Powers nabs New England "Worlds" in Gloucester

Jeremy Powers (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com) soloed to the New England "Worlds" title at the opening round of the Grand Prix of Gloucester doubleheader. His teammate and fellow breakaway companion Tim Johnson fell behind on the last lap following a bike change but managed to hold on for second place ahead of Ryan Trebon (Kona-FSA) in third.

"I'm happy to be able to win Gloucester again," Powers said who out-sprinted two-time German National Champion Multe Urban or the win in 2007. "I loved the win that I had here in 2007 the most. It was my favorite win because I sprinted against the German National Champion that year and came out on the pavement and won it. I have a good memory of this place. My family is here, my parents and familiar faces so I'm excited to be able to do this in front of them. Any time I can win I am psyched, but today I'm really happy."

The Grand Prix of Gloucester marks round three and four of the North American Cyclo-cross Trophy (NACT) series. The series kicked off at StarCrossed and Rad Racing Grand Prix where French National Champion Francis Mourey (FDJ) won both events to take the series lead. He recently departed back to France leaving the series title wide open for the taking.

Valentin Scherz earned the event's best Under 23 rider award.

Rough terrain cause unwanted bobbles

The Grand Prix of Gloucester hosted a well-attended starting roster at the Stagee Fork Park in the oceanside city of Gloucester, Massachusetts. The event attracts some of the most renowned American cross specialists hailing from the New England shores who come to battle for the region's cyclo-cross "world championships" bragging rights.

West-coaster Ryan Trebon (Kona-FSA) put forth a blazing opening lap that resulted in a slight gap ahead of the field lead by Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com duo Jeremy Powers and Tim Johnson. Also in the mix were Tristan Schouten (Cyclocrossracing.com), Davide Frattini (Hudz-Subaru) Luca Damiani (Kenda-Geargrinder) and Jamey Driscoll (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com).

Rounding the second lap, Trebon's solo effort managed to draw out teammates Powers and Johnson and a lead group of three riders formed briefly. The group reunited shortly after the start of the third lap just in time for Johnson kicked the pace up a notch.

He initiated the winning breakaway move along the oceanside's lengthy straightaway and was joined by Powers and then Trebon. Trebon moved into second position which allowed him to respond to the cagey attacks coming from his two rivals. Behind, Driscoll jump ahead of the chasers in an effort to bridge across but was unsuccessful and returned to the chase group that included Schouten and Frattini.

Trebon's efforts to contain the two teammates were cut short when he crashed through the rubble at the start of the fourth lap. "I went through the corner and just crashed," Trebon said. "It was really weird because I just couldn't get away from it. Normally you fall and try to get up but my bike wouldn't let me go. It was chasing me and it was behind me in the air and hitting Tim. It was the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen."

Trebon picked himself up and continued on course rejoining Schouten, Driscoll and Frattini in the mad chase for the two ace leaders. Trebon's high speed caused Frattini and then Driscoll to fall off pace.

Schouten dug deep to stay attached to Trebon's wheel in the closing laps but he too fell off pace with two laps to go. "I tried to take a drink in the pits and I lost Ryan's wheel, didn't get my drink. He got a 20-foot gap on me and I couldn't close it. It was so hot today and I was so thirsty, my mouth was completely dry."

"I'm happy because I was able to make contact with the leaders even though I never really got comfortable there. It was a power course today and Ryan was really in control. There wasn't any place that I could really help out."

On the last lap, Powers gained the valuable seconds he needed to win the race ahead of Johnson who was forced into the pits in need of a spare bike. Johnson rolled in for second place ahead of a charging Trebon in third and Schouten in fourth. With the top two places on the podium sewn up by his teammates, Driscoll secured fifth place ahead of Frattini in sixth.

"We didn't say one word to each other because we were just taking it out on each other all day," Powers said. "I was thinking that this isn't going to feel good today or tomorrow or the next day."

"I came by Tim in the pit with one and a half to go," he said. "On the last lap he went in the pit and it was weird because I didn't know what to do. I just kept motoring. I had to put myself in his shoes. If I was in Tim's shoes I wouldn't have been like, 'hey Tim wait for me,' so I did what I would have thought and went for it. I would rather have sprinted for it and had that last lap of intense suspense but it's all good either way and there is another one tomorrow."

The Grand Prix of Gloucester will continue with round two on Sunday at the Stage Fork Park.

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