Trebon turns the tables with victory over Powers

Ryan Trebon (Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld) reminded a strong field on Sunday at the UCI C2 Gran Prix of Gloucester in Gloucester, Massachusetts that he is a force to be reckoned with. Jeremy Powers (Rapha-Focus) settled for 2nd place on the day in front 3rd place finisher Ben Berden (Raleigh/Clement). 

While Sunday’s weather forecast had called for clear skies and only a slight chance of rain in the afternoon, torrential downpours began shortly after 8 o’clock in the morning and didn’t cease until late afternoon. The rain and 800 returning amateur races from the previous day’s events left the course a soupy, sloppy, muddy mess for the UCI Elite Men and Women.

It wasn’t less than half a lap into the Men’s race that a lead group of nine riders was established and distanced itself from the rest of the field. To the surprise of many, it was the CyclocrossWorld.com amateur rider Dylan McNicholas who led the charge up the stairs for the first time. In his wake were Trebon, Berden, Powers, Tim Johnson (Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld), Zach McDonald (Rapha-Focus), Ian Field (Hargrove Cycles/Specialized), Jamey Driscoll (Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld), Nicolas Bazin (Big Mat - Auber 93), and Tristan Schouten (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies).

"I was following Trebon on the backside of the course the first time through and when he bobbled I just held my line and the next thing I knew I was leading the race. I didn’t want to be there, necessarily, but I wasn’t going to not pedal up there."

Ben Berden repeatedly applied pressure to the initial group of nine but it was eventually the pair of Powers and Trebon who pulled away on the third lap of the six lap event. Driscoll, Johnson, and Berden were left behind. Further back, McDonald chased on his own while a fading McNicholas, Bazin, Field and Schouten tried to limit their losses another 10 seconds behind McDonald.

At the end of the 3rd lap, Trebon attacked Powers coming past the pits heading into a tricky section of off-camber turns that required the riders to dismount and run in certain sections. Coming out of this section, Trebon had a 5 second gap over a deflated Jeremy Powers.

By the end of the fourth lap, Trebon extended his lead to 30 seconds and Johnson and Berden made contact with Powers. Powers took the better part of the next lap to regain his composure and with one lap remaining he countered an attack from Ben Berden. While Berden was able to maintain contact with Powers, the acceleration detached Johnson from the trio.

Trebon crossed the line alone for the win 24 seconds ahead of Powers who was eventually able to rid himself of Berden in the race’s final 300 meters. Johnson finished the day in 4th place, 15 seconds behind Berden and McDonald rounded out the top five, another 20 seconds behind Johnson.

When asked how he was able to get away from Powers, Trebon said, "I think I was just more comfortable through the turns and the mud. This is the kind of cross racing I like to do, you know? I like the muddy, technical courses."

Powers admitted he still has some work to do on his racing in the mud, saying, "I’ve been working on my skills in the mud, but it’s still my weakness. I’ve shown that I’ve made some improvements last year and hopefully this year."