Conquering strong fields and gale force winds at the Cape Cod Fairgrounds, in Falmouth, Massachusetts, Crystal Anthony (Liv Cycling) took the top step in the elite women’s race Saturday during the opening day of the Really Rad Festival of Cyclocross.
There were swift punches in early laps of the race by Anthony, Arley Kemmerer (Fearless Femme Racing), and Regina Legge (Trek Cyclocross Collective). The trio would cause the field to thin out quickly at the front on a course made muddy from overnight and morning rain.
“I think there was a pretty big group the first lap,” said Anthony, who noted the three broke away and would race together for the majority of the five-lap race. “(It came down to) thousands of small decisions during the race I think. It was a race of attrition.”
With two laps to go, Anthony blew the lead apart, pulling away from Kemmerer and Legge. She would continue to push through steady winds of 24 to 30 miles per hour and gain more time on the final lap, finishing in 46 minutes, 9 seconds.
“There were some pretty bad lines you could take out there, and some better lines, and some impossible. It was definitely challenging,” said Anthony, who is originally from Beverly, Mass. It was her second ProCX victory of the season.
Kemmerer, who used to live in Massachusetts, would finish second, 14 seconds behind Anthony. She laughed about the wind and said it was a major factor in the race. She noted that a week prior to the race she thought the challenges would be roots and sand. With gusts of up to 60 mph, there was no relief on this course above the turf.
“The wind took up any recovery that might have existed. So it wasn’t really advantageous to be going super hard. I think the expectation was that it was going to be an attrition race,” she noted. “I would say that the wind was, for me, the bigger factor (than mud or lines) because a few places where you would be able to sort of chill, you couldn’t. Riding into the barriers there was a very strong headwind. It felt like you were going to come to a stop. And cross winds too. That was an added factor today, pretty challenging for sure.”
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With three laps to go, Legge began to fall off the pace set by Anthony and Kemmerer. She would hold on for third, 16 seconds behind Kemmerer.
“There was one technical downhill, you turn into an uphill. I just couldn’t figure that out. Arley was just repeatedly getting away from me and building that gap. I would close it, and then she would open it back up,” said Legge. “The wind made it really hard. Especially coming into the barriers, it was just a dead headwind. Obviously the wet conditions make it a little more challenging. It did start to dry up, you could find some better lines and they got beat out a little more rather than being so soupy.”
