Dillman claims Derby Cup opener

Andrew Dillman (Bob's Red Mill) put on a thrilling show at his hometown venue as he soloed to victory in Louisville, Kentucky's Derby City Cup opener, the fifth round of the Exergy US Gran Prix of Cyclocross.

Clif Bar Development Team teammates Zane Godby and Curtis White finished second and third respectively, 20 and 29 seconds off the pace of Dillman.

"It's really cool because I know everybody that's cheering for me," Dillman told Cyclingnews. "Hearing everyone cheer for me is probably pretty demoralizing for the two other guys but it's pretty awesome to have everybody cheering you on. Everybody's really supportive and it helps me out a lot."

From the early portions of the opening lap the junior men's race quickly became a three-man contest as Dillman, Godby and White rode away from the field at Eva Bandman Park, situated along the Ohio River waterfront and the site of the 2013 cyclo-cross world championships.

At the close of the opening lap the leading trio were pursued by solo chasers Tobin Ortenblad, who took the hole-shot at the start, Sam O'Keefe (C3-Athletes Serving Athletes), and recently crowned Canadian junior champion Yohan Patry (Ride with Rendall).

While the Clif Bar Development Team momentarily had a numeric advantage on Dillman, on the second lap Godby cracked, leaving Dillman and White at the head of affairs.

After whittling away one of the Clif Bar Development Team duo, Dillman's incessant pressure on both the wide-open sections and technical sections in the wooded portion of the course were too much for White.

"After all the turns I'd gas it just a little bit so they'd have to chase a little bit," said Dillman. "I've got pretty good acceleration right after the turns so I used that against them through all the turny sections. It just wears them down.

"I new they were struggling, I could tell by their faces, and then once I got that initial gap I figured since they were so tired they might give up a little bit and then that's what happened."

By the end of three laps of the junior men's five-lap contest Dillman was alone in the lead, chased by White at 14 seconds and Godby at 18 seconds. Ortenblad held fourth at 48 seconds while Patry rounded out the top five at 54 seconds.

Out alone in the lead, Dillman continued to apply pressure as he jumped out of corners, accelerated on the numerous power-climbs in the lap's latter technical section and carved smooth lines through corners.

Teammates White and Godby joined forces on the penultimate lap, but despite being able to share the workload on the blustery, windy afternoon, they were unable to eat into the advantage of Dillman who had plenty to celebrate as he rolled down the finishing pavement section all alone to take victory.

"Dillman was on today, just slowly wearing us down," White told Cyclingnews. "Once he had that little bit of a gap there was just no stopping him."

Godby separated himself from White on the final lap as the Clif Bar Development riders claimed second and third on the day.

Full Results

Swipe to scroll horizontally
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Andrew Dillman (USA) Bob's Red Mill0:43:26
2Zane Godby (USA) Clif Bar Development Team0:00:20
3Curtis White (USA) CLIF BAR Junior Development0:00:29
4Tobin Ortenblad (USA)0:01:15
5Yohan Patry (Can) Ride With Rendall0:01:27
6Sam O'Keefe (USA) C3 - Athletes Serving Athletes0:01:46
7Luke Haley (USA) Red Zone Cycling0:02:15
8John Francisco (USA) Red Zone Juniors Cycling0:02:27
9Richard Cypress Gorry (USA) Whole Athlete-Specialized0:02:46
10Jordan Cullen (USA) Clif Bar Development Cross Team0:02:57
11Lionel Rocheleau (USA) Team Geargrinder0:02:58
12Nate Morse (USA) CYCLOCROSSWORLD.COM0:03:30
13Forrest Conrad (USA) Team Pure Energy Cycling/ ProAi0:03:38
14Spencer Downing (USA) Clif Bar Development cross team0:03:52
15Logan Owen (USA) Team Redline0:04:12
16Travis Monroe (USA) Hammer/CMG Racing Team0:04:30
17Alex Howard (USA) Above Category Racing0:05:10
18Stephen Bassett (USA) Bob's Red Mill CX p/b Stevens b0:05:49
19Zach Bender (USA) Team Specialized-Rising STARS p0:05:50
20Nathan Labecki (USA) Nova Cycle Sports Foundation In0:06:07
21Andrew Bailey (USA) MSG Cyclocross0:06:08
22Zack Gould (USA) CLIF Bar Junior Development Cyc0:06:55
23Nick Dietrich (USA) Red Zone Cycling0:07:08
24Christopher Osborne (USA) IsCorp0:08:56
25Daniel Santos (USA) RedZone Cycling0:09:31
26 (-1 lap)Nolan McQueen (USA) Red Zone Cycling TeamRow 25 - Cell 2
27 (-2 laps)Toby Rosen (USA) Capital Cycling Club/Peak AutoRow 26 - Cell 2
DNFBenjamin Perry (Can) TEAM CHCHRow 27 - Cell 2
DNFSamuel Dobrozsi (USA) QCW LionheartsRow 28 - Cell 2
DNSCasey Hildebrandt (USA) PolskaRow 29 - Cell 2
DNSRudyard Peterson (USA) Kinetic SystemsRow 30 - Cell 2

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Based in the southeastern United States, Peter produces race coverage for all disciplines, edits news and writes features. The New Jersey native has 30 years of road racing and cyclo-cross experience, starting in the early 1980s as a Junior in the days of toe clips and leather hairnets. Over the years he's had the good fortune to race throughout the United States and has competed in national championships for both road and 'cross in the Junior and Masters categories. The passion for cycling started young, as before he switched to the road Peter's mission in life was catching big air on his BMX bike.

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