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Ian Field makes his way around the natural barriers. Cyclocross Magazine

Ian Field makes his way around the natural barriers. © Cyclocross Magazine

by Molly Hurford

Charm City in Baltimore, Maryland, has been hot and dry for the fast few years, which makes sense since as the second race weekend of the season, it’s still practically summertime. However, in keeping with the streak of bad weather on the East Coast for the past month, the race opened with a chilly, drizzling morning: perfect cyclocross weather. Racers and spectators alike complained about the cooler conditions, since this early in the season, the legwarmers are still buried in attics and basements. However, the cooler weather didn’t seem to hurt the Euro visitors, and Helen Wyman and Ian Field repeated their stellar performances from last week at Nittany Lion Cross.

Helen Wyman (Kona) took an early and commanding lead in the Elite Women’s race, which started with a long uphill road section into a sharp left-hand turn where the screech of carbon wheels on brakes and the smell of burned rubber are palpable. She developed a gap quickly, though last year’s MAC champion, Laura Van Gilder (Mellow Mushroom/C3), developed a gap of her own in second place trying to chase Wyman down. In the chase group were five women: last weekend’s second place Joyce Vanderbeken from Belgium, UK racer Gabby Day (Renner Custom CX), Joyce Van der Beken (Cycling Team Vermeeren), and Arley Kemmerer (C3 – Athletes Serving Athletes). The group chased Van Gilder but unlike last week, Van Gilder would not be caught by the Belgian.

The podium was rounded out by Joyce van der Beken, with Kemmerer in fourth and Day in fifth.

Cyclocross Magazine caught up with Wyman immediately after her race to get the scoop on her US early season dominance. She said, “It was good. It was really twisty! There were a thousand corners, and you’d be like, ‘dammit, I forgot that corner.’ But it was fun! You had to sprint every second and a half.”

Compared to last week, Wyman said that this course “held her interest because you never knew what would happen next.”

We also chatted with the hometown favorite, Laura van Gilder, who, until the Euro invasion, dominated the MAC series. Happy with her second place finish, van Gilder said, “It felt great today. I like all these courses that we’ve been doing but I especially like the Charm City course. I felt like I had really good flow and a lot of power today. I’m very satisfied … It was all about not making mistakes. I was just trying to be really consistent and gauge my results.”

The men’s race started like a road race, the men stayed in a pack through the sharp turn and remained in what was essentially a peleton for the rest of the first lap. Ian Field (Hargoves Cycles) and Tom van den Bosch (Aa Drink/Leontien.Nl)  developed a fast lead, working together, though Field pulled away fairly quickly. A chase group of ten men followed, including some of the Philadelphia Cyclocross School men and Team Mountain Khakis’ Travis Livermon.

By the second lap, the gap between Field and van den Bosch had increased to ten seconds, and the chase group was ten seconds behind van den Bosch.

By the middle of the Elite Men’s race, Field had developed an even bigger gap on his one competitor, Tom van den Bosch, the Belgian racer. These racers held a gap of over a minute on third through fifth, Mike Garrigan (Lapierre Canada), Eric Brungger (Philadelphia Cyclocross School U19) and Tim Van Nuffel (Dcm-Gb Vorselaar), after 40 minutes of racing.

Field took the uncontested win, with van den Bosch easily picking up second. Third was claimed by Garrigan, with Brungger right on his wheel, looking disappointed with his finish.

After the race, we chatted with Field, who said, “It’s nice to travel all this way and get a win. It’s different for me racing for the win. I really only get to do that in the UK once, twice a year. You change your mentality of racing, just because in Belgium you’re constantly pressing on the pedals and chasing, chasing, chasing. So it’s really nice to get the experience of winning at cross. And winning is a habit, so…”

Van den Bosch was also excited to talk about his stay in America and racing so far: “People are very friendly here. The tracks are a bit different than they are in Europe, it’s crazy. Today it was a race of many corners, I think too much corners.”

When asked if he was going for the win tomorrow, he said, “I hope so.”

In addition to having Euros in attendance at the first few MAC races, there are a few changes. This season the MAC series has been trying something new, by having the 2/3/4 Men’s race following the Elite fields. In doing so, they hope to address the problem of a lack of spectators for the elite races, and it’s been met with mixed feelings from the racers. Additionally, rather than having two days of UCI racing per MAC weekend, only Saturday is a UCI race, making Sunday’s race less dense in terms of elite racers looking for UCI points. This is just one of the many changes throughout the East Coast cyclocross season.

