Northampton Cyclocross: Lizzy Gunsalus and Henry Coote ride solo on Sunday for elite C2 wins at Massachusetts home race

Lizzy Gunsalus (CCB p/b Levine Law Group) and Henry Coote (Trinity Racing) won the elite C2 races on the second and final day at Northampton Cyclocross (NoHoCX) on Sunday. The Massachusetts natives earned solo victories in front of home crowds at Look Park in Northampton.

Gunsalus, who was second on Saturday, rode solo across the line with 36 seconds to spare in front of Mia Aseltine (Competitive Edge Racing). Another 1:13 back, Anna Megale (Competitive Edge Racing) secured third place.

From the start of the seven-lap elite women's race p/b Joes Garage, Gunsalus moved to the front with teammate Cassidy Hickey and Saturday's winner Sidney McGill (Lastig Off-Road Racing). Hickey had mechanical issues on the third lap and dropped away, eventually pulling out after the fourth lap.

McGill was next to fall off the pace on the fourth circuit when she rolled a tubular, the Canadian running to the pit while Gunsalus powered away unchallenged to her fifth UCI victory of the season. 

It was in 2014 that Gunsalus first raced cyclocross as an 11-year-old, and she has now gone full circle with her first start as an elite rider in her home race.

"I am stoked to be back home in Massachusetts as a reminder to all of the young girls standing along the same tape: success is attainable and your dreams are within reach," she wrote on Instagram before securing two podiums as an elite rider at NoHoCX.

A swarm of 14 under-23 riders comprised the 30-rider elite men's field, with nine of them filling top 10 positions, including a sweep of the podium. Reigning US men's U23 national champion Coote made his cyclocross season debut at NoHoCX, Saturday suffering a crash that left him in fourth place, taking the win on Sunday. Tofik Beshir (CXD Trek Bikes) finished second, and Ryan Drummond (Competitive Edge Racing) took third.

Coote went into chase mode after the opening lap, as Drummond and Beshir were out front with Alexander Scopinich-Burgel (Kelly Benefits Cycling), Aldan Vollmuth (Donovan Racing) and Saturday's winner Dylan Zakrajsek (Competitive Edge Racing).

On lap two, Zakrajsek crashed on the barriers, allowing Coote to establish a lead in the nine-lap race that he would maintain for the rest of the race.

Beshir and Drummond battle through the penultimate lap, though Coote had enough time to stay away. Beshir, who was closing down the gap but ran out of laps for second. Zakrajsek, the only non-U23 rider in the top 10, finished eighth.

For Beshir, it was his fifth consecutive podium and 13th top 10 in 14 races. As a native of Ethiopia, he will not make the start at next Saturday's Pan-Am Cyclocross Championships but will instead look to make the start on Sunday in DCCX.

NoHoCX is part of the USA Cycling National Cyclocross series, with 13 events across the US this year. The next stop for the series will be November 8-9 in Washington, D.C., where the Pan-American Cyclocross Championships will be followed by the C2-level DCCX, both at the Armed Forces Retirement Home venue.

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