Wells Is Mr. December Again with Third National Championship Win – UPDATED: More Photos

For full Cyclocross National Championships coverage and information, visit our 2010 USA Cycling National Championships Page.

BEND, ORE. – Todd Wells (Cal Giant-Specialized) shut the door on the hopes of Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com, Kona and about 130 other Elite racers as he took the 2010 National Championship title in solo fashion.

As the Elite men charged off the line to a thick crowd of fans, Ryan Trebon (Kona) powered in the lead, taking the hole shot with Adam Myerson (Cycle-Smart) and Jeremy Powers (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) on his wheel. As Powers slipped by, Trebon eased up slightly, as he told Cyclocross Magazine that he had a tough time getting his legs going in the first lap. Tim Johnson and Chris Jones rounded out the top five early.

Coming around the front side, Chris Jones (Rapha-Focus) took the lead with Powers and Johnson following close behind, and Trebon and Wicks forming a formidable wall. The five had a good-sized gap between them and Todd Wells as they came into the bowl, now with Powers cranking on the sharp end. It looked like the race might be a Cannondale vs. Twin Towers shoot out. Wells, Alex Candelario, Jesse Anthony (Cal Giant-Specialized) and Tyler Wren (Boo Bikes) formed a chase group behind.

Then everything changed. Powers attacked hard as they entered the bowl, gapping off the front and quickly gaining seven seconds. On the corner just after the flyover, Trebon crashed. “I hit a course pole that was leaning into the course – it caught my bars and spun me around,” he said. Jones got tangled up with Trebon, and the two had to extricate their bikes before getting rolling again.

Wicks and Johnson dug deep to keep Powers in sight, but it was a hard-charging Wells who, over the next lap, bridged up and entered the mix, ultimately passing the three chasers and catching up to Powers.

As Wells caught Powers, Jones faded further off the front. Wicks showed that he has found his form in time for Nationals as he stayed strong in the top five, and he and Johnson would trade positions for the rest of the race. Driscoll (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) turned on his engine and began clawing his way up the leader board.

“You know I was expecting someone to,” Powers said when asked if he was surprised that Wells caught him. “I wasn’t thinking I was just going to ride off the front of the National title – that’s just not how it’s going to work. So to have Todd there … I’ve been able to beat Todd in a sprint in the past, but nothing’s for sure. But if I had to go to the line with Todd, I was pretty psyched. I also thought, ‘man I’m pretty psyched if Todd wins because he’s a pretty great guy.’ I don’t know, it’s a bunch of things, you got a lot of things going through your mind, but I just try to keep all the thoughts out while I’m racing – just kinda do what I’m doing and try not to think about too much stuff.”

Trebon, after recovering from his crash, showed why he is one of the best in the country and began an incredible chase, putting in a monster display of power to reconnect with the chasers – but only long enough to blow right by them.

Off the front, Powers and Wells went back and forth, trading blow for blow as they screamed around the course a full minute faster than any other group this week. But with four to go, Powers went down on the u-turn right before the flyover; Wells was following so closely that he collided with Powers, and the two tangled for a moment before Wells broke free and rode off, with Powers running behind before stopping to repair a no longer functioning bike.

“[Powers] crashed in one of the corners before the flyover, and I ran into him,” said Wells. “My foot got stuck in his wheel, and I’m not sure if that screwed up his wheel or not but it took us a few seconds to get untangled.” Powers was able to fix his bike, but by then he had already been passed by a watt-busting Trebon.

“I’m as frustrated as I can be,” said Powers. “I got a lot of good things to look back on, and a two-minute stretch I’d rather not look back on.” The episode was eerily similar to Fort Collins, when Wells crashed into a barrier following behind Powers, giving Powers the win. “Yeah, I didn’t intentionally do that [take down Wells in a barrier section],” said Powers, “and I guess what goes around comes around, but Todd’s a great friend of mine and I would never wish anything bad upon him, and I think the same goes my way from him, so, like I said, a lot of good things to look back on, one moment I’d rather not.”

With Powers out of the equation, it was now Wells’ race to lose. But Trebon wasn’t going to let him take the title without a fight, and over the remainder of the race the gap between the two would come as close as five seconds before ultimately stretching to about 15. “I could hear the time checks, but I knew that if I didn’t make any mistakes I could go through the corners faster than [Trebon] even if he was gaining on me during the power sections,” said Wells. “I took some chances through the corners and just tried to limit my losses on the straight sections.”

“I was trying hard, but it’s a really hard course – it’s just so heavy, and there’s a lot of wind,” said Trebon. “Todd was riding awesome. I was pulling back a little bit here [on the front side] but he was gapping me on the other side. I was pulling a little bit back in the boggy section, and he was pulling away on the back side in the mill area.”