Helen on the stair run. Cyclocross Magazine

Helen on the stair run. © Cyclocross Magazine

Elite Men Results:

Pos Name Team
1 FIELD Ian Hargroves Cycles
2 VAN DEN BOSCH Tom Aa Drink/Leontien.Nl
3 GARRIGAN Mike Lapierre Canada
4 BRUNGGER Eric Philadelphia Cyclocross School U19
5 VAN NUFFEL Tim Dcm-Gb Vorselaar
6 FAWLEY Bryan Orbea Usa
7 WULFKUHLE Andrew C3-Athletes Serving Athletes
8 SCHEMPF Weston C3 Athletes Serving Athletes P/B Twenty20 Cycling
9 KNAPP Ryan Bob’S Red Mill Cyclocross
10 LIVERMON Travis Smart Stop-Mock Orange P/B Ridley
11 WITTWER Greg Alan N. America Cycling Team
12 WINTERBERG Lukas Philadelphia Cyclocross School U19
13 MULLER Lukas Philadelphia Cyclocross School U19
14 MIHALIK Michael Freddie Fu Cycling Team
15 JOHNSON Josh Bikereg.Com
16 CUMMINGS Stephen C3-Athletes Serving Athletes
17 ADAMSON Shaun Cycle-Smart
18 BLAIR Patrick Adventures For The Cure
19 HAMBLEN Jon Smartstop/Mock Orange Bikes P/B Ridley
20 DRISCOLL Adam Adventures For The Cure
21 WYATT Nathanael Carolina Fatz Cycling Center Pb Industry Nine
22 BRADLEY Patrick Philadelphia Cyclocross School U19
23 RYAN Alex Champion-System/Cannondale
24 ADASAVAGE Gerald Bicycle Therapy/Melitta
25 ORDONS Steven Human Zoom
26 NIWINSKI Noah Carroll Composites Factory
27 CONSORTO Christopher Bikeline
28 SEMIAN Zachary Van Dessel Factory Team
29 STORM Charlie Storm Racing Team
30 MACKAY Thomas C3-Athletes Serving Athletes
31 STATMAN Katriel Van Dessel Factory Team/West End Bikes
32 BECKER Collin Race Pace Bike Shop
33 BERGEY Gunnar C3 Athletes Serving Athletes
-2 GEROW Daniel Wolverines/Acfstores.Com
-3 EPSTEIN Gavriel Crca/Foundation
-3 KAHLENBERG Jordan Adventures For The Cure/Giant Bicycles
-4 SHAW Andrew Ncvc / Unitedhealthcare
-4 SHANEFELT Gregg Bob’S Red Mill

Elite Women’s Results:

Pos Name Team
1 WYMAN Helen Kona Factory Racing
2 VAN GILDER Laura C3 – Athletes Serving Athletes
3 VANDERBEKEN Joyce Cycling Team Vermeeren
4 KEMMERER Arley C3 – Athletes Serving Athletes
5 DAY Gabriella Team Scott Contessa
6 THIEMANN Nicole Team Cf
7 GAVIN Kristin Team Cystic Fibrosis
8 POPOVIC Carolyn Team Cf
9 SILLIMAN Erin Alan N. America Cycling Team
10 BUERKLE Patty Va Asset Group P/B Artemis/Trek
11 BARBOSSA Stacey Elite Endurance Training Systems
12 DOWIDCHUK Katrina Team Tbb/Deep Blue
13 TUFANO Allyson Whcc/Sportif Coaching Group
14 SHIELDS Emily Smartstop/Mock Orange Bikes P/B Ridley
15 SHIELDS Katherine Smartstop/Mock Orange Bikes P/B Ridley
16 FREDERICK Rebecca Kelly Benefit Strategies/Lsv
17 MASCELLI Erin Elite Endurance Training Systems
18 BOWMAN Brittlee Crossresults.Com P/B Jra Cycles
19 BISHOP Michelle Cannondale Cadence Women’S Racing
20 HARLOW Elizabeth C3-Athletes Serving Athletes
21 WULFKUHLE Kathleen C3-Athletes Serving Athletes
22 POPE Jennifer Vanderkitten Racing
23 DUBECK Kimberly Trestle Bridge Racing
24 SCHEFFENACKER Kristy C3- Athletes Serving Athletes
25 STEVENS Angelina Garneau Custom P/B Powerbar
26 LARSEN Laurel November Bicycles Cx Experience
27 HURFORD Molly Team Rockstar Games / Signature Cycles

Can’t get enough of the Euro invasion? Check out the gallery for some race pictures: