Ruby West Doubles Up, Justin Lindine Scores a Win on Day 2 of the 2017 NBX Gran Prix of Cross – Report, Results

WARWICK, R.I.—The final race of the Vittoria Northeast Cyclocross Series presented by Clif Bar and Cycle-Smart concluded Sunday at NBX Gran Prix of Cross at Goddard Memorial State Park in Warwick, R.I. Canadian U23 National Champion Ruby West (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com) took her second win of the weekend in the Elite Women’s race. She also grabbed both overall Vittoria Series jerseys for Elite Women and U23 Women.

Justin Lindine (Apex/NBX/Hyperthreads) would take the victory, to upend Curtis White (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com), who was the race favorite. White finished on the podium in third to secure the overall Elite Men’s title of the Vittoria Series. Both races also provided points on the penultimate weekend of racing for the USA Cycling Professional Cyclocross Calendar (ProCX).

West Wins Again, Takes Overall Vittoria Series

West started the day on the classic New England course on Greenwich Bay on the front with Rebecca Fahringer (Stan’s NoTubes p/b Maxxis /gofahr) of Concord, N.H., who would secure second place, eight seconds back.

“It was a fast pace from the start,” noted 18-year-old West. “Becca and I got a gap on the rest of the field. I kind of tried to lead for a lot and then Becca jumped me. She was riding really, really strong, so in the power sections I’d lose her wheel a bit. She gapped me a bit coming into the bell lap. And then she had a bit of (trouble) going through the pits, so I capitalized on that, hit it pretty hard. I just tried to maintain a bit of a gap to the finish.”

Fahringer raced to improve on her fourth-place finish on Saturday and focused on the technical aspects of the course. “Yesterday (I) felt flat. Today I was out for redemption and riding smooth,” said Fahringer. “I was taking the turns a bit too quick yesterday, tripped on the barriers and lost my front wheel a couple of times. (Today) I started out with a decent position and was following Ruby around for a while. Eventually we distanced ourselves and I said ‘now’s the moment!’ So I attacked and got a little gap on her. And then it was her putting down wonderful paces and lines through the turns, I decided it was time to blow it again. I fell down, but luckily it was right in front of the pit. So I pitted and Ruby passed.”

“But I am pretty happy with my ride, being able to follow her around and make me feel comfortable on this course, which is always tricky. I always learn something racing here at NBX.”

The competition for the final podium step would come down to the final turns of the course where Cassie Maximenko (Van Dessel/Atom Composite Wheels) would outmaneuver Arley Kemmerer (Fearless Femme Racing). Not wanting to face Kemmerer in a sprint to the line, Maximenko would attack the final stretch prior to the pavement, similar to her late-race move on Saturday when she finished two seconds ahead of Fahringer for third. Maximenko would finish third for a second day, this time three seconds behind Fahringer. Kemmerer would finish fourth on Sunday.

“I didn’t get as good of a start today,” said Maximenko. “I just felt a little off. I think my cold ramped up a little bit after yesterday’s effort. So today, my lungs weren’t as clear. I had to work a little bit harder to get back up to the lead group today. Then I was just in chase mode. I was yo-yoing off that lead group, and then I had to make a couple of passes. Then I got ahead of Arley and then we were battling on that last lap. I just had to go out and defend third as best I could through those last couple of turns. Arley’s a great sprinter, so I knew that it was going to take my best sprint effort to stick it. I was really happy to come away with third again today.”

The Elite Women’s podium for the Vittoria Series would feature West on top with 215 points. Her teammate Emma White would finish in second with 190 points, and Maximenko followed in third with 185 points. In the final U23 overall Vittoria Series podium, West would be followed by Sophie Russenberger (DaHÄNGER) and White.

Lindine Scores Big Victory at NBX

For the Elite Men, Curtis White would waste no time in taking control, and put 15 seconds on the field in the first half lap of racing. But it was Lindine, who with an enormous effort, pulled White back and would surpass the 23-year-old Cannondale rider with a late-race attack.

“In typical Curtis fashion, he smashed it really early and got a big gap on everybody,” said Lindine, who won his first ProCX race of the year. “I have learned enough about myself and his fitness that I can’t match that kind of acceleration. So I played a bit of the waiting game, and then Eric Thompson and I were able to reel him back in. I managed to eek out a gap with two laps to go, and kind of put all my cards on the table and went for it. I was a little surprised that it worked out, actually. It was win or lose.”