“I was going as hard as I could,” he added. “I couldn’t go any harder. That was all I had in my legs, my hips were cramping. The grass section was just so hard and draining, then you had to run up the stairs, that really made the legs hurt.”

In the end, it was Wells with his hands raised, claiming his third Cyclocross National Elite Championship title. Trebon came in close behind, followed by a train of riders separated by large gaps: Driscoll and Johnson finished the podium, with Wicks just barely missing out.

Wells has already won a National title in the Short Track and Cross Country disciplines this year. Was this his favorite? “I don’t know, they’re all pretty special, but it’s nice to get titles, so this one’s up there with them.”

Photo Gallery by Janet Hill:

Full Results:

Place	Name	City, State	Time	Bib	Team
1	Todd Wells	Durango, CO	1:00:49	4	Specialized Factory Racing
2	Ryan Trebon	Bend, OR	1:01:14	54	Kona
3	Jeremy Powers	Easthampton, MA	1:02:16	2	Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld
4	James Driscoll	Winooski, VT	1:02:52	3	Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld
5	Timothy Johnson	Beverly, MA	1:02:52	1	Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld
6	Barry Wicks	Corvallis, OR	1:03:03	10	Kona
7	Adam Craig	Bend, OR	1:03:29	7	Giant/Rabobank
8	Tristan Schouten	Plymouth, WI	1:04:06	9	CyclocrossRacing.com / Blue
9	Alexander Candelario	Reno, NV	1:04:39	62	World Bicycle Relief
10	Jesse Anthony	Beverly, MA	1:05:08	11	California Giant Berry Farms
11	Justin Lindine	New Salem, MA	1:05:26	5	Bikereg.Com/Cannondale
12	Spencer Paxson	Seattle, WA	1:05:30	61	Team S&M Young Guns
13	Mitchell Hoke (1 – Cat2)	Colorado Springs, CO	1:05:51	30
14	Sean Babcock	Beaverton, OR	1:06:01	26	Team S&M Young Guns
15	Christopher Jones	Auburn, CA	1:06:17	37	Rapha/Focus
16	Erik Tonkin	Portland, OR	1:06:22	129	Kona
17	Joshua Dillon	Essex Junction, VT	1:06:25	20	Bikereg.Com / Cannondale
18	Carl Decker	Bend, OR	1:06:27	110	Giant
19	Allen Krughoff	Boulder, CO	1:06:30	25	Boulder Cycle Sport
20	Peter Webber	Boulder, CO	1:06:49	122	Boulder Cycle Sport
21	Matthew Pacocha	Boulder, CO	1:07:05	32	Hudz-Subaru
22	Braden Kappius	Littleton, CO	1:07:06	28	Team Clif Bar
23	Jake Wells	Avon, CO	1:07:10	17	Hudz-Subaru
24	Brandon Dwight	Boulder, CO	1:07:18	160	Boulder Cycle Sport
25	Tyler Wren	Salt Lake City, UT	1:07:22	21	Boo Bicycles
26	Adam McGrath (2 – Cat2)	Springfield, OR	1:07:39	15	Feedback Sports/Van Dessel
27	Aaron Bradford	Santa Cruz, CA	1:07:52	154	Family Cycling Center
28	Tim Allen	Golden, CO	1:07:58	171	Niner
29	Russell Stevenson	Seattle, WA	1:08:10	186	Cycling Northwest
30	Frank Spiteri	San Mateo, CA	1:08:12	111	Peninsula Velo Cycling Club/Pen
31	Troy Wells	Durango, CO	1:08:34	13	Team Clif Bar
32	Ryan Knapp	Columbus, IN	1:08:57	14	Panther Pb Competitive Cyclist
33	Adam Myerson	Dorchester, MA	1:09:02	6	Cycle-Smart
34	Ryan Iddings	Enumclaw , WA	1:09:25	23	Redline
35	Stephen Tilford	Topeka, KS	@2Lap	183	Tradewind Energy/Trek
36	Jared Nieters	Haymarket, VA	@2Lap	27	Haymarket Bicycles
