Van Gilder busts out her winning sprint
Laura van Gilder over Bruno-Roy at Trexlertown 'cross opener
Laura van Gilder (C3 Athletes Serving Athletes) kicked off the season winning Saturday in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania. She defeated Mo Bruno-Roy in a two-up sprint and saw teammate Deidre Winfield cruise in for third place.
"I don't always look at the course as an opportunity to sprint, I just look to see where my strengths are," said Van Gilder. "This particular course was more of a roadie type course and I did plan my move for the end to try to beat her in the sprint. But I think the next time we race together you will probably see a different tactic."
The women's race donned a handful of key national contenders amongst a healthy some 40 riders who lined up to start the season opener. It was no surprise to see a select group of five riders led by Bruno-Roy, Van Gilder and Winfield along with Rebecca Wellons (Team Plan C), Arley Kemmerer (Hub
Racing) and Kristin Gavin (Human Zoom).
"It's the first race of the year for a lot of us and Mo's a great competitor and I never put her to the sides or discount her ability," said Van Gilder. "With having a teammate like Dede behind us I thought, 'I'm going to let Mo do all the work.' Things can happen and it's not a cut and dry race. You can have flats or mechanicals and I really just wanted to get one [win] under my belt."
Bruno-Roy took control of the race and set a pace strong enough to reduce the front-runners down to a more manageable three -- or not! She found herself followed by teammates Van Gilder and Winfield. One extra burst of power was enough to shed Winfield from the pursuit of victory however, Bruno-Roy had to contend one of the fastest sprinters in the country.
"It was really fast course overall and exposed to the sun," said Bruno-Roy. "Laura Van Gilder sat on my wheel the whole race and I couldn't let up because it would have been really hard with both her and Winfield together. They are smart racers."
"I have to race to my strengths and that's what they are," she continued.
"Mo's a great mud rider and a runner and today those elements weren't there but when we do see those elements I'm going to have my work cut out for me. There won't be any gifts after me sitting on her today but you have to ride the race to win and I would be foolish to miss an opportunity to try and win."
1 | Laura Van Gilder (USA) C3-Athletes Serving Athletes | 0:42:32 |
2 | Maureen Bruno Roy (USA) MM Racing-Seven Cycles-Wheelworks | 0:00:03 |
3 | Deidre Winfield (USA) C3-Athletes Serving Athletes | 0:00:29 |
4 | Rebecca Wellons (USA) Team Plan C | 0:00:43 |
5 | Kristin Gavin (USA) Human Zoom-Pabst Blue Ribbon | 0:01:17 |
6 | Arley Kemmerer (USA) Hub Racing | 0:01:37 |
7 | Carolyn Popovic (USA) Cape Atlantic Racing/beaconcycling.com | 0:01:49 |
8 | Nikki Thiemann (USA) Human Zoom-Pabst Blue Ribbon | 0:02:18 |
9 | Vicki Thomas (Can) Ottawa Cross | 0:02:21 |
10 | Kacey Mandefield (USA) | 0:03:03 |
11 | Erica Yozell Miller (USA) South Mountain Cycles | 0:03:15 |
12 | Lauri Webber (USA) Secret Henry's Team | 0:03:44 |
13 | Jennifer Maxwell (USA) ATAC Sportswear p/b The Bike Rack | 0:03:53 |
14 | Patricia Buerkle (USA) Haymarket Bicycles | 0:04:00 |
15 | Jessica Singerman (USA) Wissahickon | 0:04:19 |
16 | Kristine Church (USA) Human Zoom-Pabst Blue Ribbon | 0:04:28 |
17 | Beth Mason (USA) Verge Test Pilot | 0:05:02 |
18 | Julie Kuliecza (USA) Alan North America Cycling | 0:05:10 |
19 | Diane Grim (USA) C3-Athletes Serving Athletes | 0:05:34 |
20 | Jill Waggett (USA) Guy's Racing Club | 0:05:39 |
21 | Kristy Swope (USA) Team EPS/CSS p/b Brielle Cyclery | 0:05:51 |
Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets
After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59
Join now for unlimited access
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Women's WorldTour – The definitive guide for 2024
Everything you need to know about the professional racing series teams, points, races and standings -
Track Worlds: Jonathan Milan breaks men's pursuit world record, Harrie Lavreysen wins career 15th world title on the track in men's 1km Time Trial
Sebastian Mora beats Niklas Larsen by one point to win the men's Points Race, Ally Wollaston wins Omnium, Finucane claims sprint title -
Astana Qazaqstan miss UCI deadline for 2025 registration
Ceratizit-WNT also late due to administrative issues but intend to continue in WorldTour -
Specialized offers free tune-ups on any bike to mark its fiftieth year
First of a series of events targets making a million bikes rideable again