Andrew Strohmeyer (CXD Trek Bikes) won his third consecutive US Cyclocross Series race this season, going solo at Rochester Cyclocross with four laps to go in the C1 contest.
Scott Funston (Cervelo Orange Living) finished second, 35 seconds back, and Tobin Ortenblad (Santa Cruz SRAM htSQD) took third, another 5 seconds off the pace.
The surprise performance came from 18-year-old Henry Coote (Competitive Edge), a rising star on the US mountain biking scene, who finished fourth. The 18-year-old fractured a bone in his hand two months ago and returned to racing to finish ninth in the men’s junior XCO at UCI MTB World Championships.
Kerry Werner (Groove Auto Off Road Racing), who finished second on both days GO Cross last weekend, held off Marcis Shelton (Bear CX) for fifth.
The elite men’s field of 48 riders set off with the favourites at the front, Curtis White (Steve Tilford Foundation Racing) taking charge with Funston, Strohmeyer and Ortenblad, who missed the opening round of USCX in Virginia as he finished sixth in the Life Time Grand Prix’s Chequamegon MTB Festival in Wisconsin.
By the start of the third circuit of the 3km course at Genesee Valley Park, Strohmeyer, Funston and White set the pace at the front with Ortenblad dangling off the back.
The speed, like the temperatures, were high and the chasers were quickly 15 seconds off the pace, the closest trio including Henry Coote (Competitive Edge), Matteo Oppizzi (Elite Foundation Cycling) and Ben Frederick (Small Monsters Project). Marcis Shelton (Bear CX), who was third on the second day at GO Cross, rode in ninth, and Kerry Werner (Groove Off Road Racing) was in 16th.
At the mid-point of the race, Strohmeyer, Funston and Ortenblad worked together to pound out a searing pace. Coote moved into solo fourth, 13 seconds back, while White was another 15 seconds down in fifth, Werner trying to work his way up to the former US cyclocross champion.
Whatever rain had fallen from the elite women’s event the hour before was long gone and on the start of lap 6 Strohmeyer kicked up the dust alone with a solo attack. Funston and Ortenblad were joined by Coote and the trio chased, 20 seconds back. White dropped back to ninth place, letting Werner join Tyler Clark (Hockley Valley Resort Armada) to battle for fifth place.
With Strohmeyer out of sight and headed to his third victory in USCX, Funston tried to accelerate away from Ortenblad on the penultimate lap. Coote remained the only other rider with a chance at a podium spot, but he could not get onto Ortenblad’s wheel, holding a gap of a few seconds.
The course for the C1 event included 42 metres (139 feet) of vertical gain on each pass, ridden on Saturday in a clockwise direction to hit much of the punchy climbs early, from the Wall run-up to Double Trouble in the woods. The back half of the course featured wide passing lanes and the Belgian staircase.
A new cobbled section before the Wall was removed from Saturday’s C1 elite races due to rider feedback on pre-rides due to a few damaged rims and punctures. That section is set to be used in the C2 races Sunday as the riders will pass on a slower uphill direction.
Results
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