National champs dominate Redline Cup

Published November 3, 2007 01:00AM

Reigning U.S. cyclocross champions Katie Compton (Spike Shooter) and Ryan Trebon (Kona-Yourkey.com) scored crushing wins at Boulder, Colorado’s Redline Cup on Saturday.

A dusty Boulder Reservoir played host to the UCI Category 2 race, and what its long 1.5-mile course lacked in mud and climbing, it made up for with sections of loose sand. Riders powered through rim-deep sediment in a volleyball court and a long beach section — the latter forced less-skilled racers to dismount and run.

Compton continued her season-long dominance and stretched a first-lap attack into a 30-second advantage over her closest chasers, while Trebon waited until the race’s midpoint to unleash his winning move.

Redemption for Kona
Trebon and his Kona-Yourkey.com teammate Barry Wicks came into the weekend still reeling from a pair of demoralizing losses in the opening two rounds of the 2007 Crank Brother’s U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross, held October 27-28 in Louisville, Kentucky. The Kona duo, which have traded USGP overall titles for the past three seasons, were out ridden by the Cyclocrossworld.com tag team of Jeremy Powers (SRAM-Cyclocrossworld.com) and Tim Johnson (Leer-Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com), who traded USGP wins that weekend.

“What Tim and Jeremy did was pretty impressive — I was pretty discouraged all week,” said Trebon, who finished fourth and second in Kentucky. “It’s tough racing against them. I guess that’s what it must feel like to race against me and Barry.”

Trebon’s disappointment was also rooted in the recent onset of a number of painful physical ailments. The lanky Kona rider has struggled with a cramping lower back and numbness in his left gluteus muscle for the past several weeks. Trebon treated the ailments with massage and acupuncture during the week after the USGP weekend, however the pain was not entirely gone for the Boulder race, and he spent only one day on the bike between the weekends.

Indeed Trebon looked off his game as Powers, Wicks, Todd Wells (GT) and Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) sped to the front of the men’s field from the gun. Having slipped a pedal, Trebon spun away in 11th place.

It was Wicks who flexed his muscles first — the 26-year-old resident of Santa Cruz, California, opened up a five-second advantage on Powers after successfully cleaning the course’s lengthy beach section. But Wicks saw his advantage negated after washing out in a loose corner on lap 2.

“It sucked, I tore my arm up and screwed up my bike,” said Wicks, who would eventually hit the tech pits for a bike change.

With Powers and Wells taking turns as sweeper, and Johnson joining the group, it appeared that the day’s winner would come from the group of five. But five laps into the race the group slowed and Trebon rolled onto the back end. A lap later he threw in his winning move.

“I didn’t have to work too hard to catch on,” Trebon admitted. “And then I made really my only hard effort of the day.”

The move splintered the group, with Wicks powering into second, Wells in third and Johnson in fourth. Late-day winds kicked up, isolating the riders even more. With Trebon building a solid 50-second advantage on Wicks, a resurgent Kabush caught and passed Johnson for fourth while sixth-place rider Powers crashed hard bunny hopping the barriers and was passed by Danish champ Joachin Parbo.

“I couldn’t breathe — I can’t change my efforts and recover as well at altitude,” said Johnson, referring to the course’s 5430-foot elevation.

Trebon said his winning effort placed a small patch on the hole in his confidence. Bringing himself back to 100-percent, however, appears to be a journey that will take some time.

“It’s always nice not to lose, but I’m still not 100-percent confident,” Trebon said. “It’s still hard on my head.”

Compton Keeps the Blues
Colorado Springs resident Compton took the starting line clad in the blue jersey of the overall female UCI points leader, a title she earned with her numerous domestic wins and second-place finish at the opening World Cup in Kalmthout, Belgium. Compton, the silver medalist at the 2007 UCI world championships, admitted the weekend would likely be the last time she would don the jersey for a while.

“The Europeans have their national championships this weekend — I’m sure Daphny [Van Den Brand] will have it next,” Compton said.

The Coloradan was no stranger to the Boulder Reservoir course — Compton frequently suits up for local Men’s Category III races before the women’s elite events. She even took a victory against the guys on the Reservoir course in 2006. The 29-year-old balked at racing with the men before the Redline Cup race, however.

“The other girls are getting stronger — strong enough so I can’t jump into the men’s Cat. III race beforehand and then expect to still win,” Compton said. “And I think the travel is starting to get to me. I’ve been feeling a little run down.”

Compton showed few signs of weakness in the women’s race and opened up a 20-second advantage on Georgia Gould (Luna) and Rachel Lloyd (Proman-Paradigm) on the opening lap. With Compton’s North American nemesis Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com) racing on the east coast, and Canadian Wendy Simms out sick, Lloyd and Gould had few riders to work with.

Compton showed the depth of her power on the course’s flat, dusty sections, and the grace of her handling skills in the sand. Compton appeared to float through the sediments as Lloyd and Gould admitted their skills through the sand left something to be desired.

“The first time through the sand I was riding like a maniac,” Gould said. “I had a few spectacular near misses.”

Gould eventually distanced herself from Lloyd, who finished third. Boulder local Kerry Barnholt (Tokyo Joe’s-Van Dessel) won the sprint for fourth ahead of Wendy Williams (River City Bicycles).

Compton leaves on Tuesday for Belgium, where she will spend the next month living and racing. The Coloradan will tackle two rounds of the World Cup before returning to the United States for the December 1-2 rounds of the USGP in Portland, Oregon.

“I’d love to keep the blue [UCI points leader’s] jersey, but I’d also really like to win a World Cup,” Compton said. “The world championships is still the number-one goal.”

2007 Redline Cup
Boulder, Colorado
November 3, 2007
Men
1. Ryan Trebon, Kona-Yourkey.com, 59:48
2. Barry Wicks, Kona-Yourkey.com, 1:00:42
3. Todd Wells, GT, 1:01:42
4. Geoff Kabush (Can), Maxxis, 1:01:30
5. Tim Johnson, Leer-Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com, 1:01:44
6. Joachim Parbo (DK), CCV-Protek, 1:03:16
7. Jeremy Powers, Cyclocrossworld.com, 1:03:28
8. Chris Horner, Indiana Medical Center, 1:04:06
9. Erik Tonkin, Kona-Yourkey.com, 1:04:21
10. Danny Summerhill, Clif Bar, 1:04:39Women
1. Katie Compton, Spike Shooter, 38:39
2. Georgia Gould, Luna, 39:15
3. Rachel Lloyd, Proman-Paradigm, 40:23
4. Kerry Barnholt, Tokyo Joe’s-Van Dessel, 40:42
5. Wendy Williams, River City Bicycles, 42:01
6. Kelli Emmett, Giant, 42:40
7. Barbara Howe, Velo Bella-Kona, 42:45
8. Sue Butler, River City Bicycles, 43:22
9. Melissa Thomas, Maxxis, 44:12
10. Amy Dombroski, Velo Bella-Kona, 44:12