Wells wins Boston Rebellion Pro XC

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Todd Wells (Specialized) looked as good as ever as he dominated the new Boston Rebellion Pro-XCT nearly from start to finish. Dan Timmerman (Riverside Racing), who started last, worked his way through the field within two laps to claim second place. Local favorite Tom Sampson (Vittoria/Yeti) edged out Chris Baddick (Boulder Cycle Sports) for third place in a sprint to the line. Baddick finished in fourth place, while Billy Malone (ATA Cycles) rounded out the podium in fifth place.

Racing took place on Adams Farm on a mix of double-track, fire roads, and twisty singletrack on soft dirt in thick forest. With only 338 feet of climbing per lap, the climbs were short and punchy. There were several sections of rock gardens where spectators gathered to cheer on their favorite racers. The Pro Men raced five laps, while the Pro Women raced four.

Cole Oberman (Rarediseasecycling.org) took the hole-shot, but it did not take long for Wells to assume command. By the end of the first lap Wells had a gap while Sampson, Cameron Dodge, Oberman, Woodall, and Baddick were closely bunched in a chase group.

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After his last place call-up, Timmerman could be seen slicing his way through the field. He commented, “I passed as many as I could immediately and then in the woods it was anywhere I could...It became a matter of just getting around people as fast as I could.”

Wells commented on Timmerman’s effort, “Seeing Dan (Timmerman) coming up gave me some motivation. You come into this field at the start-finish and you can kind of gauge where guys are. I could see him there and sort of gauge where we both were….he was coming in as I was going out so it gave me extra motivation to keep pushing.”

As the race progressed, riders settled into what would be their final finishing position. Wells just motored away from everyone except Timmerman, who kept it close. In the end, Wells had a 49 second margin of victory. Tom Sampson and Chris Baddick were another minute behind Timmerman.

Wells admitted to having a bit of home-course advantage, “These trails are exactly like the trails that I grew up, and learned to ride on. At that point I had a 26-inch hard-tail, no suspension, and tubes at 60 psi. So, to have a 29-inch (Specialized) Epic with tubeless tires was just incredible out there.”

Wells was finishing off his preparation for the National Championships at Mammoth Mountain, California next weekend. He commented, “It’s nice to get a win coming into Nat’s. Mom and Dad live not too far from here so to have them in the feed zone cheering me on was great too. With Nationals being at altitude, I just wanted to come here and get a good power workout.

Wells continued, “I feel like I have prepared as good as I can and I’ve had good races at altitude, and at climbing races. I prefer we had it here in Boston at Sea Level, but I’m looking forward to it, and to trying to defend the jersey.”

Pro Women’s Race

Cyclocross specialist and local pro Crystal Anthony (Riverside Racing) used her familiarity with this course and New Enlgand style racing to take her first ever Pro-XCT victory. Ellen Noble (Competitive Cyclist), the U-23 Cyclocross Champion, kept the race close, and finished in second place. Megan Chinburg finished third. Maghalie Rochette (Luna Pro Team) took fourth place, while Karen Potter (MTBracenews.com) finished fifth.

Ellen Noble took the hole-shot and led the pro women into the singletrack. Crystal Anthony created a gap when she attacked the field in the middle of the first lap on a power line climb.

With temperatures near 90-degrees, Noble admitted to being a bit hesitant to chase Anthony down. She explained, “I was close, but I was nervous about whether I would “have it” to go and chase Crystal down and keep her away. I didn’t really know how I would feel with the heat so I just tried to keep it safe, and it ended up paying off with second.”

Nobel added, “Basically, every race in the summer that I have completely screwed up was because of the heat…and I am just getting to the point where I am taking enough precautions to keep it together. So, I am really excited that today I didn’t screw up and I stayed cool. “ By the end of the race, she was only twenty-three seconds behind Anthony.

Maghalie Rochette started strongly; riding behind Noble, but ultimately was not able to keep pace with the New England pros. She slipped back to fourth place, a full minute behind Megan Chinburg.

Anthony commented on her victory, “It was awesome. This is sort of a local course for me so it was really exciting for me to see lots of friends. It was great to be able to come and pre-ride a lot this week, being close by. This course was all about knowing the turns and just being able to conserve bits of energy here and there.”

Anthony added, “This is the kind of course that I ride all the time so just knowing how to ride these corners and ride this style. There are no big climbs, just punchy stuff, and sort of a pedaling course”.

When asked about doing more mountain bike racing, she replied, “I will do the Wisconsin WORS race, and hopefully I got enough points to do Windham (World Cup).

The Pro Men and Women will race Short Track Sunday afternoon on Adams Farm. Todd Wells is not expected to compete as he planned to leave immediately for the higher altitude of Mammoth Mountain.

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