A local favorite who is supported by race sponsors NBX Bikes and Apex Technology Group of Cranston, R.I., Lindine was thrilled to win for a “hometown” crowd. Lindine is from upstate New York and now resides in Utah. “It’s awesome to be able to do it (win) in front of all the sponsors, and friends. The last couple of laps it was like non-stop cheering around the course. So it was pretty awesome. The NBX guys put together a good course both days. I liked today a little bit better. It was a little bit more technical, kind of (more) twisty and not as many long power sections in that long beach run. So for me, I was enjoying the course.”

Despite a weekend of mechanicals with a slipping seat post on Saturday and a flat on Sunday, Eric Thompson (M Speed Wax) overcame the circumstances to finish second, 41 seconds behind Lindine.

“Today was a non-stop fight, really,” said Thompson. “It didn’t go as smooth as yesterday, but I had the pit support there to help me so that was good. I flatted on my front tire about halfway through the race. It was a hot pace. The first couple of guys were really setting the pace. Curtis (White) and (Justine) Lindine were strong today. So I just did my best to hang with them. They were smart. When I pitted they punched it, and they had me just off the back for most of the race. So I finally caught them in the last bit. It seemed like Curtis was fading a little bit, so I considered myself lucky to close the gap on them. I was happy to have second.”

White would start strong, but struggled later in the race. He would finish 35 seconds behind Thompson in third on Sunday. Thanks to his consistently strong season, would come away with 315 total points and the Elite Men’s Vittoria Series jersey.

“I knew I wanted to take the lead early,” said White. “The section in the sand was pretty technical, it seemed like anyone in second place had to run that section and it was a little bit slower. I wanted the lead through there, I got a bit of a gap, held it for a few laps. Lindine was riding really strong today. So was Eric Thompson. They came back to me and there was group racing for a bit. The last three laps I really came undone, to be honest. I am not sure what happened. There wasn’t anything wrong with the training, today was just something I have to analyze still.”

White would share the Vittoria Series podium with Sunday’s winner Lindine, who finished second overall with 219 points, and Aspire Racing’s Jeremy Powers in third with 158 points.. New Jersey’s Nick Lando (Hands-On Cycling) claimed the U23 Men’s jersey ahead of Michael Owens (Hands-On Cycling) and Cooper Willsey (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com), who were second and third, respectively.

The 2017 ProCX season will conclude Dec. 9-10 with races in North Carolina and Texas. The Hunter Subaru North Carolina Grand Prix (NCGP) will return to Jackson Park in Hendersonville, N.C. for two days of C2 cyclocross races. Hunter Subaru NCGP is part of the North Carolina Cyclo-Cross Series, founded in 1997, that consists of 15 races across the state. OrthoCarolina is the 2017-18 series sponsor, with support from DeFeet and Carmichael Training Systems.

It will be the fourth annual Resolution Cross Cup in Garland, Texas. The two C2 races next weekend will be hosted by the Texas Cross Syndicate at Winters Park. The Resolution Cross Cup is the only UCI cyclocross race in Texas this year.

For full Vittoria Series standings for all race categories, visit crossresults.com/vittoriaNECXS.

