Compton and Powers Take UCI3 Day Two Victories – UPDATED: Full Report, Photos and Race Results

by Marion Hambrick and Ken Getchell

Middletown, OH – The UCI3 Festival continued with the Java Johnny’s – Lionhearts race at Sunset Park. The Elite Men and Women faced a second day of sunny skies and 80-degree temperatures, but the wooded park provided some respite from the heat. Surrounded by houses and trees, the Sunset Park course was located in a Middletown residential neighborhood, 50 minutes from downtown Cincinnati.

Despite the high temperatures, some Elite Women claimed this race course as one of their favorites. Having participated in the 2009 Java Johnny’s race, Katie Compton (Planet Bike) and Kaitlin Antonneau (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) noted the fun nature of the course, which featured numerous twists and turns, sand, an orange tiger bounce house for the kids and quite a few acorns for the racers. The fun continued for Compton, who went two-for-two and secured her second win of the UCI3 Festival (catch up on yesterday’s report). The first place finish marked her 44th UCI victory and kept her four-year Cincinnati winning streak intact.

On the Elite Men’s side, Ryan Trebon (Kona) and Jeremy Powers (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) picked up where they left off yesterday, battling for the top podium spot. The heat again proved challenging for Powers, who kept losing his lead to Trebon after repeatedly taking water in the pits. But in the final lap, Powers distanced himself from Trebon and secured the win.

Compton Celebrates 44th UCI Victory
The Java Johnny’s Elite Women’s race unfolded in typical fashion. Sue Butler (Hudz-Subaru) took the holeshot and the early lead with Laura van Gilder (C3-Athletes Serving Athletes), Dee Dee Winfield (C3-Athletes Serving Athletes) and Mo Bruno-Roy (Bob’s Red Mill p/b Seven Cycles) behind her. Butler admitted to riding conservatively at Devou Park, saving her legs for two more days of racing. The question became whether Butler’s strategy would give her the power required to beat Katie Compton (Planet Bike) and break the four-year Cincinnati winning streak – or would Butler see another familiar second-place podium finish.

The course in Middletown couldn’t have been more different than the Cyclo-Stampede climber’s course in Covington. The relatively flat course was a sinuous 3.4 km collection of turns set on nine acres of a small suburban community park. “It’s like ten 180’s in a row and tons of slow corners where you’re going 10 mile an hour,” said Ryan Trebon (Kona).

The course’s tight turns forced many riders to slow down, but Butler proved relentless as she pushed hard through the corners. Butler remained at the front with Winfield, Compton, van Gilder, Arley Kemmerer (C3 -Athletes Serving Athletes) and Antonneau behind her. After the fast start, Bruno-Roy fell down and slipped to ninth but eventually clawed back to the leaders.

Compton slowly made her way to second, then attacked on the street section that also doubled as the start straight. She said, “There are really only two places to attack here, and that was one of them.” Once in front, Compton motored away. Later she revealed a paradox about the course. When asked how to go fast on the course, she exclaimed, “Be smooth! You have to back off a little here, or you’ll just lose your speed. You have to slow down to go faster.”

Another paradox of the twisty course in Middletown is that it’s faster to ride solo than in a pack, yet the race always seems to feature pack racing. Butler rode alone in second, but van Gilder, Antonneau, Winfield, Kemmerer and Bruno-Roy remained together as they worked to catch the leaders.

The frenetic pace led the women to complete five laps instead of the four originally projected. While Compton remained out front, a heated scrimmage for second place ensued between Butler and van Gilder. Not content to remain in the chase group, Bruno-Roy began powering out of the saddle in efforts to reach the duo upfront. Antonneau, Winfield, Kemmerer and Ashley James (Kenda) stayed together and continued to chase the leaders.

Two laps remained as Compton extended her lead to 30 seconds and her 44th victory dream quickly became a reality. Behind her, Butler and van Gilder fought for second place. Butler later said, “At one point I looked over at Laura and said, ‘I can’t beat you in a sprint.’” Van Gilder eventually did get the better of Butler with her sprint to the finish, as LVG is known to do.

A quarter lap from the end, van Gilder made her move. At first, Butler said she thought van Gilder was just pulling through, but soon realized her error. The two traded positions several more times, but van Gilder led though the final twists leading into the finish straight. Butler surprised many by staying on van Gilder’s wheel during the sprint, but waved the white flag 20 meters from the line to take third.