37	Benjamin Thompson	Bend, OR	@2Lap	195
38	Scott Chapin	Santa Cruz, CA	@2Lap	29	Bay101/HRS/RockLobster
39	Weston Schempf	Bethesda, MD	@2Lap	19	Charm City Cycling Llc
40	John Curry	Bozeman, MT	@2Lap	128	Gallatin Valley Bicycle Club/Gallatin Alpine Sports/Intrinsik Archite
41	Josh Snead	Larkspur, CA	@2Lap	35	Bay101/HRS/RockLobster
42	Brad Cole (4 – Cat2)	Fort Collins, CO	@2Lap	50	Kccx Verge Elite Cyclocross Tea
43	Justin Robinson	Bonny Doon, CA	@2Lap	115	California Giant Berry Farms
44	Molly Cameron	Portland, OR	@2Lap	118	Portland Bicycle Studio
45	Nathan Bannerman (1 – Cat3)	Walla Walla, WA	@2Lap	175	Wheatland Wheelers
46	Scott Frederick	Raleigh, NC	@2Lap	24	Inland/Back To Dirt/Inland Cons
47	Brue Syvertsen (6 – Cat2)	San Francisco, CA	@2Lap	156	Murder
48	Troy Heithecker	Ft Collins, CO	@2Lap	190	Echelon Energy
49	Ward Baker	Boulder, CO	@2Lap	44	Justin’S / Titus Mountain Bike
50	Ian Brown	Portland, OR	@2Lap	40	River City Bicycles / Tonic Fab
51	Eric Rasmussen	Bountiful, UT	@2Lap	47	Kuhl
52	Michael Gallagher	Portland, OR	@2Lap	123	Cyclocrossracing.Com P/B Blue
53	John Behrens	San Diego, CA	@2Lap	163	Bailey Bikes
54	Damian Schmitt	Bend, OR	@3Lap	193
55	Brett Luelling	Salem, OR	@3Lap	56
56	Daniel Chabanov	Brooklyn, NY	@3Lap	31	Century Road Club Association/J
57	Kevin Smallman (8 – Cat2)	San Leandro, CA	@3Lap	179	Cannondale
58	Krishna Dole (10 – Cat2)	San Mateo, CA	@3Lap	49	Sheila Moon
59	BRENNAN WODTLI	Bend, OR	@3Lap	104
60	Greg Wittwer	Richmond, VA	@3Lap	33	Alan North America Cycling
61	Logan Wetzel	Renton, WA	@3Lap	196	Cbtinc/Cyclingnorthwest
62	Lawrence Leonard	Ventura, CA	@3Lap	103	Successful Living
63	Chris Jackson (12 – Cat2)	San Luis Obispo, CA	@3Lap	38
64	Kevin Mullervy	Littleton, CO	@3Lap	116	Escalera Racing Club/Team Exerg
65	Jason Siegle	Costa Mesa, CA	@3Lap	187	Bike Religion
66	Davy Yeater	Portland, OR	@3Lap	59	River City Bicycles / Cannondal
67	Shawn Harshman (14 – Cat2)	Boulder, CO	@3Lap	192	Pm Racing Team
68	Jesse Rients	Shakopee, MN	@3Lap	42
69	Alex Ryan	Lewisville, NC	@3Lap	109	Champion System/ Cannondale
70	Aaron Bouplon	Boulder, CO	@3Lap	132	Rockymounts~Izze Racing
71	Frederick Bottger	South Pasadena, CA	@3Lap	166	Pasadena Athletic Assoc (Paa)/P
72	Brandon Gritters	Mission Viejo, CA	@3Lap	182	Rock N Road
73	Matthew Fox	Bend, OR	@4Lap	46
74	Evan Plews	Salem, OR	@4Lap	125
75	Patrick Jackson	Salem, OR	@4Lap	174
76	Conor Mullervy	Boise , ID	@4Lap	133	Team Exergy
77	Dave Weaver	Towson, MD	@4Lap	142	Alan N. America Cycling Team
78	Kevin Bradford-Parish	Elk, WA	@4Lap	155	Emde Sports/Emdesports.Com/Fitn
79	David Wilcox (16 – Cat2)	Jamaica Plain, MA	@4Lap	36	Pedro’S Grassroots Cycling Club
80	Kenny Wehn (17 – Cat2)	Durango, CO	@4Lap	121	Colavita Racing Inc./Colavita R
81	Anastasio Flores	La Selva Beach, CA	@4Lap	106	California Giant Berry Farms
82	John Frey (18 – Cat2)	Bend, OR	@4Lap	165	Hutch’S Westside Bend Or
83	Michael Kennedy (19 – Cat2)	Louisville, KY	@4Lap	184	Fetzer
84	Joshua Whitmore	Sylva, NC	@4Lap	191	Globalbike Racing/Team Globalbi
85	Benjamin Dodge (20 – Cat2)	San Jose, CA	@4Lap	136	Los Gatos Bicycle Racing Club
