TREEFARM FLATTENS THE FIELD AT BEACON CYCLOCROSS RACE
BRIDGETON, NJ � If there were any doubts about just how good Ryan Trebon
(Kona) is when he�s on form, they were banished Saturday at the Beacon
Cyclocross in Bridgeton New Jersey. Trebon flattened the field in the fifth
race of the Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross to close to within
37 points of series leader Geoff Kabush (Maxxis-Giant).
Just as important, Trebon overtook Marc Gullickson (Redline) as the leading
American in the series, which means the lanky rider known as �Treefarm� will
gain an automatic entry to the U.S. World�s cyclocross team if he can hold
off Gullickson and Maxxis-Giant rider Adam Craig in tomorrow�s Crank
Brothers finale, the Highland Park Cyclocross in Highland Park, New Jersey.
Racing under dark skies that never quite broke into rain, Trebon took
advantage of a dry, sandy course and hit the front from the start. For most
of the race, Trebon was shadowed by the Canadian phenomenon, Kabush, and
Todd Wells of GT-Hyundai. But when Trebon hit the gas, only Wells was able
to go with him � or so it looked. The Durango, Colorado native dropped his
chain, a mechanical that essentially condemned him to finish in a three-up
skirmish for the remaining podium spots. Kabush nabbed second � which may
provide him the cushion needed to survive tomorrow�s test � while Wells
slotted in at third and Kona�s Barry Wicks showed great form to finish
fourth. Craig came in fifth, while Gullickson finished a disappointing
sixth.
For Trebon, it was his second victory in a row in the Crank Brothers series.
On the women�s side, Ann Knapp won her third straight Crank Brothers U.S.
Gran Prix of Cyclocross series race, and fourth out of the five run so far.
This time, Knapp was hard-pressed all the way to the finish by Seven Cycles�
Mary McConneloug, who finished just four seconds adrift. Gina Hall, who is
currently occupying the second spot in the series, finished third at 23
seconds.
The three were together for much of the race, once the field had sorted
itself out. But with Knapp keeping the pressure on with every lap, Hall
found herself gapped without just two to go. McConneloug dug deep to hang
with Knapp, but the classy Kona rider simply rode away from the mountain
bike Olympian at the finish.
Despite her dominance in the series, Knapp hasn�t clinched the series
championship. She�s just 30 points ahead of Hall going into Sunday�s final
event.
Among the Espoir/U-23 contenders, Jesse Anthony (Cyclocrossworld.com) showed
the form that won him the national championship a year ago. This time, he
put more than two minutes into archrival and fellow Massachusetts rider Matt
White (NCC/BikeReg.com) by the time he rolled through the finish. Anthony
has now won three Crank Brothers series events to White�s two victories, but
White holds the edge in the series standings 220-184, thanks to his three
second places (Anthony was a DNF in the fourth race of the series in
Gloucester, Mass.) to date.
The tightest race in the Crank Brothers series, however, belongs to the
junior field, where Bjorn Selander (ALAN) won his second race in a row. In
Saturday�s race, Selander won a two-up sprint from series leader Charles
�Toby� Marzot (Corner Cycles), with Adam McGrath (Redline/Excel Sports) and
Brady Kappius (TIAA-CREF/Clif Bar) crossing the line just two seconds back.
Marzot, Kappius and McGrath hold the podium spots in the series, separated
by just 10 points. It will be impossible to ride defensively on Sunday, as
the point differentials for each place could well provide the necessary
margin of victory for the overall title and an automatic qualification on
the U.S. world�s cyclocross team.
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