Jeremy Powers doubles up at Trek CXC Cup

Jeremy Powers (Rapha-Focus) won day two of the Trek CXC Cup in Waterloo, Wisconsin, Sunday, making it a weekend sweep for the U.S. national champion.

Allen Krughoff (Noosa Pro Cyclocross) finished second, with Jeremy Durrin (Neon Velo) in third.

As he did on Saturday, Powers ran away with the win, opening a significant lead less than halfway into the hour-long race.

“Allen was chasing hard,” Powers said. “It was hard to find time [on the course.] It was even faster than yesterday, it was even more buffed out. I was really leaning on it, figuring out the absolute maximum amount my tires could hold in each corner, and trying to find a few seconds each lap. With three to go, I made my hardest lap, I gained a little bit of time, and I was confident I could do it again if I needed to, but the gap went up. It was a good race. It was a hard race.”

Krughoff, who said he’d had a bad start, settled into second place, while Durrin, who led on the first lap, battled behind with Raleigh-Clement teammates Ben Berden and Jamey Driscoll, as well as Tim Johnson (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com.)

“It was better than yesterday,” Krughoff said. “I had a bad start, and basically started around 10th. Today was tighter, they added more corners. Jeremy was on the front, and it was the accordion effect with me, on the back of this group of 10 — we kept shedding guys, but Jeremy was on the front just gaining time, and by the time I got around everyone and started chasing him down, he already had eight seconds on me. Then it was like Pac-Man, all the way around the course.”

As the race wound down to the final lap, Powers held a 15-second lead over Krughoff, while Driscoll and Durrin continued to go back and forth, attacking and chasing. Durrin ran the course’s difficult climb, while Driscoll rode it and opened a gap.

Into the finish line it looked to be a two-up sprint, however Driscoll slipped out of his pedal, and Durrin easily took the final podium spot, six seconds ahead of Driscoll. Berden finished fifth, 23 seconds behind Driscoll.

“I was riding that hill better than both of them [Berden and Driscoll] all day, but on the last lap, Driscoll kind of brake-checked me a bit, and caused me to get off my bike,” Durrin said. “I knew I was riding stronger than him in most of the corners, and that I had to get back onto his wheel. I passed him on the second-to-last corner. I think he stood up to sprint, and I had a gap on him. I was able to hold it. This was a big one for me.”

Johnson, who finished second to Powers on Saturday, ended up ninth, 3:04 off Powers’ winning pace.

“It’s the danger of not being well trained,” Johnson said. “Inconsistency sneaks up on you. Today was one of those days where I could feel it coming on, I knew it was going to be a hard one, and it just never came around. You just hope that the next lap will be better than the last one.”