Berden prevails in Gateway Cross Cup

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After twenty four hours of heavy downpours across St. Louis, MO, racers and fans alike were set to experience what most refer to as "true ‘cross conditions" for the second running of the Gateway Cross Cup. Half a foot of rain turned the soccer fields and baseball diamonds of Heman Park in St. Louis's University City neighborhood into a veritable swamp that would deliver course conditions typically reserved for the depths of winter.

Attacking from the gun in the men's race, Ben Berden (Raleigh-Clement) wasted no time taking to the front and powering through the inches deep mud bogs that populated most of the course. Behind him, Jonathan Page gave chase to keep the gap pegged around fifteen seconds. Each lap saw the two leaders locked into a dead heat for the win, with Berden unwilling to cede any of his tenuous lead.

Meanwhile, Joshua Johnson of Bissell-ABG-Nuvo pulled clear of the field to lock in third place while the remainder of the group battled between each other for the remaining coveted UCI points.

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In the end, Berden held his lead to the line, finishing with a flourish by flawlessly bunny hopping the barriers on the final lap. With his win in St. Louis to complement his third place at CrossVegas, Berden assumes the lead in the Cross After Dark series heading into the next round in Cincinnati on November 4th.