Brunner wins opening round at Really Rad Festival of Cyclocross

Eric Brunner (Blue Competition Cycles p/b Build) held off Curtis White (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld) over the final two laps and won the opening day of Really Rad Festival of Cyclocross in Falmouth, Massachusetts. Lance Haidet (L39ION of Los Angeles) took third by just two seconds over Stephen Hyde (Steve Tilford Foundation Racing), while US National Champion Gage Hecht was fifth.

A large bunch raced together for the opening four laps over the undulating course at the Cape Cod Fairgrounds. Heavy rains from Friday and a full schedule of racing on Saturday created deep ruts in the mud and sand. 

By the fifth of nine laps, Brunner made his move to create a gap from White and he held the lead for the rest of the contest. It was his second win of the season, following a C1 victory at Kings CX in October. For Hyde, it was his best performance since mid-October when he struggled at the three World Cup races in the US.

With his second-place finish, White extended his lead in the New England Cyclocross Series (NECXS), having scored 40 more points to add to his perfect score of 100 by sweeping C2 races Northampton International. Hecht remained in second place followed by Brannan Fix (Fix Racing). Haidet moved to fourth in the series, just seven points back.