Gage Hecht (Alpha Bicycle-Groove Subaru), took his fifth USA Cycling ProCX win of the season Saturday at Ruts 'n' Guts in Tulsa, Oklahoma, soloing to the win ahead of Curtis White (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld) and Jeremy Powers (Pactimo-Fuji-SRAM).
The men’s field started fast with the riders at the front shuffling and reshuffling in the opening laps. After two laps, Andrew “Drew” Dillman (SDG Factory Team) was at the front of a five-rider group with Hecht, White, Eric Brunner (Full Cycle Cyclocross Team) and Anthony Clark (Squid Squad) on his wheel. Further back, slowed down by traffic, Powers was mounting a big chase.
“Race was very very fast, so the gaps were hard to close,” Powers said. “Michael van den Ham hit a pole for the pit at the start, and I was behind him. We had to work our way up from 12th. We did that together.”
One lap later, just as Powers had the lead group in sight, Dillman had a mechanical. Hecht took full advantage of the mishap to forge ahead solo. Behind him, Powers caught White and Clark. Powers had managed to move up from 11th place after one lap to second place in three laps.
The situation stayed mostly the same for the next three laps, with Clark dropping back. Hecht had 14 seconds on White and Powers, who were fighting for second place with one lap to go.
“With two to go, Curtis attacked me," Powers said. "I responded. We went back and forth. Gage was holding at seven to 10 seconds. In the final lap, we went two up into the logs. I hopped them but wasn’t clean, we hit the pavement and I missed second by a hair. It was a great battle."
Hecht finished the nine-lap race in 57 minutes, 32 seconds. Six seconds later, White outsprinted Powers for second place. Clark held on for fourth.
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Powers was happy with his podium finish.
“It’s been such a hard year with injury," he said. "Third place in the sprint for second with Curtis is a win for me in so many ways. I enjoyed the battle in that group, and I'm looking forward to nationals next.”
Now in its ninth year, Ruts N’ Guts Presented by Team Air Assurance/AVB Bank continues on Sunday with Category 2 races for the pros, as well as the popular Chicken- Waffle-Bourbon Gravel Ride for recreational cyclists.
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