Johnson fights back to win second Mercer race

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Tim Johnson (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) rode away with astounding solo victory at the Mercer Cup presented by My Laps, round six of the US Gran Prix of Cyclo-Cross. He finished the New Jersey race with enough time to shake spectator’s hands on the final straightaway, savoring the win before he crossed the line. United States of America Cyclo-cross Champion Ryan Trebon (Kona) struggled with his pedals on the start line and spent most of the race regaining lost ground to eventually finish in second place.

“When you go to a race like yesterday, it’s an easy thing for me to understand, we were riding through some really hard mud and Trebon just powered away from me,” said Johnson, who placed second to Trebon the previous day. “It was the battle that I just couldn’t win. Today was another day and another chance and it’s just another shot to try to win.”

Arguably the most impressive ride of the day came from Todd Wells (Specialized) who showed up to the New Jersey double header with only one race under his belt. With a limited number of International Cycling Union (UCI) points, Wells started near the back yet still rode his way up to third place, earning himself the day’s most aggressive rider’s award.

“I was planning to start my cyclo-cross season in Boulder but I got sick and had to take a little time off,” Wells said. “I think it’s coming around and hopefully it will get better and better. I didn’t think I would be third today. I hope to be in contention for nationals and that’s pretty much it.”

Trebon’s second place was good enough to maintain his overall lead in the USGP series. “It’s important,” Trebon said. “I’m looking forward to going into Portland in the lead and it’s not going to be 70 degrees and sunny. It will probably be 35 and pouring rain.”

Warm temperatures dry up hurricane aftermath

Not a trace of hurricane Ida remained at the Mercer County Park for round six of the USGP series. Blue skies and warm temperatures greeted the elite men’s field prepared to muscle through the thick, semi-dried mud that was churned up the previous day.

Italian Davide Frattini (Team Fuji) nabbed the hole shot and took advantage of his leading position to avoid getting stuck behind potential crashes through the circuit’s early technical turns. Deep ruts sent riders in every direction, making it difficult to move forward or pass rivals in close proximity.

Johnson quickly moved to the front, displaying a look of sheer determination as he bridged across to Frattini. Johnson was alone out front half a lap later, putting significant time into the next chase group that included Frattini, Canadian Cyclo-cross Champion Geoff Kabush (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain), Jesse Anthony (Jamis) and Dan Timmerman (Richard Sachs).

Noticeably absent from the chase was the previous day’s winner Trebon, who had trouble with his pedals at the start line. Trebon powered around the circuit, continually passing clumps of riders in an effort to reach the lead group. He caught Jamey Driscoll (Cannondale-Cyclocrossoworld.com) on lap two, who had moved into third, which put him in sight of second placed Kabush but Johnson was nowhere to be seen.

“I stubbed my front toes into the pedals at the start and I just kind of dropped back and couldn’t accelerate to the front,” Trebon said. “I was 20th at the start. I had pretty good legs but Tim was riding really strong today and I burned a lot of matches trying to get up to the front.”

Trebon caught and passed Kabush by the fourth lap, then pressed on in pursuit of the solo leader. Johnson’s lead grew from 30-seconds to nearly a minute with two laps remaining, an insurmountable win barring crashes or mechanicals.

“I stagnated there and didn’t have anything left to catch him,” Trebon said. “I much preferred the course yesterday where you could plow through everything. It was so hard to stay in the lines because the ruts were so stiff. One line was good and one line was really bad and I just didn’t have it today.”

Wells enjoyed his successful ride, fully recovered from an illness that prevented him from racing since CrossVegas. “If you’re going well you can pick your own lines,” Wells said. “Starting that far back you can usually increase your speed pretty quick and pass guys on the straights. There was a lot of passing out there.”

While the podium places were all but decided, racing for top 10 position continued. Kabush ended the day in fourth after a valiant attempt to claim a spot on the podium. Driscoll rolled in for fifth place ahead of heated battle for sixth between Barry Wicks (Kona) and Frattini.

Valentin Sherz (Pro Cycles Scott) hung on for eight place after spending the majority of the race yo-yoing between the top 10 riders. His performance earned him the Under 23 category win. David Hackworthy (Bianchi-Grand Performance) continues to lead the USGP Under 23 series.

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