French champion Francis Mourey (FDJ) and the Czech champ Katerina Nash (Luna Pro Team) raced to victory in the men’s and women’s events at CrossVegas yesterday, winning their races in front of a very large crowd.
Frenchman Mourey put in a superb final lap to catch last year’s winner Jamey Driscoll (Cannondale/ Cyclocrossworld.com) in the men’s event, fighting back after Driscoll jumped clear at the halfway point.
“There was an enormous crowd tonight…. I think that for Americans, cyclocross is a big party, and we saw that tonight. It was a really beautiful evening,” he said, enjoying his first-ever visit to Las Vegas.
Driscoll surged ahead two laps after the start, opening up a lead of almost half a minute. In retrospect he went too early, but he said that the crowd psyched him and helped him to dig deep. “That was pretty crazy. I was getting blinded by the flashes but the crowd was totally electrifying,” he recounted afterwards. “It was awesome to have them cheering me on, it definitely raised my spirits out there.”
He was chased by some of the best riders in the sport, including Ryan Trebon (Kona), Chris Jones (Rapha
Focus), Christian Heule (VC Gippingen Champion System), Gerben De Knegt (Rabobank-Giant Off Road) and Jonathan Page (Planet Bike). Also present in the group were his team-mates Jeremy Powers and US champion Tim Johnson, who did what they could to slow things down but couldn’t prevent the others from getting closer. Mourey was fatigued due to travelling, but used his head and waited. He then kicked hard with half a lap to go, pippin Driscoll at the finish. “I knew that I had a chance to win in a sprint,” he said. “I wagered my race on that and it worked.”
Driscoll was disappointed, but accepted that his rival was very strong. “It's a bummer to be out there and try so hard and get nipped by half a wheel at the line, but his reputation precedes him,” he said. “He's a darned good bike rider.” Third place went to De Knegt, who was one seconds behind the leading duo.
Meanwhile the Czech Katerina Nash triumphed in the women’s race, showing the dominance of the Luna Pro team. She and her team-mates Georgia Gould, and Amy Dombroski laid down the law from the start, blowing the race apart and pulling clear with the former cross country champion Mary McConneloug (Kenda/Seven Cycles).
She made her move with three laps to go and pulled steadily clear. “This is one of my favorite races and it's a good crowd tonight,” she stated. “Every time you win it's super exciting.
“It wasn't easy out there, it's a super tough course. I put in a good effort maybe half-way through the race, and the gap kept growing. CrossVegas is a big deal and it's exciting to win out here.”
McConneloug did what she could to take second, but Dombroski timed her effort perfectly and got past her. “Last year that was where I was able to get out of the group that I was with,” she said, talking about the climb. “You have to attack where it's hard. I think that's probably one of the hardest parts, because it's a steep hill. The grasses are real dry, I just gave it everything there and tried to keep turning the pedals over, even though I was totally inside out.”
They finished 17 seconds back, while Gould was a further eleven seconds behind.
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CrossVegas, September 23:
Men:
1, Francis Mourey (Francaise Des Jeux) 59 mins 30 secs
2, James Driscoll (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) same time
3, Gerben De Knegt (Rabobank - Giant Off Road Team) at 1 sec
4, Ryan Trebon (Kona) same time
5, Christian Heule (Champion System LBS) at 2 secs
6, Jonathan Page (Planet Bike) same time
7, Jeremy Powers (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) at 3 secs
8, Lars Van Der Haar (Rabobank-Giant Off-Road Team) at 4 secs
9, Geoff Kabush (Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) at 8 secs
10, Adam Craig (Rabobank-Giant Off-Road Team) at 10 secs
Women:
1, Katerina Nash (Luna Pro Team) at 46 mins 10 secs
2, Amy Dombroski (Luna Pro Team) at 17 secs
3, Mary McConneloug (Kenda/Seven/Notubes) same time
4, Georgia Gould (Luna Pro Team) at 28 secs
5, Susan Butler (Hudz-Subaru) at 59 secs
6, Meredith Miller (California Giant/Specialized) at 1 min 21 secs
7, Kelli Emmett (Giant Bicycles)
8, Alison Powers (Team Vera Bradley Foundation)
9, Kari Studley (Redline)
10, Teal Stetson-Lee (California Giant/Specialized) all same time