Noble wins again at Gran Prix of Gloucester day 2

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Ellen Noble (Trek Factory Racing CX) took her second solo victory of the weekend in the Elite Women’s race Sunday at the Gran Prix of Gloucester.

Noble said she was not expecting to have a solo lead again like Saturday. A quick start found her and Erica Zaveta (Garneau-Easton p/b TLC) at the front. But Zaveta took a spill into the course tape on the first lap, going down and leaving Noble out front alone.

“Today I went into it with a little bit more tactics. I wanted to get off the front with Erica (Zaveta) and kind of be able to work with her,” Noble said. “I took a weird line, I think I threw her off, so it left me on the front. I wasn’t intending to go solo today. But that’s how it ended up happening. Once I got a gap, I just tried to keep it.”

Zaveta would recover quickly and ride with Cassandra Maximenko (Van Dessel Factory Team) for a lap, followed by Crystal Anthony (Liv Cycling) in fourth.

“I took on Ellen’s wheel and I was following behind really closely,” Zaveta said. “But I slid out in the turns just before the pits. And it was a pretty fast crash, so she got away very quickly. I ended up with Crystal (Anthony) and the group behind me. I ended up riding with them a little until I settled down and figured out the lines again.”

Noble crossed the line in the six-lap race in 45:57. Another 48 seconds later, Zaveta emerged on the pavement to finish second for a second day in Gloucester.

“Towards the end I was like ‘I need to go’,” Zaveta said. “It was definitely back and forth. She’s really strong. I just needed to commit to try to go, and then see if it worked. And it did.”

It would be a repeat podium, Anthony finished 17 seconds behind Zaveta to secure the bronze. Maximenko would roll in fourth, the same position as Saturday.

“Today was a battle,” said Anthony, who is from nearby Beverly, Mass. “Erica and I were going back and forth. She got the last final punch, so she rode really strong. I was happy today to be in the fight. She was savvy. She sat on my wheel until she was ready to go, and then she went.”

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