Powers stomps to Boulder victory

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Jeremy Powers (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com) stole the show with an impressive solo victory at the UCI C2 Colorado Cyclocross Classic held at the Boulder Reservoir on Saturday. His teammate and US National Champion Tim Johnson rode in for second place leaving all-day chaser Todd Wells (Specialized-Cal Giant) in third.

"When you're good, you're good, I don't know what else to say," Powers said. "I've never won a race at altitude so this is a special thing for me. I have good legs right now and it didn't hurt that bad to do what I was doing, so I just kept going."

The event marked round five of the North American Cyclocross Trophy (NACT) series where Powers took the overall lead after his winning performance. He started the day tied for second place with Johnson, both behind former series leader Francis Mourey (FDJ) who returned to Europe.

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"It's pretty cool because this is one of our big series and I'm happy to be able to lead it now," Powers said. "There are still a couple of races and the next set of races just moved close to my house so that's good for me. I just have to juggle it and see what happens. It wasn't something that I was going for, but I said before that if it worked out and I was doing well in it then I would go for it. It looks like we are in that position now."

High, dry and sandy at the Boulder Reservoir

The UCI Elite men's field rolled to the line prepared to take on a new course held at the Boulder Reservoir, a well-known stomping ground for local mid-week racing and various nationally ranked competitions. Technical director and racer Peter Webber (Boulder Cyclo Sport) was responsible for designing a fresh and challenging course layout that included a paved driveway start toward a grass straightway into a U-turn at the Beer Garden followed by the first set of barriers. Powers set a tempo fast enough to gain a small amount of time ahead of chasers Ryan Trebon (Kona-FSA), Johnson and Wells.

"I got the hole-shot and just drilled it down the back and was getting a couple of seconds a lap," Powers said. "I was just doing enough and I didn't do any more. Typically I would just keep going and try to get a huge lead but today I just let it hang out there a little bit longer, got a little bit of time and that was enough."

The long line of ‘crossers meandered along the reservoir's grass and gravel terrain above the beach well-suited to many of the field's strong road riders. Momentum came to a halt as the front riders hit the lower section of the course down on long line of sandy beaches near the shore. They hit first sand pit followed by a U-turn and a power stretch that lead straight into finish line. Trebon pulled out of the race after the barriers due to a pulled muscle on the second lap.

"I went around a turn on the first half of the first lap where I got off the bike and felt this sharp pain in my leg," Trebon said. "I got on the bike and knew that I couldn't race. Once we got to the barriers on the second lap there was nothing I could do. I could barley walk over them. It was impossible to continue racing."

A second chase group of riders included Jamey Driscoll (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com), Danny Summerhill (Garmin), Geoff Kabush (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain), Chris Jones (Rapha-Focus), Jake Wells (Hudz-Subaru) and Troy Wells (Clif Bar). One rider working his way through the group was Alex Candelario (World Bicycle Relief Fund), a road sprinter who has not raced cyclo-cross in nearly a decade.

"I had a good opportunity to put this together with World Bicycle Relief and promote them," Candelario said. "It's been in the back of my mind for a long time to come back and race ‘cross and have some fun. I had no idea that I would be able to get top five today so I am pretty stoked."

Back up front, Powers rode with ease around the circuit and gained several seconds each lap for a maximum 30-second time advantage. Wells was forced to do all of the chasing with Johnson in tow. With four laps to go, a bobble in the sand from Wells gave Johnson the opportunity he needed to make his move for second place.

"It is awesome to be here in Colorado but I wish it was a little later in the year so I have better form," Wells said. "I always enjoy it up here and raced pretty well. I was chasing Powers and Tim was sitting on my wheel but I expected that. I knew he wasn't going to help pull. I bobbled in one section but I'm happy that he attacked there because I knew I would get third anyway because he has more snap than me. This way he had to work hard for a few laps and didn't get a free ride at the end. Maybe he tired himself out a little bit for tomorrow."

The podium places spoken for, Kabush rode in for fourth place following a consistent effort to gain places on each lap. Candelario captured a respectable fifth place ahead of Summerhill in sixth, Driscoll in seventh, Todd Wells in eighth, Jones in ninth and Jake Wells in tenth.

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