Van Gilder, Powers claim NACT titles

The third annual North American Cyclo-cross Trophy (NACT) series concluded at the UCI Baystate Cyco-cross held in Sterling, Massachusetts on Sunday. Jeremy Powers (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com) and Laura Van Gilder (C3-Athletes Serving Athletes) were presented with the unique heavy weight champion trophy belt signifying their accomplishments as the series’ overall winners.

"It is the best to have that belt," Van Gilder said. "I remember seeing the belt two years ago when Georgia [Gould] won it and it is significant to me because I also like to watch UFC Fighting and so I thought it was the bomb. It is a belt that gets passed on every year. It is super, super heavy and it is capable of having the series overall winners names engraved on it. I get to keep it for one year and then bring it to the final race next year."

Van Gilder moved into the overall lead after a convincing victory during the opening round of the Baystate Cyclo-cross on Saturday. She earned enough points to maintain her lead through the following day despite a mechanical set back that resulted in a fifth place on Sunday. The notable road sprinter won the series overall title ahead of Natasha Elliott (Garneau Club Chaussure-Ogilvy) in second and Meredith Miller (California Giant-Specialized) in third. Miller was noticeably absent from the weekend’s racing along with other top five contenders Wendy Simms, Georgia Gould and teammate Katerina Nash (Luna Pro).

"Initially at the beginning of the year it wasn’t a series that I was trying to win," Van Gilder said. "I looked at the results and saw that I was still in contention for the win this weekend. For some of the other riders it was more difficult to attend and when I saw the start list I knew what I needed to do. I knew that if I had some consistent races that it was possible."

Powers also moved into the overall lead after winning series’ round seven during the Baystate Cyclo-cross on Saturday. He maintained his overall lead ahead of teammate and defending champion Tim Johnson in second and Francis Mourey (FDJ) in third.

"It is awesome to have won the series," Powers said. "I would have liked to battle it out with Tim but he went to the World Cup. I was set back in Boulder during round six when I had a flat tire and it took me a little bit out of the standings but because Tim wasn’t at Baystate on Saturday, I moved back into the lead. I felt like I rode a consistent season and did well at races that really mattered. I’m psyched to win the series and I’m lucky that it worked out."

Series promoter Brook Watts announced late in the season that the series finale relocated to the UCI Bay State Cyclo-cross which conflicted with the three-day Jingle Cross series held in Iowa City, Iowa. The NACT series traditionally ended at the Whitmore's Landscaping Super Cross Cup however construction on the venue forced event organizer Myles Romanow to move the race to a new location in Long Island losing its position as the series finale and it UCI status.

"I was originally going to go to the Jingle Cross because it had a C1 race but my coach came out and did a training block with me the week before and the way that it worked out with Baystate was great," Powers said. "Baystate was close to my house and it was even with prize money with Jingle Cross, the C1 points would have been nice but the NACT overall was really a great win for me. It was something that I hadn’t done before."

One of the series’ strong points was that it offered travel stipends to the top three contenders each week. It also offered equal prize money across the elite women and men’s categories in the overall standings. Powers and Van Gilder each won $1,500 for their respective victories.

"I was thrilled that I won because I think that it is a very good series and the promoters are always interested in having the athletes get to the event," Van Gilder said. "The overall prize list was very enticing. I think it is so important as an athlete to support the promoters that are supporting us and rewarding us with equal prize money as the men. I try and seek out races that do that because I think it is important to attend them and show our support. They deserve it and in turn they think we deserve it so it’s a win-win situation. I’m hoping that next year I will be able to fit all of the races onto my calendar and make it work."

The third edition of the NACT series kicked off with the first two rounds at StarCrossed p/b Stanley/PMI and Rad Racing Grand Prix p/b Hammer Nutrition held in Seattle, Washington. The series moved on to rounds three and four at the Great Brewers Gran Prix of Gloucester p/b Addison Gilbert Hospital in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The battle for the overall lead continued in rounds five and six at the Colorado Cross Classic p/b Webroot and the Victory Circle Graphix Boulder Cup in Colorado before wrapping up at the Baystate Cross in Sterling, Massachusetts. Race organizers weighted the best six of eight rounds to calculate the points and determine the overall winners.

