Well Done Todd and Troy Wells Earn National Titles
PROVIDENCE, RI (December 10, 2005) Day 2 of the Liberty Mutual U.S. National Cyclo-cross Championships added a new chapter to the history books plus saw a few upsets to podium predictions as ice, slush, mud, mechanicals and illness jolted pre-race favorites out of order.In the U23 Men's race, Troy Wells executed a technically solid race to hold off Jesse Anthony, who flatted on the first lap, and to outpedal Brent Bookwalter, who clung to third place after winning the national collegiate title earlier in the day. After losing signifigant time to a flat, Anthony succeeded in working his way back into second place yet in the end he could never close the gap on Wells, whose consistency earned him the win.
"On the first lap I tried to start pretty hard so that I could stay out of trouble," Wells said. "I actually followed Brent around for two laps to learn the course because I only got to ride one lap and after Brent fell I kind of went to the front and tried to stay consistent and keep my gap at a consistent rate."
Less than two hours later, Troy's older brother, Todd, earned his second national cyclo-cross title on the same course, which had gone from slushy to icy as the sun went down. Although the Wells brothers had already discussed the possibility of both earning a national title, the truth was that racers with names like Anthony, Bookwalter, Page, Johnson, Craig, and Trebon stood in the way of reality.
"Right away myself and Trebon got off and then I crashed running up the stairs and broke my handlebars," said the older Wells. "I had to ride about a lap with broken handlebars and once I got a new bike, Trebon slipped up in once section and I passed him. In the final few laps you're just praying for the lap counter to go down. I was digging deep and I saw Trebon--he must have figured out some of the lines on the course because he had more power on the pavement sections but he wasn't riding the technical stuff as well."
Defending national champion Jonathan Page arrived at the race after a trip to the hospital the day before. A stomach illness of sorts bore down on Page with abandon and early this morning the question as to whether he would line up to race was raised. Wearing the Liberty Mutual kit, Page rode a strong, steady race to finish in an impressive third place, despite a bout with illness the day before.
Top six elite men are as follows:
1 Todd Wells (GT/Hyundai) Durango, Colo.
2 Ryan Trebon (Kona) Corvallis, Ore.
3 Johnathan Page (Liberty Mutual) Bedford, N.H.
4 Adam Craig (Giant/Pearl Izumi) Corinth, Maine
5 Tim Johnson (cyclocrossworld.com-Louis Garneau) Middleton, Mass.
6 Barry Wicks (Kona) Corvallis, Ore.
Mo Bruno
Master women 30-34 winner Maureen Bruno-Roy
photo: Chris Milliman
chrismilliman.com
After a frustrating incident in last year's master women 30-34 race, which kept Maureen Bruno-Roy from winning, Bruno-Roy claimed her first national cyclo-cross title in the 30-34 category. Citing consistency and power as key improvements over last year, Bruno- Roy seemed to have the race sewn up from the start and rode the race as a preview to tomorrow's elite women's race.
"Tomorrow's race is a bit of a crapshoot where no one really knows who is going to win," explained Bruno-Roy. "We don't really have a defined champion--we don't have somebody who is so far ahead. So many riders tomorrow could take it depending on the conditions and things like that so it's really exciting to be able to contest that race tomorrow."
Other category winners in Day 2 of the Liberty Mutual U.S. National Cyclo-cross Championships include:
Junior Men 17-18
SUMMERHILL, Danny; TIAA-CREF/CLIF BAR Centennial, Colo.
Junior Men 15-16
COELHO, Alex; Loveland, Colo.
Junior Men 13-14
SWEDBERG, Benny; Rad Racing Cov, Wash.
Junior Men 10-12
OWEN, Logan; Redline Bremerton, Wash.
U23 Women
BEARD, Clara Diet Cheerwine Banner Elk, NC
Junior Women 17-18
FILIBERTI, Arielle; Team Bike Alley/NERT/Phillips Academy Andover Worcester, Mass.
Junior Women 15-16
SCHNEIDER, Samantha; Endeavour West Allis Wisc.
Junior Women 13-14
ANTONNEAU, Kaitlin; Nova IsCorp Racine, Wisc.
Junior Women 10-12
WHITE, Elizabeth; NEBC Bedford, NH
Collegiate Men
BOOKWALTER, Brent; Lees-McRae College Banner Elk NC
Collegiate Women
METZGER, Melodie; Univ. of California - Berkeley Berkeley, Calif.
