Thiemann outsprints Van Gilder at Beacon 'Cross
Gavin takes third place
Nicole Thiemann (Team CF) won her first UCI race on Saturday with a hard-fought sprint victory over Laura Van Gilder (C3 p/b Mellow Mushroom). Thiemann played cat and mouse with Van Gilder for the entire Beacon race, besting her by millimeters in a photo-finish sprint.
Thiemann's Team CF teammate Kristin Gavin fought to bridge a close gap, but couldn't match the punishing pace set by Thiemann and Van Gilder and finished third, 29 seconds back.
Beacon's unmarked finish line, however, created confusion for sprinters. "Laura Van Gilder and I traded places on and off throughout the race and she took a spill at the top of the amphitheatre on the last lap," said Thiemann. "When we hit the pavement, she went and then I went. I realized I was gaining on her but couldn't find the finish line, so sprinted until I was well past where the line had to be. I didn't know if I'd pulled it off until she told me I'd won - I won by an inch or so!"
| 1 | Nicole Thiemann (USA) Team CF | 0:46:08 |
| 2 | Laura Van Gilder (USA) C3 p/b Mellow Mushroom | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
| 3 | Kristin Gavin (USA) Team Cystic Fibrosis | 0:00:29 |
| 4 | Stacey Barbossa (USA) Elite Endurance Training Systems | 0:01:27 |
| 5 | Katherine Shields (USA) SmartStop-Mock Orange Bikes p/b Ridley | 0:03:07 |
| 6 | Alice Henriques (USA) Zanconato Racing | 0:03:18 |
| 7 | Patricia Buerkle (USA) VA Asset Group p/b Artemis - Trek | 0:03:48 |
| 8 | Brittlee Bowman (USA) crossresults.com p/b JRA Cycles | 0:03:51 |
| 9 | Lauri Webber (USA) Secret Henrys Team | 0:03:52 |
| 10 | Elizabeth Bonilla (USA) Human Zoom Cycling | 0:04:04 |
| 11 | Lauren Kling (USA) New England Athletic Cyclocross | 0:04:49 |
| 12 | Jessica Kutz (USA) Penn State Racing | 0:05:01 |
| 13 | Kristine Church (USA) Human Zoom | 0:05:29 |
| 14 | Michelle Bishop (USA) Cannondale Cadence Women's Racing | 0:05:45 |
| 15 | Kathleen Wulfkuhle (USA) C3 - Athletes Serving Athletes | 0:06:03 |
| 16 | Amy Breyla (USA) C3-Athletes Serving Athletes | 0:06:38 |
| 17 | Molly Hurford (USA) Team Rockstar Games-Signature Cycles | 0:08:05 |
| 18 | Emily Shields (USA) SmartStop-Mock Orange Bikes p/b Ridley | 0:08:33 |
| 19 | Erin Mascelli (USA) Elite Endurance Training Systems | 0:09:36 |
| 20 | Bailey Semian (USA) Team Specialized - Rising Stars p/b Bicycling Magazine | 0:10:30 |
| DNF | Arley Kemmerer (USA) C3 - Athletes Serving Athletes | Row 20 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Katrina Dowidchuk (USA) Team TBB-Deep Blue | Row 21 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Kathrin Schumacher (Can) Guys Racing Club | Row 22 - Cell 2 |
| DNS | Carolyn Popovic (USA) Team CF | Row 23 - Cell 2 |
| DNS | Annajean Dallaire (USA) Alderfer Bergen | Row 24 - Cell 2 |
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