Van Gilder Makes Her Move at Providence, Day 1 – Report, Photo Gallery UPDATED

by Keith Hower and Molly Hurford

Laura Van Gilder proved today that technical skills and a powerful engine ultimately dominate races. The top three finishers at Providence were Van Gilder, followed by Mary McConneloug in second and Sally Annis in third.

Annis, Van Gilder and McConneloug broke off early, they had a gap within the first half lap over the rest of the field. Up top on the third lap, Van Gilder and McConneloug upped the pace and opened a 100 yard gap over Annis by the time they rolled past the pits, and Annis simply never was able to close.

After that move, Van Gilder and McConneloug kept it tight for the rest of the race, and it seemed like Van Gilder was driving most of the last lap trying to pressure McConneloug , she set her up and jumped her on the curb section just after the gravel road, soloing to the finish line. After a few second place finishes behind British National Champion Helen Wyman early in the season, Van Gilder is back on the top of her game.

Cyclocross Magazine caught up with Van Gilder after the race, and found out how the race went:

Talking about her winning move on the last lap after the gravel road, before the last uphill section, she said, “I jumped her [McConneloug] on the right turn near the tree on the curb. I know that Mary is a really great competitor, so I knew that she would drive it to help it stay away, I worked with them [Annis and McConneloug] initially to create the gap”

Talking about breaking away with Mary and Sally throughout the first lap and a half, and then attacking and dropping Sally at the midway point of the race after the cement stairs: “I know there is a lot that can happen, I made a lot of mistakes last weekend that cost me a podium place, so I figure that until you get clear of that final corner, and don’t roll a tire on the pavement, you know, I knew I had it.”

When talking about hoping her move would stick till the finish, she said, “We kept the pressure on, we didn’t really push it that hard, We were also accessing each other abilities.”

And of course, Van Gilder always remembers her sponsors, saying, “I would like to thank C3 presented by Mellow Mushrooms.”

Click here to find out what happened in the Men’s race.

Stay tuned for full results.

Photo Gallery

Results

Place	U23	Bib	Time	First Name	Last Name	Team	City	State
1		1101	0:40:30	LAURA	VAN GILDER	C3 p/b Mellow Mushroom	Cresco	PA
2		1113	0:00:07	Mary	McConneloug	KENDA-Seven-NoTubes	Chilmark	MA
3		1102	0:00:55	sally	annis	crossresults.com p/b JRA cycles	Nashua	NH
4		1107	0:01:13	Crystal	Anthony	LadiesFirst Racing	Beverly	MA
5		1106	0:01:20	Sara	Bresnick-Zocchi	Embrocationcycling.com	Arlington	MA
6		1110	0:01:35	nicole	thiemann	Team CF	Philadelphia	PA
7		1103	0:01:52	Andrea	Smith	LadiesFirst Racing	Somerville	MA
8		1105	0:02:07	arley	kemmerer	C3 - Athletes Serving Athletes	Saylorsburg	PA
9		1116	0:02:07	catherine	sterling	Bikeman.com	worcester	MA
10		1104	0:02:15	Maureen	Bruno Roy	Bob's Red Mill pb Seven Cycles	Arlington	MA
11		1114	0:02:26	Anna	Barensfeld	Sterling CX p/b Sendmail	Wellesley	MA
12		1123	0:02:37	Stacey	Barbossa	Elite Endurance Training Systems	Rutherford	NJ
13		1115	0:02:37	Patty	Buerkle	VA Asset Group p/b Artemis/Trek	Pittsburgh	PA
14		1120	0:03:10	Elle	Anderson	LadiesFirst Racing	LEBANON	NH
15		1125	0:03:10	BrittLee	Bowman	crossresults.com p/b JRA Cycles	New York	NY
16		1136	0:03:21	cassandra	maximenko	silverbull centralwheel	naugatuck	CT
17		1112	0:03:27	Rebecca	Wellons	Quad Cycles	Woburn	MA
18		1141	0:03:32	Melissa	Ross	Team Kenda Presented by GearGrinder	Norwood	MA
19		1129	0:03:34	Jena	Greaser	NorEast Cycling	Newton	MA
20		1118	0:03:41	Frances	Morrison	J.A.M. Fund/NCC	Easthampton	MA
21		1139	0:03:54	Laura	Ralston	MIT CYCLING/FXDD	Cambridge	MA
22		1111	0:03:54	Christina	Tamilio	LadiesFirst Racing	Brighton	MA
23		1122	0:04:15	LEX	ALBRECHT	Juvederm-Specialized-Mazda	LAVAL	QC
24		1130	0:04:32	Molly	Hurford	Team Rockstar Games / Signature Cycles	Hampton	NJ
25		1117	0:04:53	Sarah	Krzysiak	NYCROSS.com	Utica	NY
26		1121	0:05:03	Allison	Snooks	crossresults.com	Westboro	MA
27		1135	0:05:10	Jocelyn	Mauldin	NEBC p/b CycleLoft	Watertown	MA
28	1	1142	0:05:19	Elizabeth	White	BLUE STEEL CYCLERY	Bedford	NH
29		1128	0:05:20	Patricia	Dowd	Team REP/I COWBELL CX	Bozeman	MT
30		1119	0:05:25	Kristine	Church	Human Zoom	Philadelphia	PA
31		1131	0:06:00	Jenny	Ives	Verge Sport/ Test Pilot	Saratoga Springs	NY
32		1137	0:06:10	Vanessa	McCaffery	Corning/NoTubes Race Team/Swan Cycles	Newfield	NY
33		1132	0:06:10	Marian	Jamison	LadiesFirst Racing	Gloucester	MA
34		1126	0:06:19	KELLY	CHANG	SyCip	Oakland	CA
35		1140	0:06:43	Giulia	Righi	Silver Bull/Central Wheel of Farmington CT	New Britain	CT
36		1138	0:07:30	Anna	Milkowski	Wheelworks Racing	Andover	MA
37		1134	0:07:30	Nancy	Labbe-Giguere	LadiesFirst Racing	Arlington	MA