Master Men 30-34
ROBINSON, Justin; California Giant Strawberries/Specialized Watsonville, Calif.
Master Women 35-39
STOVER, Marianne; Independent Fabrication Thetford, Vt.
Results for Day 2 of the Liberty Mutual U.S. National Cyclo-cross Championships are available online at http://www.cyclocrossnationals.com/results_05.htm
"On the first lap I tried to start pretty hard so that I could stay out of trouble," Wells said. "I actually followed Brent around for two laps to learn the course because I only got to ride one lap and after Brent fell I kind of went to the front and tried to stay consistent and keep my gap at a consistent rate."
Less than two hours later, Troy's older brother, Todd, earned his second national cyclo-cross title on the same course, which had gone from slushy to icy as the sun went down. Although the Wells brothers had already discussed the possibility of both earning a national title, the truth was that racers with names like Anthony, Bookwalter, Page, Johnson, Craig, and Trebon stood in the way of reality.
"Right away myself and Trebon got off and then I crashed running up the stairs and broke my handlebars," said the older Wells. "I had to ride about a lap with broken handlebars and once I got a new bike, Trebon slipped up in once section and I passed him. In the final few laps you're just praying for the lap counter to go down. I was digging deep and I saw Trebon--he must have figured out some of the lines on the course because he had more power on the pavement sections but he wasn't riding the technical stuff as well."
Defending national champion Jonathan Page arrived at the race after a trip to the hospital the day before. A stomach illness of sorts bore down on Page with abandon and early this morning the question as to whether he would line up to race was raised. Wearing the Liberty Mutual kit, Page rode a strong, steady race to finish in an impressive third place, despite a bout with illness the day before.
Top six elite men are as follows:
1 Todd Wells (GT/Hyundai) Durango, Colo.
2 Ryan Trebon (Kona) Corvallis, Ore.
3 Johnathan Page (Liberty Mutual) Bedford, N.H.
4 Adam Craig (Giant/Pearl Izumi) Corinth, Maine
5 Tim Johnson (cyclocrossworld.com-Louis Garneau) Middleton, Mass.
6 Barry Wicks (Kona) Corvallis, Ore.
Mo Bruno
Master women 30-34 winner Maureen Bruno-Roy
photo: Chris Milliman
chrismilliman.com
After a frustrating incident in last year's master women 30-34 race, which kept Maureen Bruno-Roy from winning, Bruno-Roy claimed her first national cyclo-cross title in the 30-34 category. Citing consistency and power as key improvements over last year, Bruno- Roy seemed to have the race sewn up from the start and rode the race as a preview to tomorrow's elite women's race.
"Tomorrow's race is a bit of a crapshoot where no one really knows who is going to win," explained Bruno-Roy. "We don't really have a defined champion--we don't have somebody who is so far ahead. So many riders tomorrow could take it depending on the conditions and things like that so it's really exciting to be able to contest that race tomorrow."
Other category winners in Day 2 of the Liberty Mutual U.S. National Cyclo-cross Championships include:
Junior Men 17-18
SUMMERHILL, Danny; TIAA-CREF/CLIF BAR Centennial, Colo.
Junior Men 15-16
COELHO, Alex; Loveland, Colo.
Junior Men 13-14
SWEDBERG, Benny; Rad Racing Cov, Wash.
Junior Men 10-12
OWEN, Logan; Redline Bremerton, Wash.
U23 Women
BEARD, Clara Diet Cheerwine Banner Elk, NC
Junior Women 17-18
FILIBERTI, Arielle; Team Bike Alley/NERT/Phillips Academy Andover Worcester, Mass.
Junior Women 15-16
SCHNEIDER, Samantha; Endeavour West Allis Wisc.
Junior Women 13-14
ANTONNEAU, Kaitlin; Nova IsCorp Racine, Wisc.
Junior Women 10-12
WHITE, Elizabeth; NEBC Bedford, NH
Collegiate Men
BOOKWALTER, Brent; Lees-McRae College Banner Elk NC
Collegiate Women
METZGER, Melodie; Univ. of California - Berkeley Berkeley, Calif.
Master Men 30-34
ROBINSON, Justin; California Giant Strawberries/Specialized Watsonville, Calif.
Master Women 35-39
STOVER, Marianne; Independent Fabrication Thetford, Vt.
Results for Day 2 of the Liberty Mutual U.S. National Cyclo-cross Championships are available online at http://www.cyclocrossnationals.com/results_05.htm
posted by Ryan Amirault at Sunday, December 11, 2005
