Charm City Cross Day 2 Recap
Clauzel pips Bakker, Brunner bests Strohmeyer
Overnight rain coupled with overcast conditions in Baltimore meant we finally got some wet conditions, if not necessarily all-out mud, for a Trek USCX race. The Charm City Track wasn’t a slog or tractor pull but more of a Goldilocks combination of fast grass sections mixed with slippery corners.
Coming into day two of Charm City Cross, Andrew Strohmeyer (CXD Trek Bikes) and Hélène Clauzel (Van Rysel Cycling Team) had won all five Trek USCX rounds. Clauzel continued her streak while Strohmeyer will have to start from scratch next week in Wisconsin at the series finale.
Elite Women
These are the conditions Manon Bakker (Crelan Corendon) has been waiting for and she wasted no time going to the front to be first to tackle the technical nuances of Mansion Hill. The descent off of the hill was chewed up from earlier races and left riders with a run-or-ride decision. Bakker ran the downhill while Clauzel rode it, giving her an advantage at the bottom.
On the punchier sections of the course, Clauzel pushed the pace and Bakker held on and waited for the technical sections, where she excelled. Sidney McGill (Cervélo Orange Living) and Maghalie Rochette (Canyon) joined Bakker and Clauzel early in the race and the group of four rode away from the rest of the field.
On the third trip up Mansion Hill, Bakker and Clauzel separated themselves from McGill, Rochette, and Katie Clause (Steve Tilford Foundation) who was chasing on her own between the leaders and the rest.
For the final three laps, Clauzel and Bakker traded positions. At one point, Bakker had close to a ten-second gap over Clauzel, but the French Champion clawed1 her way back to Bakker. “I thought maybe this is the day, but then Hélène came back and we kind of went back and forth at the front, trying to drop each other,” Bakker said.
According to Clauzel, they played to their strengths, which set up an epic last lap that came down to the line. “She was really better on the technical part. I was better during the physical part, so it was really close,” Clauzel said.
On the final lap, Bakker got to pit two first, a good sign that she was controlling the race. She maintained that position on the flyover with Clauzel on her wheel. When the duo hit the tarmac, Bakker held a slight advantage. Ten meters from the line, Clauzel came even. Bakker threw her bike towards the line as Clauzel continued to pedal, giving her the extra momentum she needed to take the win by inches.
Rochette finished third and was happy with the result.
I felt much better. I had some power, not like the best Maghalie ever, but decent enough to be in the race, to fight for position, to have fun out there, so it was pretty cool. I was trying to stay with the girls at the front and I closed the gap a few times, but it's like when you have been stronger, you're like, ‘oh, I know I have to make this move’ and I'm trying to make the move but it's like, ‘shit, I don't have the legs to make the move.’
Elite Men
In the elite men’s race, the Cervèlo Orange Living duo of Scott Funston and Jules van Kempen controlled the pace from the start until Mansion Hill was in sight. Right before the track made the hard left turn to start the Mansion Hill ascent, Strohmeyer accelerated past the leading pair to enter Charm City’s marquee feature first.
Coming out of the feature, Strohmeyer created a few-seconds’ gap on the field, and it looked like this race was following the same script as the previous five rounds of the Trek USCX series. Strohmeyer was joined briefly by Funston and Eric Brunner (Comp Edge Racing), but he re-established his lead and rode solo for two laps. All signs were pointing towards another Strohmeyer victory until they weren’t.
It felt like every other race this season. The first couple of laps, everything was going normal but Eric was riding a lot stronger today. I was trying to ride on his wheel for a little bit and we were going really hard on the power sections. I was able to ride the technical sections a little better, so I just decided to go ahead and and ride my own pace. That got me a 20 second gap and I was like, all right, time to just go into time trial mode again and hold it. And then I don't know if it was lap four or three—I have no idea—But after the Mansion Hill section, I just hit a wall and everything just left. No power, nothing.
Brunner quickly capitalized on the depleted Strohmeyer, passing the series leader and quickly establishing a sizable gap. Brunner knew he would be stronger on his second day of racing, and his performance proved it.
It took me a bit to get going. Strohmeyer hit it really hard, and then it seemed like I was pulling it back but I didn't really know where. It took me probably a lap, lap and a half to recover [from the early attacks]. I felt like I really redlined after Strohmeyer went. But then I felt good and was just able to kind of ride hard the rest of the race and didn't have to let up so much.
Brunner looked to be back to his old form, cruising to the win. Strohmeyer continued to struggle and needed to dig deep to hold off a fast-charging Funston at the line.
Marcis Shelton (Bear CX) continued to shine as the best U23 racer, finishing fourth with Kerry Werner (Groove Off Road) in fifth.
I’ve already gone to the well once before saying she Clawzelled her way back into the race and I just couldn’t do that again in good conscience.
Curious what happened to Mani - DNF on first lap?