2012 Colorado Cross Classic

By Eddie Clark

(October 27, 2012) BOULDER, Colo—Just as the cyclocross minions would have it, the Colorado Cross Classic was held just days after the first big snow on the Colorado Front Range for a challenging and rapidly changing course.  Less than three days before the race, a welcomed snow storm carried on for two days to drop 3-6 inches of wet heavy snow across Boulder and the newly designed cross course at Boulder Res.

Early morning racers had it hardest with frozen and thawing ground to contend with before the sun came out and made everything muddy for racers later in the day.  By the time the master's 35+ race got underway, the cyclocross stage was properly set for a very contestable cyclocross race that included muddy sections, wet sand, greasy corners, and chilly temperatures that made certain you knew it was winter. 

In the heavily contested master's 35+ race, the Boulder Cyclesport team showed its dominance with the likes of Brandon Dwight, Russell Stevenson and current master's world champion Peter Webber taking the front and stretching out a significant time gap over their competitors.  Their gap would hold until the end with a grand melee of attacks between the three following, and ultimately Stevenson edged his teammates out in the sprint for the win.

Elite women's racing proved to be even more entertaining with plenty of strong performances from several ladies such as Carmen Small and Amanda Carey who seem to be getting their cyclocross legs on.  World Cup schedules that featured top level racing in Europe accounted for a slightly smaller field than the USGP just last weekend, but the intensity was still as dramatic.  Bronze medal mtn bike Olympian Georgia Gould (Luna Team) quickly distanced herself from the field with clean riding to take a solid win by nearly a 1:30 margin over her teammate Teal Stetson-Lee.  Third place went to Amanda Carey (VW/Felt).

For the big finale, the elite men started with a mad sprint to be first onto the dirt so as to not get caught further back in traffic before several tight corners would stretch the field out.  Cannondale/Cyclocross World's James Driscoll just got by Danny Summerhill (Garmin/Chipotle) and Ben Berden (Raleigh/Clement) for the lead position going into the first corner.  With many changes in the lead between this group and Ryan Trebon (Cannondale/Cyclocross World), the group of four slowly stretched out a gap.   Half way into the last lap, Trebon faltered on a bunny hop that gave Berden the chance he needed to open a gap which he held until the finish for a hard earned victory.

Full results here.