White victorious at Baystate Day 1

Curtis White (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld) won the opening round of the Baystate Cyclocross Weekend, also round five of the Verge New England Cyclocross Series presented by Stan's NoTubes and Cycle-Smart on Saturday in Sterling. He won the race by eight seconds ahead of runner-up Justin Lindine (Redline Factory) and Christian Favata (TRT Bicycles).

The elite men hit the course as the sun went down, icing up the corners and freezing ruts into the snow. Leading the charge were series leader Dan Timmerman (House Industries/SimpleHuman/Richard Sachs), White, Jerome Townsend (Joe's Garage CX p/b BikeReg.com), Favata, Lindine and Kerry Werner (Optum Pro Cycling).

Groups broke apart as quickly as they formed, with the course changing lap by lap and the challenging conditions causing bobbles and crashes left and right. After Timmerman led the group for a few laps, he fell back to follow a wheel but Werner and White escaped the group, forcing Timmerman to chase.

Werner and White bobbled up a tricky climb, and the group was together again. White attacked again, this time with Favata, and the pair permanently shattered the group.

Lindine and Livermon chased with Timmerman behind them. Lindine got across just as Favata fell back, making contact within the final two laps.

White's lead grew as Lindine and Favata traded blows, while Timmerman moved into fourth with the hope of retaining his series lead. White claimed a solid victory, while Lindine charged in for second. Favata was third, and Timmerman took the fourth place finish he needed to retain his lead.

JAM Fund's Scott Smith, having a consistently strong season, was the next under-23 to finish after White. Smith reclaims the series leader's jersey in the under-23 category.

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