Van Gilder beats teammate to victory

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Laura van Gilder (C3-Athletes Serving Athletes) took a second convincing victory at the Granogue Cyclo-cross Expo on Sunday. The sprinter soloed over the finish line ahead of teammate Deidre Winfield in second and Ann D’Ambruoso (Ladies First Racing) in third.

“My goal is to go out and race the best I can and of course get the win,” Van Gilder said. “I just want to keep piling on this experience and compete with the top American women when I see them. The points are important because it is good to get a good start position but honestly I just start the race and race.”

The UCI C2 Granogue Cyclo-cross Expo’s second round treated the riders to a revised course on the Dupont Family Estate grounds. The circuit included two significant climbs, the first through the wooded back section and the second climb up to the Granogue Tower.

“I felt like the course today had a little more climbing and there were two longer run ups that made a big difference,” Van Gilder said. “I think everyone was tired from yesterday because these are very hard courses down here.”

Van Gilder took the hole shot in order to get to the wooded section first. She kept the pressure on, with teammate Winfield chasing close behind. She held her advantage through the final lap to take the win.

“I had about 10 seconds and Dee Dee came close to me on one lap but then on the final lap I opened it up and managed to hold her off on the that lap,” she said. “We each have different strengths on these courses and places where we can push ourselves. She was catching up to me in places that I was faltering. I felt that raised the game for both of us.”

The leading duo’s third teammate Arley Kremmerer rode in a chase group that included D’Ambruoso to eventually finish in fourth place.

Results