Unlike Saturday's race where Ryan Trebon (LTS-Felt) dropped his competitors mid-race and soloed to victory, Trebon found himself in a race-long duel with Jeremy Powers (Rapha Focus) which was only decided on the finishing straight. The final result was the same, however, with Trebon sweeping the elite men's races in the Chicago Cyclocross Cup New Year's Resolution weekend. Powers finished second, two seconds behind Trebon, with Powers' teammate Chris Jones again rounding out the podium in third place, 2:11 off the pace.
Trebon had been away from competition for over six weeks recovering from a knee injury prior to arriving in Chicagoland and picking up the dual victories. His re-appearance in top form will add another dimension to the upcoming elite men's 'cross Nationals, to be decided in one week's time in Madison, Wisconsin. Powers won the 2011 Exergy US Gran Prix of Cyclocross series, but Trebon is also enjoying one of the best seasons of his career.
"I'm just happy to be back racing. It's been a lot of training, traveling and trying to get ready, thinking about racing Nationals and getting ready for Europe," said Trebon. "I feel good for next weekend, but there are a lot of fast guys coming. Jeremy is going to get stronger next weekend as well."
The men's field was greeted by deteriorating conditions and a course buffeted by wind gusts of 20-30 mph. The race pits were chaotic as mechanics dealt with frozen components and parts breaking due to the heavy mud.
Powers and Trebon separated themselves from the field and traded attacks through to the race finale. "They should put up a sign that says ‘Ryan Trebon Park'," said Powers. "This is a perfect event for him. He's got a lot of power and he can just throw it down."