86	Eric Colton (21 – Cat2)	Los Angeles, CA	@4Lap	57	The Team
87	Lucas Livermon	Winterville, NC	@4Lap	137	Inland Construction
88	David Sheek (22 – Cat2)	Huntington Beach, CA	@4Lap	159
89	Derek Yarra (23 – Cat2)	San Francisco, CA	@4Lap	138	Murder
90	Alan Adams (24 – Cat2)	Seattle, WA	@4Lap	45	Lake Washington Velo/Hagens Ber
91	Chad Cheeney (25 – Cat2)	Durango, CO	@4Lap	52	Durango Devo
92	Ben Popper	Chicago, IL	@5Lap	55
93	Bobby Langin (26 – Cat2)	Thousand Oaks, CA	@5Lap	170	Platinum Performance Cycling Te
94	Collin Samaan (3 – Cat3)	Fair Oaks, CA	@5Lap	65	Kingsnorth International Wheele
95	Kip Spaude (27 – Cat2)	Watertown, WI	@5Lap	213	Nova Cycle Sports Foundation Inc.
96	Jim Gentes (28 – Cat2)	Soquel, CA	@5Lap	60	Team Rambuski Law
97	Garrett McAllister (29 – Cat2)	Bend, OR	@5Lap	113	Team Wisconsin/Team Wisconsin /
98	Michael Nixon (30 – Cat2)	Fort Lauderdale, FL	@5Lap	63
99	Kendal Johnson	Bend, OR	@5Lap	153
100	Dean Poshard	Santa Cruz, CA	@5Lap	151
101	Michael Birner	Woodbine, MD	@5Lap	41	Ben’S Performance Bicycles Inc
102	Gregg Shanefelt (31 – Cat2)	Latrobe, PA	@5Lap	199	Zephyr Wheel Sports
103	Juozas Martynaitis (32 – Cat2)	Reno, NV	@5Lap	177
104	Scott McClave (33 – Cat2)	Simi Valley, CA	@3Lap	126
105	Lane Miller (34 – Cat2)	Lafayette, CO	@5Lap	194
106	Christopher Hamlin (35 – Cat2)	Jonesville, VT	@6Lap	64
107	John Flack (36 – Cat2)	Olympia, WA	@6Lap	164	Cbc Racing/Olympia Orthopaedic
DNS	Dylan Mcnicholas	Stratham, NH	DNS	12	Ccb International
DNS	Gregory Thompson	Bend, OR	DNS	43	0
DNS	Kyle Peppo	New York, NY	DNS	48	Gs Mengoni U.S.A./G.S. Mengoni U.S.A.
DNS	Phil Grove	Whitefish, MT	DNS	51	Sportsman & Ski Haus
DNS	Brett Nichols	Garden City, ID	DNS	53	Trek Mountain Co-Op
DNS	Jonathan Hansen	Bend, OR	DNS	58	Gear Peddler
DNS	Eirik Schulz	Portland, OR	DNS	102	0
DNS	Robert Downs	Madison, WI	DNS	105	Planet Bike
DNS	Sloane Anderson	Bend, OR	DNS	107	0
DNS	Wiley Mosley	Austin, TX	DNS	108	North American Velo
DNS	Matt Shriver	Durango, CO	DNS	119	0
DNS	Shadd Smith	Overland Park, KS	DNS	127	Mercy Cycling Team/Mercy Cycling Team
DNS	Jeff Winkler	Blue Springs, MO	DNS	135	0
DNS	Aaron Odell	San Jose, CA	DNS	141	0
DNS	Benjamin Kubas	Eugene, OR	DNS	145	Tai Cycling/Gen8
DNS	jeremy whitman	Boise, ID	DNS	147	Broken Spoke Cycling
DNS	George Barthel	Sherman Oaks, CA	DNS	162	Helen’S
DNS	Alex Work	Santa Cruz, CA	DNS	167	0
DNS	Gabriel Keck	Fairfax, CA	DNS	169	Summit Bicyles
DNS	Edwin Bull	Mendham, NJ	DNS	173	Van Dessel Factory Team
DNS	Dean Dealy	Aptos, CA	DNS	176	Verge Sport/Test Pilot/Verge Sport / Test Pilot
DNS	Kristopher Holden	Spokane, WA	DNS	188	Vertical Earth Specialized
DNS	Eric Sheagley	Portland, OR	DNS	197	Essex County Velo
DQ	Nicholas Weighall	Mill Creek, WA	DSQ	16	California Giant Cycling
DNF	Brian Matter	Sheboygan, WI	DNF	8	Team Geargrinder/Team Geargrinder
DNF	Travis Livermon	Winterville, NC	DNF	18	Cannondale
DNF	Jonathan Baker	Boulder, CO	DNF	22	Groove Subaru Cycling Team
DNF	Nathanael Wyatt	Swannanoa, NC	DNF	34	Carolina Fatz Pb Santa Cruz Bic
DNF	Anton Petrov	Costa Mesa, CA	DNF	158	Bike Religion