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Record rains made for record mud for Jingle Cross Day 1. Troy Wells attacks the muddy climb. © Jaredy Roy

Record rains made for record mud for Jingle Cross Day 1. Troy Wells attacks the muddy climb. © Jaredy Roy

by Jared Roy

(IOWA CITY, IA) – The email from the race organizer I received on Tuesday said Iowa had received record rains, and judging by Friday night’s course conditions on Day 1 of the 2009 UCI Carousel Volkswagen Jingle Cross Rock, he wasn’t lying.

Mt Krumpet is the toughest part of the course, and on Day 1 it featured prominently in the race’s final outcome. The course scaled the mountain with via a very muddy run-up, and upon reaching the top, the riders with descending skills or courage were able to make the race.

The muddy, treacherous downhill took many victims throughout the evening’s races. Derailleurs were sheared off left and right and the pits were chaos.

The women’s race went off at 6:30 and the men’s at 7:30 and were run under the lights. The women’s race was dominated by Meredith Miller of the California Giant Strawberry team. She used her strong road skills to open up a gap early and held on to take a convincing win. The race for second was reminiscent of last weekend’s men’s race in Southampton with three teammates battling for the podium, only this time the team and gender were different with three Planet Bike teammates battling it out for the final two podium spots. On the last lap young Kaitie Antonneau got away and took the silver with Kristin Wentworth following in third and Linda Sone in fourth.

The Men’s race started with the Wells brothers Troy (Clif Bar) and Todd (Specialized) along with Seattle’s Ryan Iddings (Lapierre) taking early flyers. The attacks were short-lived though, as soon Todd Wells, using his superior descending skills, was gone. Nobody could match his speed on the muddy downhill. Troy Wells took chase but couldn’t close the 30 second gap to his older brother, and was hampered by a flat tire. The race for third turned into a battle with Iddings, Marco Lalonde (Planet Bike) and David Hackworthy (Bianchi / Grand Performance) all together until one lap to go. But it was Iddings’ determination that got him the third place, despite an ill-timed mechanical with two laps to go. Lalonde followed in fourth with Hackworthy in fifth. The pits were busy tonight with riders switching bikes almost every lap.

See our coverage of Jingle Cross Rock from Saturday and Sunday.

Full Results:

Elite Men

The 2009 Jingle Cross Men's Podium: 1) Todd Wells 2) Troy Wells 3) Ryan Iddings. © Jared Roy

The 2009 Jingle Cross Men's Podium: 1) Todd Wells 2) Troy Wells 3) Ryan Iddings. © Jared Roy


Rank Name Nat. Age* Result Pts Pts
1 Todd WELLS USA 35 54:48 30 30
2 Troy WELLS USA 26 56:16 20 20
3 Ryan IDDINGS USA 26 56:29 15 15
4 Marko LALONDE USA 28 56:34 12 12
5 David HACKWORTH USA 21 56:50 10 10
6 Jake WELLS USA 32 58:30 8 8
7 Kirt FITZPATRICK USA 32 58:52 6 6
8 Mitch HOKE USA 22 59:00 4 4
9 Brian MATTER USA 32 59:07 2 2
10 Brady KAPPIUS USA 23 1:00:38 1 1
11 Ben POPPER USA 28 1:02:05
12 Kevin MCCONNELL USA 29 1:02:36
13 Jesse RIENTS USA 33 1:03:07
14 Kevin KLUG USA 39 1:03:09
15 Duane DICKEY USA 41 1:03:50
16 Chris HURST USA 20 1:04:02
17 Shadd SMITH USA 39
18 Michael HEMME USA 31
19 David QUIST USA 39
20 Mathew ALLEN USA 29
21 Logan VONBOKEL USA 21
22 Jacob HELMBRECHT USA 34
23 Teodoro RAMOS USA 34
24 Travis MCMASTER USA 37
25 Bill STREET USA 25

Elite Women:

2009 Jingle Cross Women's Podium. 1) Miller 2)Antonneau 3) Wentworth © Jared Roy

2009 Jingle Cross Women's Podium. 1) Miller 2)Antonneau 3) Wentworth © Jared Roy


Rank Name Nat. Age* Result Pts Pts
1 Meredith MILLER USA 37 43:21 20 20
2 Kaitlin ANTONNEAU USA 18 43:58 15 15
3 Kristin WENTWORTH USA 31 43:58 12 12
4 Linda SONE USA 38 43:58 10 10
5 Kari STUDLEY USA 30 44:06 8 8
6 Rebecca MUCH USA 24 44:18 5 5
7 Marne SMILEY USA 28 44:30 4 4
8 Corey COOGAN USA 33 44:39 3 3
9 Lisa CURRY USA 29 44:45 2 2
10 Holly KLUG USA 39 44:50 1 1
11 Robin WILLIAMS USA 31 44:57
12 Kris WALKER USA 49 44:57
13 Elizabeth WELLIVER USA 31
14 Kathryn STEUDEL USA 25
15 Patti KAUFMANN USA 52