Duke, in control at the 2012 Raleigh Midsummer Night Cyclocross Race, took the win and the contract. © Cyclocross Magazine
After the dust of Midsummer Night Cyclocross settled, both literally and figuratively, two winners emerged with freshly-inked contracts for the 2012 season in hand: Nicole Duke, who took the win in the women’s race last night, and Allen Krughoff, who took fifth place in the men’s race. Krughoff was the first man without a contract, since he came in behind Cannondale/CyclocrossWorld’s Ryan Trebon and Tim Johnson, as well as Jonathan Page (Blue) and his now-teammate Ben Berden (Raleigh-Clement).
Krughoff has only been racing cyclocross regularly for four years, and last year he started racing in the USGP series, goaling for a top ten but never quite cracking it. For this race, Donn Kellogg of Clement alerted him about it in February, and thus the Midsummer Night Cyclocross has been on his radar ever since. “Last year’s Midsummer Night Cyclocross winner, Russell Stevenson, has been encouraging Krughoff to target this race and win the contract because he thought he’d be a great fit for the team,” Brian Fornes of Raleigh said. [Also see our interview with Krughoff last season].
Allen Krughoff Interview – Talking Raleigh-Clement Contract, 2012 Goals
Nicole Duke spent the morning negotiating with Raleigh/Clement to make sure her contract included the ability attend some of the World Cups, in an attempt to score a top 15 and make the Worlds team again this year.
Nicole Duke Interview – Winning Raleigh Midsummer Night Race and Raleigh-Clement Contract
The contract largely entails includes three bikes Raleigh RXC Pro Disc carbon cyclocross bikes, full support from mechanics, and race entry and travel expenses to at least the USGP Series and Cross After Dark.
Introducing the new Raleigh lineup. © Cyclocross Magazine
