Elite Men's Race Report: 2023 Charm City Cross Day 2
Story, quotes, and photos from Sunday's weekend finale
Andrew Strohmeyer has been at the front of every USCX save one, and he has thrown everything and the kitchen sink at Loris Rouiller, Anton Ferdinande, Vincent Baestaens, and Curtis White to try and win late in the races.
Entering Sunday’s race at Charm City Cross Day 2, none of the contents of the kitchen sink had paid off. Strohmeyer finished 3rd at GO Cross, 2nd at Rochester, and 2nd at Charm City Day 1.
Strohmeyer decided that on Sunday instead of trying to win a race late when odds are stacked against him, he would try something new. Instead of racing conservatively, Strohmeyer went out hard, and for a lap-plus, it looked like he might pull off a YOLO-style win.
A long solo win was not to be, and midway through the race, it looked like the plan might have backfired. Strohmeyer found himself 10-plus seconds off the back at the end of Lap 6, forced to chase down a motivated duo of Curtis White and Vincent Baestaens.
Strohmeyer dug deep and found another gear thanks to a home-race crowd urging him on at every corner. He rejoined Baestaens and White near the end of Lap 7 of 9.
In those previous races where Strohmeyer came up just short, he tried to outplay his counterparts in the bell lap. And if winning in the last lap isn’t working, maybe it’s worth trying to go a lap early.
Strohmeyer got a small gap in the technical, twisty section in the trees, and then exploited the small advantage with a big attack up the Mansion Hill climb. White, Baestaens, and company tried to follow the furious attack but to no avail.
Strohmeyer was gone, the three chasers were playing politics, and the man who went 3rd in Roanoke and 2nd in Rochester completed the upward trend to number 1.
“I was waiting for it,” Strohmeyer said. “The trend was going up, I just had to make it happen.”
A New Plan
The Bulletin is all about honoring traditions, so we were more than happy to see the Happy Fun Ball, Scott Funston, taking the holeshot on Saturday and then again on Sunday.
Anton Ferdinande went to the front with an effort shortly before the Mansion Hill off-camber and started a pattern of dudes making attacks that would last for the first several attacks. He got a small gap on the field off the off-camber with the move.
Strohmeyer came around Funston late in the lap and jumped to the front with Ferdinande. Things strung out behind the two leaders, Funston, then Vincent Baestaens, then Curtis White.
Next up on the move was Strohmeyer.
The Big Dig put in a big dig after the flyover and then carried that into an attack. He railed the long climb up to Mansion Hill, opening up an 8-second lead.
The move splintered the chase, with Ferdinande and Baestaens leading the effort, and then Funston and White chasing them. Strohmeyer had a 9-second lead at the end of Lap 2.
“I don't know what those first three, four laps were,” White said. “Everyone was racing like it was 50 degrees and not 85 with 90% humidity. I was at my limit, and maybe it just took me a while to go. Those guys had such a high end. They were either going to implode and sit up and I could reconnect, or they were just 15% better than me.”
Strohmeyer held his lead through Lap 3 of 9, keeping the lead at 7 seconds on Baestaens and Ferdinande. White and Funston were chasing 27 seconds behind them.
After coming up short in the bell lap three of the last five races, Strohmeyer can certainly be forgiven for sending it early. The move was, unfortunately, maybe a bit too much. Strohmeyer pulled the plug on the move at the start of Lap 4 and Baestaens and Ferdinande rejoined to make it a group of 3.
“I wanted to start hard because I was racing conservatively the last couple of races, but it ended up in the same result. It was like, 'Okay, time to go back to just racing my bike and trying something different.' I was able to get out front for a while, but Vincent and Anton were holding the gap steady. I decided to call it and join back in with them.”
White has found himself dangling more than he would probably like these days, and Sunday was no different. He broke away from Funston early in Lap 5 and then quickly started to erase the gap up to the three leaders. A big effort up the Mansion Hill climb put him back at the front to make it a group of four.
There would be no rest for the weary, however.
Baestaens had a rough go of it on Saturday, but he was looking spry when he put in an attack after Pit 2 and opened up a gap of his own. At lap’s end, he sat on a 5-second lead on Strohmeyer, White, and Ferdinande.
