Double the love for Van Gilder in Charm City

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Laura van Gilder (C3 Athletes Serving Athletes) won her second consecutive 'cross battle at the Charm City Cross in Baltimore, Maryland. She attacked her companions over the barriers and held a considerable lead to the finish ahead of Mo Bruno Roy (Seven Cycles) and Rebecca Wellons (Team Plan C).

"I thought Mo was going to attack over the barriers and I figured that if I can stay right next to them then it was ok," said Van Gilder, who made her winning move over those same barriers. "I liked the course today a lot."

A field of 30 elite women lined up and from the gun Bruno-Roy pushed the pace so high that only eight women were able to hang on to make the selection. The leaders included Van Gilder and her teammate Deidre Winfield (CS Athletes Serving Athletes), Wellons, Kristin Gavin (Human Zoom) and Arley Kemmerer (Hub Racing).

"There were definitely more tactics today with a lot of riders up front," Van Gilder said. "It made for a group dynamic. It wasn't too different from yesterday except that some of the girls sat on today, which is ok because everyone has their strategy. I thought maybe they would start attacking on the last lap but that didn't happen."

Bruno-Roy held strong at the front of the field able to negotiate her own lines and speed through the technical corners. As the race progressed, teammates Van Gilder and Winfield took turns moving to the front position with plans of a tactical battle throughout the final laps. Wellons took her turn manoeuvring to the front, flying into the barriers and coming out with a small lead on the others.

"Some of that was making sure I lead in spots I felt less confident through," Wellons said. "I was not being consistent today with my transitions so I wanted to make sure I was near the front in those spots. That was a tactical lead where I felt a little weaker."

All eight riders barreled over the final lap with victory on their minds but it was Van Gilder who made the early move. She entered the last set of barriers first and made a clean exit with a small gap as she headed toward the finish line. She negotiated the last corners onto the tarmac and sprinted to the line well in advance of Bruno-Roy and Wellons.

"Maureen is very good at the barrier work and I could see that she could maybe get a gap on me," said van Gilder. "I wasn't too worried about it but again you never know because there were so many tight corners before the finish, a long road straight so I had an opportunity to back up if she did get a gap. I felt like that was a good place to attack.