Eric Brunner (Blue Competition Cycles p/b Build) came back from two crashes to win the elite men's C2 event at the Really Rad Festival of Cyclocross in Falmouth, Massachusetts.
Regaining contact with the front of the race just ahead of the last lap, Brunner took the win nine seconds ahead of Curtis White (Steve Tilford Foundation) and 14 seconds ahead of teammate Scott Funston.
"Scott rode out of his mind today, he was the perfect teammate. He was trying to set me up for the series by getting second. It didn't work out for him in the end, but I'm still very proud of him," Brunner said. "Maybe I stressed myself out too much to try and stay in position, but I'm happy it worked out."
White won the overall series title for the USCX Cyclocross Series.
White led the race through the start of the second lap just ahead of Blue Competition Cycles p/b Build teammates Funston and Brunner, and Caleb Swartz (Giant/ENVE), mere seconds separated the top four riders.
A larger group of 14 riders formed on the second lap as the leaders slowed up front. The group included Tyler Clark, Michael van den Ham, Jack Spranger and Pete Uptegrove. White took the initiative and set a faster pace on the straightaways, but the strong winds held the large group together for much of the lap.
Clark led through the fifth lap, followed by Brunner, White, then Funston but the 14 riders remained largely intact. However, as the speeds picked up, rider after rider fell off the pace, with just six left out front on the sixth lap; Clark, Funston, Brunner, White, Swartz, and Uptegrove.
Funston opened a gap in the fourth lap, 13 seconds ahead of the group. Brunner clipped his toe on the barriers and fell but was up and running quickly, although he lost some time to the lead group.
The race blew apart on the second half of lap three with Funston clearly in the lead but closely followed by White and then Brunner, and a few seconds further back were Clark, Swartz, and Uptegrove.
White connected with Funston, and teammate Brunner caught up to the two leaders at the start of the penultimate lap. Brunner crashed again, this time through a chicane where he lost his chain, and he found himself chasing again.
Before the lap was done, White attacked, but Brunner had recovered enough to catch up. As the speeds increased, Funston fell off pace by five seconds at the start of the last lap.
White led Brunner through the entire final lap, but the Pan-American Champion found an opening to move passed his rival through the final stretch and went on to take the victory.
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