Compton’s husband, Mark Legg-Compton (Planet Bike-Steven Bikes), also chalked up back-to-back victories in the Elite Masters race. The two look to sweep the UCI3 Festival with wins at Harbin Park.

Powers Battles Heat and Trebon for Win
Ryan Trebon (Kona) returned for a second day of racing after securing his first 2010 UCI win at the UCI3 Festival’s Cyclo-Stampede in Devou Park. While others succumbed to the heat, Trebon credited his mountain bike skills for the Day One victory. Jeremy Powers (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) admitted the hot temperatures affected his performance, but sought to defeat the heat and defend his 2009 Java Johnny’s title.

At the start, Powers took the holeshot with Geoff Kabush (Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) in second, followed by Trebon (Kona) and Jake Wells (Hudz-Subaru). Trebon quickly caught up to Powers, and the two began the pursuit for the top spot, with their fast pace creating a gap as they led the field. Jake Wells (Hudz-Subaru) also pushed the pace and moved up to third. A chase group formed behind Wells with Kabush, Christopher Jones (Rapha-Focus) and Tristan Schouten (Cyclocrossracing.com-Blue-Rolf Prima). Troy Wells (Clif Bar) remained alone further back.

Managing the high temperatures became priority one for Powers, who used two ice packs during the first lap to stay cool. No stranger to heat, Trebon looked for the early advantage, and the Kona rider came out of the saddle in an attempt to separate himself from Powers. Similar to Day One’s race, Trebon and Powers continued to trade the lead position. Powers repeatedly took water in the pits, consistently losing the lead to Trebon and then regaining it later throughout the course.

With two laps to go, Powers moved back to the front and tried to distance himself from Trebon. “I rode the last two laps the same way I rode the rest of the race, at full speed,” smiled Powers after the race. Yet the Kona rider tenaciously stuck to his wheel.

“There were only a few places where you could put down any power,” said Trebon. “I prefer courses that are more about fitness than technical ability.” Still, the race was in doubt until the last lap. Powers, who had been bunny hopping the barriers near the end of the lap for most of the race, gained a gap and took the advantage through the twisty section leading into the finish stretch. “There’s no place to pass in that section,” said Trebon. “When he lead through there, the race was over a minute before we got to the finish line.”

Powers secured the win and defended his 2009 Java Johnny’s title. Trebon finished second, and Schouten took the remaining podium spot. Schouten said, “I just wanted to be in front, because it’s faster to ride by yourself here than to be in a group. It wasn’t an attack or anything. When I got to the front, there was a gap. When it got to 10 seconds, I knew I was going to ride my own race.”

In his victory interview, Powers said, “This course really suited me. Yesterday’s course really suited Ryan.” The rubber match concludes at Harbin Park, which combines the design elements of both races. The third and final day of the UCI3 Festival is a UCI C1 with the women’s and men’s races paying equal prize money through the first five places.

Photo Gallery:

Full Results

Elite Women:

Rank	Bib	Last Name	First Name	Team Name	Category
1	1	Compton	Katherine	Planet Bike	Elite Women
2	3	Van Gilder	Laura	C3 — Athletes Serving Athletes	Elite Women
3	4	Butler	Susan	Hudz Subaru	Elite Women
4	2	Bruno Roy	Maureen	MM Racing p/b Seven Cycles	Elite Women
5	5	Winfield	Deidre	C3 – Athletes Serving Athletes	Elite Women
6	7	Antonneau	Kaitlin	Team Kenda	Elite Women
7	10	Gavin	Kristin	Team CF-Elite	Elite Women
8	18	James	Ashley	Team Kenda	Elite Women
9	11	Kemmerer	Arley	C3 – Athletes Serving Athletes	Elite Women
10	8	Studley	Kari	Team Group Health	Elite Women
11	6	Sone	Linda	Planet Bike	Elite Women
12	19	Dallaire	AnnaJean	Alderfer Bergen	Elite Women
13	9	Howe	Barbara	Ibis and the Danger Twins	Elite Women
14	12	Flynn	Kimberly	Grace Law-Trek p/b Vantaggio	Elite Women
15	13	Maxwell	Jennifer	Van Dessel Sterke Meiden	Elite Women
16	34	SMILEY	Marne	Scott/ Ollett Coaching	Elite Women
17	28	Schwartz	Anne	Flying Rhino Cycling Club	Elite Women
18	29	Korol	Meghan	Mafia Racing	Elite Women
19	14	Borem	Nicole	DRT Racing	Elite Women
20	16	Whitmore	Deb Sweeney	Performance Bicycle Racing Team	Elite Women
21	31	McKay	Amanda	Shamrock Cycles/Biowheels Racing	Elite Women
23	30	FINLEY	Rebecca	Marian University	Elite Women
24	23	Shields	Emily	Carolina Masters Cycling Team	Elite Women
24	26	Wallace	Tammy	ThinkCash Racing	Elite Women
25	33	Corliss	Melissa	Michelob Ultra Cycling	Elite Women
26	24	Shields	Katherine	Carolina Masters Cycling Team	Elite Women
27	36	Patton	Courtney	Trek of Pittsburgh/ National Velo	Elite Women
28	25	Benson	Emily	Velo Bella	Elite Women

