October 14/18 20:22 pm - Gran Prix of Gloucester Day 2

Posted by Editoress on 10/14/18
 

Noble and White Repeat at Stage Fort Park

Course conditions at Stage Fort Park in Gloucester went from wet and greasy on Saturday to dry and lightening fast on Sunday for the final day of of the CRAFT Sportswear Gran Prix of Gloucester. No matter what the conditions, Saturday's winners in the elite races continued dominance. Ellen Noble (Trek Factory Racing CX) took her second solo victory of the weekend in the Elite Women's race and Curtis White (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com) put in a late-race attack to repeat for the Elite Men's win.

The 20th edition of the classic Gran Prix of Gloucester provided the twists and turns around the prominent granite boulder of Stage Fort Park, towering 60 feet above Half Moon and Cressy's beaches on the Atlantic Ocean. Sunday events were the second round of the 2018 Vittoria Northeast Cyclocross Series presented by Clif Bar and Cycle-Smart. Elite racers also competed for UCI Category 2 points in USA Cycling's Pro Cyclocross Calendar (ProCX).

Noble said she was not expecting to have a solo lead again like Saturday. A quick start found her and Erica Zaveta (Garneau-Easton p/b TLC) at the front. But Zaveta took a spill into the course tape on the first lap, going down and leaving Noble out front alone.

"Today I went into it with a little bit more tactics. I wanted to get off the front with Erica (Zaveta) and kind of be able to work with her," said Noble. "I took a weird line, I think I threw her off, so it left me on the front. I wasn't intending to go solo today. But that's how it ended up happening. Once I got a gap, I just tried to keep it."

Zaveta would recover quickly and ride with Cassandra Maximenko (Van Dessel Factory Team) for a lap, followed by Crystal Anthony (Liv Cycling) in fourth.

"I took on Ellen's wheel and I was following behind really closely," said Zaveta. "But I slid out in the turns just before the pits. And it was a pretty fast crash, so she got away very quickly. I ended up with Crystal (Anthony) and the group behind me. I ended up riding with them a little until I settled down and figured out the lines again."

Noble crossed the line in the six-lap race in 45 minutes, 57 seconds. Another 48 seconds later, Zaveta emerged on the pavement to finish second for a second day in Gloucester.

"Towards the end I was like ‘I need to go'," added Zaveta. "It was definitely back and forth. She's really strong. I just needed to commit to try to go, and then see if it worked. And it did."

It would be a repeat podium, Anthony finished 17 seconds behind Zaveta to secure the bronze. Maximenko would roll in fourth, the same position as Saturday.

"Today was a battle," said Anthony, who is from nearby Beverly, Mass. "Erica and I were going back and forth. She got the last final punch, so she rode really strong. I was happy today to be in the fight. She was savvy. She sat on my wheel until she was ready to go, and then she went."

The Elite Men's race proved to be a punchy group race, with riders from Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com dictating the tactics. Cooper Willsey (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com) would lead for several laps before setting things up for teammate White.

"The course, today, seemed like it played towards group racing, it was a bit tactical," said White, who won the eight-lap race in 1 hour, 1 minute, 4 seconds. "Cooper Willsey was off the front early, so that put pressure on guys like Tobin Ortenblad, Jamey Driscoll. Jamey got to the front (chase group) and closed the gap quick, so that we were all together. He had started the attack and strung the field out.

"Jamey was putting in a good dig with, like, four (laps) to go, and then he unfortunately clipped a stake (fence). It was unfortunate for him, but I think it also worked to my benefit. That was something I had to capitalize on and that was the gap. Once I got the gap, I wanted to crank out some of the fastest lap times that I could, work on accelerations."

The race for second place would take place after Driscoll (Park City, Utah/Pivot-Maxxis p/b Stans-DNA Cycling) got tangled in the fencing near the pit entrances with three laps to go. A group of four battled behind White - Lane Maher (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld), Cooper Willsey (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com), Anthony Clark (Squid Squad) and Tobin Ortenblad (Santa Cruz / Donkey Label Racing). It would be White's teammate Maher who would take the lead in the final turns of the race.

"Curtis attacked really hard, so that was pretty much gone, that was the win," said Maher, who was 22 seconds behind White for second. "I got to go out to the front of the race for the first time on the last lap. I felt really good, so I decided to attack with a few minutes to go and it stuck. I just put my head down and went as hard as I could, and hoped for the best."

Three more seconds back was Clark, who out-sprinted Ortenblad for third. Willsey would grab an extra second on Driscoll for the fifth place spot.

"After Curtis attacked, I went to the front. The Cannondale guys were racing as a team," said Clark after the race. "I led the last lap. So I said ‘I have to lead out the sprint, and Tobin is fast!' I didn't even think about it, I just went on the pavement and (pounded it). I just went as hard as I could and didn't look back. As soon as I crossed the line, I was like ‘I just got third at Gloucester!' And that is how it happened."

The Vittoria Northeast Cyclocross Series continues in November with races three and four at The Verge Northampton International in Northampton, Mass. Noble and White will wear the Verge leader's jerseys for the Elite categories.

Results

Gran Prix of Gloucester Day 1