Trebon and Nash Victorious At Day 1 Of USGP Of Cyclocross Mercer Cup

November 15th, 2009 by Timothy O'Connor View Comments

From U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross:

The Mercer Cup has become known for one element: mud. And the mud favored the strong as both Ryan Trebon (Kona) and Katerina Nash (Luna) turned in powerful solo rides to victory.

As important as power, however, was experience in this venue, where several days of rain spawned the formation of a grassy mud that forced mechanics to work as hard as racers. Single miscues sent riders such as Chris Jones (Champion Systems) over the handlebars and mechanical issues crushed the hopes of Geoff Kabush (Maxxis/Rocky Mountain).

But the mud favors the favorites. After Kabush lit up a savage artillery barrage at the start, Trebon squished his way through turns to draw up to the wheel of the Canadian national champion. A proven mudder, Tim Johsnon (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com) plowed his way up to Trebon’s wheel. Jones, Nicholas Weighall (California Giant/Specialized) and Davide Frattini (Fuji) were equally brilliant in their first laps, which were timed at nine minutes apiece.

The USGP Series leader Jamey Driscoll (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com) again had to recover from a poor start, sliding out of the top 20 after the first lap.

On the third lap, Trebon finally drew even to Kabush and surged into the lead. Johnson followed creating a duel between himself, the ultimate “nail” and Trebon, the ultimate “hammer” of the sport.

Johson and Trebon went wheel for wheel for two laps before Trebon pushed clear to a solo victory ride. Johnson would ride to second. But the contest for bronze proved entertaining. Kabush dueled with Jones until the Canadian suffered a mechanical and had to run half a lap. Jones seemed to own the third spot until he, in the constant surge for a clean line, hooked his brakes on a stake and crashed heavily. As he fumbled with his drivetrain he saw a surging Driscoll, steadily advancing, roar into the third position with under two laps to go.

Trebon rode to victory, followed by Johnson. Driscoll thundered in for third, an effort that would grant him honors as SRAM’s Most Aggressive Rider. He would be followed by Jones in fourth and Frattini in fifth.

Again the Under-23 division saw heated action with three young riders hitting the Top-10. Danny Summerhill (Garmin) pounded to a sixth place ride and top honors in the “Espoir” class. Behind him came 19-year-old Swiss rider Valentin Scherz (Scott) in eighth and Zach McDonalds (Stevens) in ninth overall, to round out the Under-23 podium.

As a result of his finish, Trebon took the overall series lead. David Hackworth (Stevens) held on to the Under-23 jersey.

The women’s race saw the continued improvement of Nash, who expects to finish on the podium at the World Championships in her native Czech Republic. She proved herself world class again in this race. After Canadian National Champion Alison Sydor’s strong start, Nash strangled this race and rode to a stunning solo win. In second, however, nothing seemed certain. After a weak start, Georgia Gould (Luna) pushed into second. Behind her was a scrum that included Amy Dombroski (Schlamm), Alison Dunlap (Luna), Maureen Bruno Roy (M&M/Seven) and Kelli Emmett (Giant). But the surge came from way back as Meredith Miller (California Giant/Specialized) came from 20 spots back and pounded up the wheel of Gould. After catching and passing Gould, however, Miller bobbled and lost the spot. Gould would finish second; Miller third. But Miller would receive Most Aggressive Rider honors for her efforts.

Top Ten Men:

1. Ryan Trebon – KONA

2. Tim Johnson – Cannondale / CyclocrossWorld.com

3. Jamey Driscoll – Cannondale / CyclocrossWorld.com

4. Christopher Jones – Team Champion System

5. Davide Frattini – Team FUJI

6. Danny Summerhill – Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin

7. Barry Wicks – KONA

8. Valentin Scherz – PRO CYCLES-SCOTT-NEWWORK

9. Zach McDonald – Stevens/Classic Cycle

10. Todd Wells – Specialized

SRAM Most Aggressive Rider: Jamey Driscoll