Powers, Anderson lock up $5,000 top prizes in inaugural Pro Cyclocross Calendar

Jeremy Powers and Elle Anderson will roll into the U.S. cyclocross championships next week $5,000 richer after locking up the season-long USA Cycling Pro Cyclocross Calendar ahead of Sunday’s Kingsport Cyclocross Cup in Tennessee.

With 1,015 points, Powers (Rapha-Focus) leads Tim Johnson (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) by just 26 points in the overall standings. The winner of Sunday’s C2-registered event will earn 35 points in the series, but Powers is in Boulder, Colorado, ahead of the Jan. 12 national championship race and Johnson is training in California. Neither rider will make the trip to Tennessee for the series finale, meaning Powers will top his former teammate in the race for the top stake in the $20,000 men’s series. Johnson’s second-place standing will earn him $4,000.

Ben Berden (Raleigh-Clement) is third, with more than 100 points separating him from Johnson and fourth-placed Ryan Trebon (Cannondale). Berden stands to take home $2,500 at the conclusion of USA Cycling’s season-long professional ’cross calendar.

In the women’s standings, Anderson (Cal Giant-Specialized) leads Katerina Nash (Luna) by an insurmountable 54 points ahead of the finale in Kingsport. With equal prize purses for men and women, Anderson, who has accrued 809 points in the series, will take home the $5,000 top prize and, like Johnson, Nash will earn $4,000 for her efforts.

Meredith Miller (Cal Giant-Specialized) sits third, trailing Nash by 78 points, and leads fourth-placed Crystal Anthony (Optum-Kelly Benefit Strategies) by 24 points.

The USA Cycling Pro Cyclocross Calendar debuted for the 2013-14 season and comprised every UCI-registered event in the United States. The series opened Sept. 7 at Nittany Lion Cross in Pennsylvania and included 43 race days.