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December 6, Elite men: Portland

Powers sprints to win

By:
Dave McElwaine
Published:
December 7, 2009, 01:13,
Updated:
December 14, 2009, 00:09

Wells comes a close second

Jeremy Powers (Canondale-Cyclycrossworld.com) wins in a sprint against Todd Wells (Specialized).

Jeremy Powers (Canondale-Cyclycrossworld.com) wins in a sprint against Todd Wells (Specialized).

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Jeremy Powers (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com), assisted ably by teammate Tim Johnson, won the final round the US Gran Prix of Cyclocross (USGP) in Portland. Todd Wells (Specialized) rode an incredibly strong race, but took second place as Cannondale had two riders in the break.

Johnson, acting as team captain, sacrificed himself to assure Powers' win and crossed the line in third wearing a big grin.

Clouds rolled in just before the elite men's race, making a frigid day seem even more so. With a less technical course today plus faster conditions, nearly every race pundit seemed to be predicting a different winner. It was expected that Kona-FSA's Ryan Trebon who to no avail had done much of the work on Saturday, would be eager to go for the win.

Powers took the hole shot, closely followed by Troy Wells. Trebon seemed to have a poor start, and had to expend some major energy getting back near the front. Todd Wells took the lead on the back side of the course and was first over the barriers.

A lead group eventually formed that included Wells, Powers, and Johnson. After three laps, Trebon and Geoff Kabush (Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) were 150 metres behind the leaders and not closing it down much.

It seemed that Wells and Powers were doing most of the work at the front and as Johnson let small gaps appear others may have been thinking he was in trouble, although that certainly wasn't the case.

With two laps to go, Wells was still leading followed by Powers and Johnson. A half lap later, Johnson attacked hard and it took Wells some time to respond. Wells then counter-attacked and opened nearly ten bike lengths. The road prowess of the Cannondale riders showed as they systematically hunted down Wells on the pavement.

With one lap to go, all three riders were together and Wells led them out for the last time. Powers, determined not to repeat his mistake of a day earlier, attacked Wells and made it to the final pavement first. While Wells made the sprint exciting, Powers easily held him off to take the victory. Johnson, his work done for the day, soft-pedaled in for third place.

Behind the leaders, Adam Craig (Giant) was moving up steadily in the field. With one lap to go, he got around Trebon and took fourth place. Trebon claimed the USGP series title after taking two wins this season.

The American racers will now head to Bend, Oregon, for the national championships. It should be noted that both Ryan Trebon and Adam Craig now call Bend their home. Cold temperatures and snow on the ground is expected to greet riders for next weekend's races.

Cyclingnews produced a series of five videos featuring Todd Wells during the USGP Portland weekend. Click here for all the video content.

Results

Elite men
1 Jeremy Powers (USA) Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com 1:01:18  
2 Todd Wells (USA) Specialized Factory Racing    
3 Timothy Johnson (USA) Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com    
4 Adam Craig (USA) Giant MTB Team 0:01:12  
5 Ryan Trebon (USA) Kona-FSA 0:01:24  
6 Geoff Kabush (Can) Maxxis/Rocky Mountain 0:01:54  
7 James Driscoll (USA) Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com 0:02:15  
8 Christopher Jones (USA) Champion System 0:02:35  
9 Daniel Summerhill (USA) Felt-VMG U23 0:02:53  
10 Troy Wells (USA) Team Specialized    
11 Justin Robinson (USA) California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized    
12 Barry Wicks (USA) Kona-FSA 0:03:28  
13 Chris Sheppard (Can) Santa Cruz/Shimano/WTB/Giro 0:03:35  
14 Jerome Townsend (USA) Bikereg.com/Joe's Garage/IF 0:03:43  
15 Chance Noble (USA) California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized    
16 Carl Decker (USA) Giant MTB Team    
17 Adam Mcgrath (USA) 0:04:25  
18 Erik Tonkin (USA) Kona-FSA 0:04:30  
19 Benjamin Kubas (USA) 0:05:18  
20 Benjamin Thompson (USA) 0:05:44  
21 Brady Kappius (USA) 0:05:46  
22 Ryan Knapp (USA) Bikereg.com 0:05:47  
23 Brett Luelling (USA) 0:05:48  
24 Craig Fowler (USA) 0:06:09  
25 David Hackworth (USA) 0:06:17  
26 Molly Cameron (USA) Portland Bicycle Studio 0:06:22  
27 Donald Reeb (USA) 0:06:43  
28 Eric Emsky (USA) 0:06:48  
29 Eric Sheagley (USA) 0:07:10  
30 Evan Plews (USA)    
31 Jeremy Ferguson (USA)    
32 John Flack (USA)    
33 Joshua Berry (USA)    
34 Benjamin Popper (USA) HRS/Rock Lobster    
35 Katriel Statman (USA)    
36 Spencer Paxson (USA) Team S&M Young Guns    
37 Kevin Bradford-Parish (USA)    
38 Kevin Hulick (USA)    
39 Kris Holden (USA)    
40 Kyle Murphy (USA)    
41 Landon Ericksson (USA)    
42 Carson Miller (USA) Landrover-Orbea Cycling Club    
43 Matthew Fox (USA)    
44 John Behrens (USA) Bailey Bikes    
45 Michael Hemme (USA)    
46 Mitchell Peterson (USA) Monaviecannondale.com    
47 Nathan Bannerman (USA)    
48 Ryan Weaver (USA)    
49 Sean Babcock (USA)    
50 Shannon Skeritt (USA)    
51 Adam Mills (USA) KCCX-Verge    
52 Steve Fisher (USA)    
53 Travis Woodruff (USA)    
54 Troy Heithecker (USA)    
55 Christopher Ragusa (USA) CCB Volkswagen    
56 Will Ross (USA)    
57 Zachary Edwards (USA)    
Final USGP rankings
1 Ryan Trebon (USA) Kona-FSA    
2 Timothy Johnson (USA) Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com    
3 James Driscoll (USA) Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com    

Videos: Todd Wells at USGP #8

Todd Wells (Specialized Factory Team) is coming into form just in time for US 'cross nationals. Cyclingnews produced three videos from the US Gran Prix of Cyclocross second day on December 6.

Wells' first video provides insight into his post-race rituals, the second video is a review of the second day of USGP racing, and the third video features comments from Wells' competitors.