Women's Results: 2017 NBX Gran Prix of 'Cross Day 2

Rank	Bib	Name	Affiliation	Time
1	3	Ruby WEST	Cannondale Cyclocrossworld.com	0:42:47
2	1	Rebecca FAHRINGER	Stans NoTubes p/b Maxxis / gof	0:42:55
3	4	Cassandra MAXIMENKO	VanDessel/Atom Composite Wheels	0:42:58
4	2	Arley KEMMERER	Fearless Femme Racing	0:43:07
5	7	Kathryn CUMMING	Jalapeno Cycling	0:43:48
6	9	Danielle ARMAN	Tenspeed Hero	0:44:08
7	8	Natasha ELLIOTT	Garneau - Easton p/b Transition	0:44:19
8	5	Jennifer MALIK	American Classic Pro CX Team	0:44:20
9	16	Anne USHER	Fast Fun Nice	0:44:34
10	10	Stacey BARBOSSA	MidAtlantic Colavita Womens Te	0:44:36
11	31	Katherine NORTHCOTT	West Hill Shop	0:44:40
12	13	Rachel RUBINO	Fearless Femme Racing	0:45:33
13	35	Sophie RUSSENBERGER	DaH?NGER/ Bard College	0:45:51
14	15	Brittlee BOWMAN	HOUSE IND/NOKIA HEALTH/SIMPLEHU	0:45:55
15	14	Natalie TAPIAS	JAM / NCC	0:46:03
16	25	Katie CARLSON	Ladies First p/b Milton Caterpi	0:46:18
17	29	Taylor KUYK-WHITE	Philadelphia Bike Expo	0:46:29
18	38	Allison MRUGAL	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institut	0:46:32
19	12	Erin FACCONE	Team Averica	0:46:40
20	19	Alixanna NORRIS	Cowbell Racing p/b World Bicycl	0:46:49
21	37	Meghan OWENS	UVM Cycling	0:46:52
22	27	Leslie LUPIEN	Team Averica	0:47:02
23	22	Christin REUTER	Mad Alchemy | Zanconato	0:47:07
24	34	Taryn MUDGE	Fearless Femme Racing	0:47:12
25	17	Kayla BRANNEN	Cowbell Racing p/b World Bicycl	0:47:30
26	20	Philicia MARION	American Classic Pro Cyclocross	0:47:32
27	28	Lindsey CRIFASI	Team Sticky Fingers	0:47:46
28	26	Heather RICHARD	Ladies First p/b Milton Caterpi	0:48:04
29	32	Natalie FORSYTHE	Riverside Racing	0:48:32
30	33	Paige WILLIAMS	Fuji Cross Crew	0:49:23
31	18	Elizabeth HUUKI	Army West Point Cycling	@2Lap
32	21	Jenny WOJEWODA	pedalpowertraining.com	@2Lap
33	36	Sara MELIKIAN	pedalpowertraining.com	@2Lap
DNF	6	Julie WRIGHT	Team Averica
DNF	23	Kelli MONTGOMERY	Stage 1

Men's Results: 2017 NBX Gran Prix of 'Cross Day 2

Rank	BIB	Last Name	First Name	Result
1	3	LINDINE	Justin	1:06:29
2	7	THOMPSON	Eric	1:07:10
3	1	WHITE	Curtis	1:07:45
4	5	JUDELSON	Max	1:07:52
5	9	DAVIS	Merwin	1:07:58
6	4	O'DONNELL	Trevor	1:07:59
7	16	MCCORMACK	Brendan	1:08:14
8	10	OWENS	Michael	1:08:18
9	6	ST JOHN	Derrick	1:08:23
10	18	COLLINS	Patrick	1:09:26
11	24	O'KEEFE	Samuel	1:09:51
12	8	CHABANOV	Daniel	1:10:02
13	44	LANDO	Nicholas	1:10:11
14	11	MYERSON	Adam	1:10:17
15	34	BORDEN	Andrew	1:10:17
16	25	LANDRY	Michael	1:10:29
17	31	POWERS	Ben	1:10:35
18	17	MORSE	Nathaniel	1:10:58
19	32	WENCZEL	Kale	1:11:09
20	14	BOUCHARD-HALL	Kevin	1:11:12
21	33	MOLLO	Matthew	1:11:21
22	30	THORP	Doug	1:11:26
23	27	RABADI	Christopher	1:11:27
24	23	HORSLEY	Bryan	1:11:58
25	41	AMENO	Gennaro	1:12:01
26	21	CURTIS	Zachary	1:12:47
27	13	RICCI	Christian	1:12:48
28	36	CURRAN	Sean	1:13:21
29	47	MURPHY	Kyle	1:13:45
30	48	WOLD	Travis	1:14:36
31	45	OWENS	Matthew	@2Lap
32	37	HEWITT	Mark	@2Lap
33	22	NORRIS	James	@2Lap
34	40	YAROSH	Scott	@2Lap
35	12	MCNICHOLAS	Dylan	@2Lap
36	26	REUTER	Colin	@2Lap
37	49	WILLIS	Tim	@2Lap
38	51	LOGUE	Clyde	@2Lap
39	42	FITZGIBBONS	Daniel	@2Lap
40	38	NIESEN	Christopher	@3Lap
41	29	FUNKE	John	@3Lap
42	39	NICHOLAS	Andrew	@3Lap
43	43	HEDLUND	Samuel	@3Lap
44	35	ECKERT	John	@4Lap
45	28	GOGUEN	Chris	@5Lap
DNF	2	POWERS	Jeremy
DNF	19	SCOTT	Andy
DNF	46	MURPHY	Evan
DNF	20	ADASAVAGE	Gerald