24 - Cell 2 |
26 | Zachary Adams (USA) C3-Athletes Serving Athletes | Row 25 - Cell 2 |
27 | Christopher Consorto (USA) Louis Garneau-Team TBB | Row 26 - Cell 2 |
28 | Andrew Crooks (USA) NYC Velo | Row 27 - Cell 2 |
29 | Stephen Pierce (USA) Cambridge Bicycle-Igleheart Frames | Row 28 - Cell 2 |
30 | Kyle Peppo (USA) Cyfac-Champion System Racing Team p/b Revolution Wheelworks | Row 29 - Cell 2 |
31 | Callum Ingram (USA) | Row 30 - Cell 2 |
32 | Adam Szczepanski (USA) Wissahickon | Row 31 - Cell 2 |
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Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
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