Elite Men:

Rank	Bib	Last Name	First Name	Team Name	Category
1	2	POWERS	Jeremy	Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld	Elite Men
2	1	Trebon	Ryan	Kona	Elite Men
3	9	Schouten	Tristan	ISCorp Cycling Team	Elite Men
4	4	KABUSH	Geoff	Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain	Elite Men
5	5	JONES	Christopher	Rapha-Focus Cyclocross Team	Elite Men
6	44	Wells	Jake	Hudz-Subaru	Elite Men
7	7	Wells	Troy	Team Clif Bar	Elite Men
8	8	Matter	Brian	Gear Grinder	Elite Men
9	12	Schempf	Weston	C3-Athletes Serving Athletes	Elite Men
10	6	Wicks	Barry	Kona	Elite Men
11	17	Kersting	Mitchell	Fetzer Cycling Team	Elite Men
12	14	Hoke	Mitchell	Clif Bar Development Cyclo-Cross Team	Elite Men
13	11	Knapp	Ryan	BikeReg.com	Elite Men
14	13	Wulfkuhle	Andrew	C3-Athletes Serving Athletes	Elite Men
15	46	Fawley	Bryan	PARK PLACE DEALERSHIPS	Elite Men
16	18	Sherer	Mike	Verizon u25 Team p/b ABD	Elite Men
17	29	Cummings	Stephen	Indiana Regional Medical Center	Elite Men
18	47	Martin	Paul	Panther pb Competitive Cyclist	Elite Men
19	20	Weaver	Dave	ALAN N. America Cycling Team	Elite Men
20	26	Kendall	Robert	Bob’s Red Mill	Elite Men
21	22	Kennedy	Michael	Fetzer Cycling Team	Elite Men
22	36	Johnson	Joshua	DRT Racing	Elite Men
23	41	Reardon	Andrew	Van Dessel / Real Design	Elite Men
24	30	Wondergem	Eric	Hup United	Elite Men
25	19	Nevitt	Christopher	Fetzer Cycling Team	Elite Men
26	37	Weeks	Matthew	Team Lake Effect	Elite Men
27	21	McLaughlin	Scott	SRAM Factory	Elite Men
28	43	Metzler	Noah	Team Globalbike	Elite Men
30	48	Anderson	Michael	North Country Cycle Sport	Elite Men
31	25	Hamilton	Erik	NUVO Cultural Trail	Elite Men
32	31	Mihalik	Michael	Freddie Fu Cycling Team	Elite Men
33	39	Mesi	Paul	French Meadow Bakery / Fortistar	Elite Men
34	32	Whitmore	Joshua	Team Globalbike	Elite Men
35	27	Edwards	Zachary	DRT Racing	Elite Men
36	45	Broadwater	Mark	C3-Athletes Serving Athletes	Elite Men
37	34	Karew	Jason	Bishops Bicycles	Elite Men
38	42	McNeal	David	BBC p/b WheelWorx	Elite Men
40	28	Street	William	Sisu custom cycles	Elite Men
41	23	Virostko	Jacob	Shamrock/Biowheels Racing	Elite Men