 

2010 NACT final standings

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Elite Women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Laura Van Gilder (USA) C3 - Athletes Serving Athletes180pts
2Natasha Elliott (Can) Garneau Club Chaussure-Ogilvy165Row 1 - Cell 3
3Meredith Miller (USA) California Giant-Specialized165Row 2 - Cell 3
4Wendy Simms (Can) Kona141Row 3 - Cell 3
5Katerina Nash (Cze) Luna Pro Team120Row 4 - Cell 3
6Andrea Smith (USA) LadiesFirst Racing108Row 5 - Cell 3
7Maureen Bruno Roy (USA) Bob's Red Mill p/b Seven Cycles106Row 6 - Cell 3
8Georgia Gould (USA) Luna Pro Team100Row 7 - Cell 3
9Sally Annis (USA) crossresults.com p/b JRA Cycles92Row 8 - Cell 3
10Arley Kemmerer (USA) C3 - Athletes Serving Athletes72Row 9 - Cell 3
11Devon Haskell (USA) Bike Station Aptos66Row 10 - Cell 3
12Nicole Duke (USA) Hudz/Subaru60Row 11 - Cell 3
12Katherine Compton (USA) Planet Bike-Stevens Bikes60Row 12 - Cell 3
12Susan Butler (USA) Hudz-Subaru60Row 13 - Cell 3
15Mical Dyck (Can) Trek Canada / Terrascape Racing43Row 14 - Cell 3
16Linnea Koons (USA) Embrocation Cycling Journal42Row 15 - Cell 3
17Katherine Sherwin (USA) Hudz-Subaru40Row 16 - Cell 3
18Alice Pennington (USA) Team S&M38Row 17 - Cell 3
19Amanda Miller (USA) Hudz-Subaru37Row 18 - Cell 3
20Crystal Anthony (USA) LadiesFirst Racing36Row 19 - Cell 3
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Elite Men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Jeremy Powers (USA) Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com280pts
2Timothy Johnson (USA) Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com200Row 1 - Cell 3
3Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ120Row 2 - Cell 3
4Ryan Trebon (USA) Kona97Row 3 - Cell 3
5James Driscoll (USA) Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com96Row 4 - Cell 3
6Derrick St John (Can) Garneau Club Chaussure-Ogilvy84Row 5 - Cell 3
7Justin Lindine (USA) BikeReg.com / Joe's Garage / Scott71Row 6 - Cell 3
8Todd Wells (USA) Specialized70Row 7 - Cell 3
8Geoff Kabush (Can) Maxxis-Rocky Mountain70Row 8 - Cell 3
10Adam Craig (USA) Rabobank-Giant Off Road Team67Row 9 - Cell 3
11Luke Keough (USA) Champion System p/b Keough Cyclocross66Row 10 - Cell 3
11Adam Myerson (USA) Cycle-Smart66Row 11 - Cell 3
13Jonathan Page (USA) Planet Bike60Row 12 - Cell 3
13Christian Heule (Swi) Champion System LBS60Row 13 - Cell 3
15Jake Wells (USA) Hudz-Subaru52Row 14 - Cell 3
16Nicholas Weighall (USA) California Giant-Specialized40Row 15 - Cell 3
17Tristan Schouten (USA) cyclocrossracing.com/Blue/Rolf39Row 16 - Cell 3
18Travis Livermon (USA) Mock Orange Racing38Row 17 - Cell 3
18Davide Frattini (Ita) Hudz-Subaru38Row 18 - Cell 3
20Troy Wells (USA) Team Clif Bar34Row 19 - Cell 3

 

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Kirsten Frattini
Deputy Editor

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.