Powers prevails on first day at Cycle-Smart International

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Saturday’s UCI Men’s and Women’s races at the Cycle-Smart International at Look Park in Northampton, MA kicked off rounds five and six of the Shimano Pro Cyclocross Series and both races were won by only one second. In both events the difference between having a chance of winning and finishing out of touch with the lead group was making just one mistake.

It would be Jeremy Powers (Rapha – Focus) who would ride flawlessly in the men’s race to add yet another victory to his tally, taking the win ahead of his 24-year-old protégé, Jeremy Durrin (JAM Fund/NCC/Vittoria), and CyclocrossWorld.com’s Shawn Milne. Mary McConneloug used her superior bike handling to win the women’s event ahead of CyclocrossWorld.com’s Crystal Anthony. Anna Barensfeld (pedalpowertraining.com) rounded out the podium.

In the men’s event, Powers took the hole shot and led a large group of 20 riders into the woods on the first lap. Milne pushed the pace for most of the 2nd and 3rd laps, cutting the group nearly in half. Rocky Mountain Factory’s Raphael Gagne and Rabobank’s Adam Craig took turns at the front for the next two laps and it looked like the final selection of nine riders was made.

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As the leaders passed the finish line to read two laps to go on the cards, Craig went down taking Gagne with him and causing a race deciding split. The biggest benefactors of his bobble were Durrin and Justin Lindine (Redline), who immediately opened up a 5 second gap over Milne, Dylan McNicholas (CyclocrossWorld.com), Dan Timmerman (RGM Watches – Richard Sachs ) and Powers.

With 1.5 laps remaining, Durrin pushed the pace hard in the second wooded section of the course forcing Lindine to make a mistake that resulted in a crash that sent him from the lead all the way back to the chasing group with Craig and Anthony Clark (JAM Fund/NCC/Vittoria).

Shortly after Lindine’s crash, Milne surged from the Powers group and connected with Durrin. Powers jumped free of McNicholas and Timmerman and connected with the leaders just as they took the bell for the final lap.

Milne led for most of the last lap, trying to control the pace and hold his position, but it was not to be as Powers came around him before the final pass through the barriers. Durrin tried to match Powers’ effort, also coming around Milne before they took to the final dirt hairpins, but Powers held Durrin off for the win with Milne hanging on for third.

When asked about the cost of making one mistake on a course like today’s, Powers said, “You’ve got to take a deep breath and you’ve got to watch the corners. You can’t just, you know, lose a front wheel because then the race is over, as you saw with Adam and the Canadian rider.”