Katerina Nash dominates at Boston Rebellion

Katerina Nash (Luna Pro Team) put on an awesome display of power and speed to win the UCI-HC rated Boston Rebellion today. Newly crowned USA Champion Erin Huck (Scott 3Rox Racing) was less than a minute behind, but had to settle for second place. Rose Grant (Stans NoTubes) moved up during the race to claim third place. Barbara Benko (Focus) finished fourth, while Kate Courtney (Specialized) rounded out the podium in fifth place.

With only 338 feet of climbing per lap on the course at Adams Farm, the race favoured those who could deal with tight singletrack turns, punchy climbs, and rock gardens full of baby head rocks.

Katerina Nash loved the course. She remarked after the race, "I think mountain bike races should always look like this. Forget the mindless climbing forever. We should just ride fun trials like here. It was awesome."

Nash continued, "I like this kind of riding, and I was probably one of the few people out there on smaller wheels, so I kind of took advantage of the quick cornering and "cyclocross" accelerations. I wanted to get into the singletrack first and see what happened."

Erin Huck quickly found herself in "no mans land" and essentially rode the entire race by herself. At times she could see Nash, but could not reel her in.

Huck explained, "The last two to three laps I could see her at the top of a climby section near the start, but that was it for climbing which is usually my strength. During the rest of the lap she would put time on me."

This was Huck's first appearance wearing her new stars and strips USA Champions jersey. When asked how it felt, she remarked, "Honestly, I was a little bit nervous putting it on for the first time. It's a little bit overwhelming."

USA Champion Rose Grant has spent most of the season racing longer events and is still dialing the different effort needed for cross-country events. She got off to a great start, and then slowly reeled in Barbara Benko to take third place. The course clearly favoured her riding skills, and was similar to the USA Marathon Nationals course in Georgia where she won her latest title.

Thirty-two pro women toed the line today, but fewer finished, largely due to flat tires on the sharp rocks. Ellen Noble (Ridebiker), a pre-race favourite had to drop out, as did Amy Beisel (Ridebiker) due to mechanicals.

Full Results