October 18/10 12:01 pm - Toronto International Cyclocross Day 2: Report & Photos
Posted by Editoress on 10/18/10
Day 2 of the Toronto International Cyclo-cross saw the same names at the front, but some very different racing. Davide Frattini (Hudz-Subaru) took his second win in two days ahead of Derrick St John (Garneau-Club Chaussures- Ogilvy) in a battle to the finish, while Natasha Elliott (Garneau-Club Chaussures- Ogilvy) roared back from her loss on Day 1 to decisively win the women's race.
The second day of racing at the this UCI weekend of cyclo-cross had the riders facing slightly cooler and windier conditions, but still with temperatures in the mid-teens. The course had been changed with the addition of a double barricade section, an up-and-down section through a ravine and a mountain bike style chute. The sand pit was run in reverse, which turned out to be surprisingly more difficult, with many riders who had ridden the first day now running. The circuit was also longer than the Day 1 version, reducing the number of laps per race.
Elliott, after finishing second to Alberta newcomer Katy Curtis (CMC-Bow Cycle) on the first day, decided to attack the course in the second event, and it paid off. The Ottawa-based rider rode away from breakaway companions Curtis and Pepper Harlton (Juventus) on the first lap for a convincing solo win. Curtis dropped Harlton in the final half lap and, despite a bobble in the final run through the sand pit, held on for second.
"I've noticed that I haven't been going hard enough after the first couple of laps in the last few races," explained Elliott. "In 'cross you shouldn't feel 'okay' after the first two laps, and I definitely tried to change that today. I felt like I had to throw up after the first couple of laps, but I kept on going until I had a big enough gap and then rode my race after that. I did a lot of things wrong yesterday, and today I tried to correct them."
In the men's race, Frattini wasn't able to take control the way he did on Day 1, when he rode away from the field. This race saw the Italian road pro battling with St John and mountain bike pro Andrew Watson (Norco Factory Team) all race before finally attacking in the last kilometre after St John bobbled and unclipped in a corner, to take his fourth UCI cyclo-cross victory of the season.
"I didn't feel that great after yesterday," explained Frattini, "but I was able to stay with Derrick and Watson. It was painful. The race was much faster than yesterday [Day 1]. I tried [to attack] a couple of times, but I could see that I wasn't going anywhere, so I played it different. Derrick in the middle of the race did a few laps that put me in the hurt box ... Ouch. So I tried to see where he was weak, but he wasn't weak in too many spots [laughs] ... he deserves the nickname of pitbull."
St John, despite not winning, was happier with his race. "That was the goal, to put on a show, and it was close. One little bobble on my part, but I was on the gas the whole race ... to go hard the entire race, and hope to cause Davide to make a mistake. I'm glad we were able to put on a show today. The outcome was similar [to Day 1], but the process was different. Absolutely I'm happier with today's race."
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