Gully, Bessette take Monkey Hill ‘cross
The U.S. cyclo-cross scene continues to heat up, as an important month of racing on the East Coast continued over the weekend, with the Monkey Hill Cyclo-Cross race in Wilmington, Delaware, on Sunday. After the departure of world champion Erwin Vervecken, who dominated last weekend’s SuperCup-ECV doubleheader, the men’s race was wide open at Monkey Hill, with a national-level field assembled for the UCI race. Meanwhile, in the women’s race, Saturn’s Lyne Bessette remained undefeated in her first season of cyclo-cross. With the downsizing of the SuperCup series, other UCI-sanctioned domestic
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By VeloNews Interactive
Photo: Jonathan McElvery
The U.S. cyclo-cross scene continues to heat up, as an important month of racing on the East Coast continued over the weekend, with the Monkey Hill Cyclo-Cross race in Wilmington, Delaware, on Sunday. After the departure of world champion Erwin Vervecken, who dominated last weekend’s SuperCup-ECV doubleheader, the men’s race was wide open at Monkey Hill, with a national-level field assembled for the UCI race. Meanwhile, in the women’s race, Saturn’s Lyne Bessette remained undefeated in her first season of cyclo-cross.
With the downsizing of the SuperCup series, other UCI-sanctioned domestic races have become a big draw, and Sunday’s fields included representation from the hotbeds of U.S. ‘cross: Jonathan Sundt (K2), Dale Knapp (Kona-Voicestream) and Ann Grande (Kona-Voicestream) from the Pacific-Northwest; Carmen D’Aluisio (Cliff Bar) and Gina Hall (Kona-Voicestream) from California; Marc Gullickson (Mongoose) and Alex Candelario (Big Shark-Cannondale) from Colorado; and Tim Johnson (Saturn) and Mark McCormack (Saturn) from New England.
The men’s race saw a tight battle with the top four all finishing within a minute of each other. Gullickson took the win, followed by Sundt, 20 seconds behind, while Gullickson’s Mongoose teammate Todd Wells took third ahead of the Saturn duo of Johnson and McCormack.
Photo: Jonathan McElvery
On the women’s side, Bessette continued her winning streak. Last week, in her first big test against national competition, she swept the SuperCup and ECV races in Gloucester, Massachusetts. At Monkey Hill, she took the win again, although Grande, at 18 seconds, and D’Aluisio, at 25 seconds, were close behind.There will be more UCI racing on the East Coast next week, at the Amherst International Cyclo-Cross in Amherst, Massachusetts. That will be followed by a UCI race in Boulder, Colorado, on November 3, and then the SuperCup race in Chicago, November 17.
Photo Gallery
Results
Men;
1. Marc Gullickson, Mongoose; 2. Jonathan Sundt, K2 Bike, at 0:20; 3. Todd Wells, Mongoose, at 0:30; 4. Tim Johnson, Saturn, at 0:53; 5. Mark McCormack, Saturn, at 1:56; 6. Dale Knapp, Kona-Voicestream, at 2:11; 7. Alex Candelario, Big Shark-Cannondale, at 2:45; 8. Johannes Huseby, Independent Fabrication-CCB, at 3:01; 9. Erik Tonkin, Kona-Voicestream, at 3:06; 10. Frank Mapel, Yeti-Pearl Izumi, at 4:05;
Women;
1. Lyne Bessette, Saturn; 2. Ann Grande, Kona-Voicestream, at 0:18; 3. Carmen D’Aluisio, Cliff Bar, at 0:25; 4. Gina Hall, Kona-Voicestream, at 1:26; 5. Jen Dial, Independent Fabrication, at 2:03; 6. Christine Vardaros, Jamba Juice, at 2:13; 7. Katrina Davis, Richard Sachs, at 5:03; 8. Kathryn Roszko, BikeReg.com, at 5:22; 9. Katie Compton, First State Velo Sport, at 5:56; 10. Jennifer Leonard, Evolution Racing, at 7:14.