Johnson takes Colorado C1 over Wells

US national champion Tim Johnson (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com) captured a solo victory at the UCI C1 Victory Circle Graphix Boulder Cup on Sunday, earning a healthy advantage in the North American Cyclo-cross Trophy (NACT) series as it heads into the final round held at the Bay State Cyclo-cross in Sterling, Massachusetts in November.

"I actually won't be able to go to the last race," Johnson said. "I would love to try to win it again after winning it last year but I'll be in Europe racing the World Cup in Koksijde on the same weekend as Bay State Cross. That weekend is so packed."

Todd Wells (Specialized-Cal Giant) bunny hopped the final set of barriers to gain a small advantage over Johnson's teammate Jamey Driscoll to take the runner's up spot, with Driscoll finishing third.

"I always hop the barriers," Wells said. "Today it was definitely a benefit to be able to hop them. Jamey was running them and I didn't know that until two laps to go. Once I saw that I knew I could just sit on his wheel for the last lap and gain a few seconds by hopping the barriers which were only about 100 metres from the finish line."

Halloween mobs out to heckle at the Boulder Cup

The Halloween Day race was held at the FlatIron Crossing Shopping Center & Frank Varra Park in Broomfield. The event marks round six of the NACT series and is recognised as one of the most popular cyclo-cross events in the nation. A highly spectator-friendly setting allowed fans to watch nearly the entire race from several vantage points on the upper half of the circuit.

"I though the course was great and as a venue it was awesome," said Johnson. "It was a great use of space and the course had everything from scary downhills to long flats."

Ryan Trebon (Kona-FSA) was noticeably absent from the start line having torn a muscle that caused him to pull out of the previous day's Colorado Cross Classic. Johnson rolled to the line next to his two teammates, USGP and NACT leader Jeremy Powers and Jamey Driscoll.

The next front row call ups included Davide Frattini (Hudz-Subaru), Chris Jones (Rapha-Focus), Jesse Anthony (Cal Giant-Specialized), Canadian national champion Geoff Kabush (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) and Todd Wells (Specialized-Cal Giant).

Racers were forced into a right-hand U-turn directly following the pavement start. The field took the top half of the circuit through the shopping mall parking area before dropping down onto the lower half of the course. Off-cambre grass was followed by a bike path around a small pond and past the mechanic's pit zone.

Powers opened the race with a healthy lead followed by Wells and Danny Summerhill (Garmin). The pair successfully joined Powers on the second lap and all three put on a show for the fans bunny hopping the barriers located at the base of a steep run-up. Powers hit a ground sprinkler on the third lap that caused a flat tyre and more importantly loss of valuable time and positions.

"It was the wrong time and everything was just getting sorted out," Powers said. "I had gone hard on the first lap to get a good gap. That was my strong suit so to neutralise that and get a flat was not beneficial especially at altitude. I knew my race was over at that point."

Summerhill and Wells continued setting the pace off the front but were later joined by Johnson worked his way through the field after a slow start. A group formed behind the leading trio that included Kabush, Driscoll, Jake Wells (Hudz-Subaru), Troy Wells (Clif Bar), Adam Craig (Giant) and Powers. Slightly further back was road sprinter Alex Candelario (World Bicycle Relief).

"People were crashing all over the place and I probably started in 12th position," Johnson said. "At altitude you have to bite off only what you can chew so I kind of took it easier catching back up."

Up front, Summerhill was forced to slow down and gingerly ride the course's technical corners after a rear flat tyre, leaving the race for first place between Johnson and Wells. Wells did much of the pace setting since Johnson's teammate Driscoll, who snapped away from his chase group, tried to reconnect with the two leaders.

"Todd was flying today and had me, Jeremy and Danny on the ropes for the whole first part of the race," Johnson said. "He is one of those guys that gets better each race. Jamey was really close to catching on and so I waited for him for a couple of laps. When he did, I attacked and figured if I could lead some of the off cambre stuff then I had a good shot at staying away."

Johnson attacked Wells on the pavement with four laps to go and opened a small lead. He increased his lead by several seconds each lap and finished the race with a large advantage. Driscoll worked his way up to Wells and the pair duked it out on the last lap for second place.

Wells hopped the barriers and rode the run-up and gained the slim advantage he needed to secure second place ahead of Driscoll who got off his bike to run over the barriers and up steep incline in third.

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