Johnson rules at Cincy3 Cross After Dark

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Tim Johnson (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) attacked the lead group midway through the second day of racing at the Cincinnati International Cyclocross Festival to win the Cincy3 Kings CX race, in Mason, Ohio.

Johnson finessed his way around the slippery course in the dark to finish almost a minute up on Ryan Trebon (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com), Jeremy Powers (Rapha-Focus) and Ben Berden (Raleigh-Clement.)

"It was basically trouble free for the majority of the race," said Johnson about his winning ride. "I dabbed just like everyone else, I almost fell, probably 20 times out there. When a course is like this, and it transitions from super muddy, to dry and tacky, it's easy to get ahead of yourself, and wind up on the ground when you forget how slippery it really is."

Jeremy Powers looked ready for business as he lead the pack through the muddy hole-shot, which had claimed several victims in the women's race. Ryan Trebon took over at the front of the race by the time the pack hit the stairs on ‘Heckle Hill’ midway through the first lap. But by the end of the first lap, a lead group of riders emerged that included Trebon, Berden, Johnson, and Zach McDonald (Rapha-Focus.)

"He has [Powers] been the strongest guy for so long, I don't want to give him a free ride," said Johnson. "I don't want him to catch up to us and rest, while we mess around. To keep the pressure on was the way that Ryan and I were going to have our best race."

Johnson's attack quickly gained momentum and he built up a lead of over 45 seconds heading into the final laps of the race. Back in the chase group, Trebon marked Berden, Powers, and McDonald as they tried to chase down Johnson. When the chase group started to fatigue, Trebon took advantage of their mistakes to get away.

"Those guys were just crashing all around me," said Trebon about the slippery conditions. "That's how I ended up getting a gap. Ben went down on one of the side hills, and Jeremy went down, they were just making mistakes and I just stayed cool, rode it clean, and just waited till the end."

Johnson stayed out of trouble and cruised across the line for the win, followed by Trebon 50 seconds later. Jeremy Powers sprinted in ahead of Ben Berden for third place, and Zach McDonald placed fifth.

After taking the last several weeks to train, and a rough outing at the Cincy3 Devou Park race, Powers felt confident that he was on the right track now that the first muddy race of the season was under his belt.

"As we continue to race in this, I tend to get better," said Powers. "First run is always hard for me."

Ben Berden retains his lead in the Cross After Dark series over Sven Nys (Crelan-Euphony) and Zach McDonald with his fourth place finish in the Cincy3 Kings CX race. The Cross After Dark series will conclude in Los Angeles, at the CXLA, on November 30th.

Racing will conclude in Cincinnati on Sunday November 3rd at the Cincy3 Harbin Park race. The women start at 2:15 PM EST, and the men start at 3:15 PM EST.