Van Gilder, Frattini win Charm City cyclocross opener
The MAC series round 2 gets rolling in Baltimore with wins by Laura Van Gilder and Davide Frattini
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Laura Van Gilder, riding for the home team C3- Athletes Serving Athletes, won the first day of the Charm City weekend cyclocross races in Baltimore, Maryland. Davide Frattini (HUDZ-Suburu) won the men’s race on a dry and fast day.
In the UCI Women’s field, Van Gilder was shadowed for the bulk of the day by Kristin Gavin of Team CF. On the final lap Van Gilder was able to get a little room on the back section of the course. Gavin would not go away easily, clawing her way back to Van Gilder’s wheel to set up a final sprint. As she has the past two years, Van Gilder sprinted to victory.
“A strong race here in Baltimore has been a good sign of things to come, I hope this translates to the same,” she said.
Dee Dee Winfield, who was dislodged from the lead two by any early flat, finished a strong third. Sunday will be round two in this battle.
The bulk of the men’s race was a showdown between two men: defending MAC Cup champion Valentin Scherz ( Cyfac-Champion System) and defending Charm City Cross champ Frattini.
Through the early stages, and middle of the race, the two champions exchanged jabs with neither seeming to gain any advantage. Finally, with the lap cards showing three to go, Frattini opened a gap, and continued his increasing advantage, claiming another Charm City Victory. Perhaps the most exciting racing of the day took place in the battle for third, where Ryan Knapp (Bikereg.com), Ryan Dewald (Haymarket) and Anthony Grant (Cyfac-Champion System) battled fiercely through out the race. Each rider took their best swing at separating themselves from the others, to no avail. Hitting the final stretch of asphalt together, Grant shot to the front, and took the third spot on the podium.
Day 1 Women’s top three:
- 1. Laura Van Gilder -C3 Athletes Serving Athletes
- 2. Kristin Gavin- Team CF
- 3. Dee Dee Winfield- C3 Athletes Serving Athletes
Day 1 Men’s Top Three
- 1. Davide Frattini- HUDZ- Suburu
- 2. Valentin Scherz – Cyfac Champion
- 3. Anthony Grant- Cyfac Champion