Craig doubles up in Dam Cross 2

Race two of the Southern California UCI weekend in Griffith Park was much of the same as Saturday; brake control and cornering were the key according to Kona’s Ryan Trebon who won the men’s race to complete a perfect weekend.

The course was much faster for day two and had a lot more flow to it, but there was still a lot of loose technical turns that were slamming racers down. The time change was a nice addition since riders had an extra hour to rest from the course beating them up on day one. And, the races filled in even more for day two from the early morning Junior races and throughout the days fields.

Trebon again jumped from the start and did not mess around with the dust clouds and traffic in the first half of lap one. Sid Taberlay (Sho-Air) followed again and held the second position for the first half of the race. Behind Taberlay it was young Jeremy Ferguson (Cal-Giant Specialized) and another U23 rider Zach McDonald (Rapha/Focus) who were hungry to be on the podium.

After two laps Troy Wells (Clif Bar) was on his way up with the previous days winner Adam Craig (Giant Bicycles) in tow and Ferguson dropped back. Chris Jones (Rapha/Focus) was there in the mix and eventually moved up to pass his teammate McDonald.

Taberlay began to fade and let off a bit, as Jones and Craig continued to gain on Trebon. With five laps to go Craig made his move passing Jones to put himself in second position. Then with four to go, Craig again used his fast smooth descending skills to attack Trebon and take the lead. Craig held the lead for three laps, taking his second win of the Southern California UCI weekend. Trebon cruised in for another solid finish taking second followed by Jones. Taberlay, while dropping back a little, was still able to hold on for another fourth place finish and McDonald in fifth and again the strongest U23.

This was the last of the UCI races for the 2010 season in Southern California but a great final showing of riders and support for both races.