Milne strikes on Sunday

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After sweeping the 2012 NBX Gran Prix of Cyclocross races, Shawn Milne (KeoughCyclocross) returned for the 2013 edition and won Sunday’s UCI C2 Men’s Event. Saturday’s third place finisher, Mike Garrigan (Van Dessel/Shimano) finished in second in the Sunday event ahead of Robert Marion (American Classic Pro CX Team).

Saturday’s winner, Justin Lindine (Redline/NBX) looked to be on good form early in the race assuming the lead and pushing the pace for the first five laps of the nine lap race with Curtis White (Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld.com), Garrigan, Milne, Marion, and Raphael Gagne (Rocky Mountain Factory) in tow.

However on the sixth lap Gagne fell off the pace and both White and Lindine were forced to pit with mechanical problems. Milne took advantage of the opportunity and put in an attack entering the beach run that only Garrigan could answer.

“I learned last year that it was much harder to sit at the tail end of the lead group than it was to sit near the front, so as soon as I connected with the lead group, I made sure I was near the front,” said Milne of his positioning that allowed him to capitalize on the misfortune of Lindine and White.

As Lindine, Marion, and White gave chase, Garrigan bobbled in the second sandy section of the course and Milne found himself alone at the front with a nearly 10 second gap over the chase trio and another five seconds over Garrigan.

Milne continued to set his own tempo at the front for the next two laps while Garrigan clawed his way back to the chase group. Just as Garrigan connected with the chase group, White suffered another mechanical mishap and was forced to make his second bike change of the day, causing him to lose contact for the last time.

Crossing the line with one lap to go, Milne held a ten second lead over the chase trio, but a hard attack from Garrigan had cut Milne’s lead down to five seconds coming out of the beach run. Milne continued to ride cleanly at the front for the remainder of the lap and he held the five second gap to the line. Marion was able to dispose of Lindine and crossed the line in third place, only one second behind Garrigan.

“I’ve always had better races on the second day,” said Milne after his win. “I raced on the road for years and I think the multiple days of racing in stage races has really helped me on these two-day race weekends.”