“Today was my last day in the U.S., so I wanted to make a hard effort,” Baestaens said.
Lap 6 it appeared Strohmeyer’s early moves were taking their toll. He fell over 10 seconds off the pace, while White and Ferdinande worked to erase Baestaens’ advantage.
“I wanted to start hard, which I did,” Strohmeyer said. “But then when I was off the back, I was like, 'Oh, this isn't good. This is not good.’”
The Plan Pays Off
No one at Druid Hill Park would have blamed Strohmeyer for letting up 40 minutes into the race. He pulled out a 2nd-place on Saturday and he gave the crowd that stuck around at the venue a great show on Sunday.
Strohmeyer, however, did not show up to go down easy.
He did benefit from a little chaos.
Baestaens slowed up at the start of Lap 7, and White attacked past him after making the catch. Ferdinande slipped out on an early corner, sending him back into 4th.
White and Baestaens raced together, but Strohmeyer’s sticktoitiveness started to bear fruit in the form of a shrinking gap. He made the catch after Pit 2 to again make it a group of 3 with 2 to go.
“Strohmeyer was 10, 15 seconds back,” White said. “I thought we would keep pushing it and pushing it, but Vinny also doesn't like to push it if there's someone else there. He's 100% when he's alone, or nothing. That's the craftiness in his racing.”
He added, “The only way I could have responded is to ride in time trial mode and hope that I break him physically. I second-guessed my ability and that’s what I’m most disappointed in.
Shortly after the flyover, it was Stroh Time for the Big Dig.
Strohmeyer put in an attack on the twisty, technical section in the woods. He emerged with a small gap and then exploited the advantage by going all-in on an attack up the climb to Mansion Hill.
Baestaens was initially second wheel chasing Strohmeyer, but he gave way to White as the man tasked with chasing Strohmeyer down. White didn’t have the juice, and Strohmeyer’s lead really started to grow in the section following Pit 2.
“I think you can see from the last couple of races, [Strohmeyer] was attacking all the time,” Baestaens said. “I had a bad moment when he was attacking on a hill, and he made a gap. I thought maybe Curtis could close the gap, but he wasn't strong enough. I knew immediately when he had 5 or 10 seconds that it was over and we'd be riding for 2nd place.”
Strohmeyer’s gap was out to 26 seconds at the bell. A look at the three chasers sitting up, standing up, through the start/finish straight told the story.
“It takes three to tango, the three chasers, but we were all racing negatively and none of us wanted to be the first blink,” White said.
“After I tried to chase, [Baestaens] refused to help with the chase. Anton was on the limit, but I saw zero interest in racing for the win in the group. It only took 20 seconds of looking at each other before Andrew had the gap to win, but how we played the last lap was ridiculous.”
Strohmeyer rolled the final lap in a bit of a coronation for the Maryland boy made good. Tossing out the old plans and making a new one proved the perfect choice to finally break through with a win.
“With a lap and a half to go when I came down here with a gap, the whole next 8 minutes it was people screaming for me. I heard the individual voices of people I know, and it gave me the energy to just keep pushing and make it to the end.”
Baestaens made a late move on White in the closing corners to grab a 2nd-place finish in the final U.S. race of his career.
“You always want to finish as high as possible,” Baestaens said. “We did everything to get that 2nd place. It was like riding for the victory because 2nd is always better than 3rd. He knows me pretty well from the last years, but I think most of the time, I have a little bit more punch at the end. It was in my advantage again today.”
He also spoke about his time racing in the U.S.
“Today I think I heard my name more than the American riders. I am happy they embraced me and appreciated that I am coming over every year. I have lovely host families to stay with, and the organizers are willing to help with everything. My dad has come with me every year. It's been a nice thing to do for me and a nice way to start the season.”
White took 3rd to capture his second podium of the weekend and season.
“It was an awesome race for Strohmeyer to get his first win of the season. Good on him,” White said.
He also issued his mayoral proclamation for the weekend.
“The level at the USCX is higher than it has been in the past. Dudes are upping their game, and the racing is more dynamic and fun. For the spectators and also for me.”
Ferdinande held on for 4th and Funston rounded out the wide-angle podium.
Results are below.
So no word on what Vinny said to Strohmeyer in the little talk mid-race?
Any word on why Roullier didn't start day 2?