Virginia's Blue Ridge GO Cross Day Two
Clauzel and Strohmeyer repeat, lead USCX Series
For day two of Virginia’s Blue Ridge GO Cross, the differences from day one were there, but they were subtle. Sunday’s race was a UCI C2 event instead of a C1, which meant elite riders hoping to score valuable UCI points would need to finish in the top 10 rather than the top 15 for the C1. Part of the track was reversed from Saturday, which meant riders were approaching the tricky off-camber, the U-logs and the sand pit from the opposite direction. Finally, the wind may have been a little stronger.
The most significant change from Saturday to Sunday, however, is that the men’s and women’s elite fields knew precisely who they needed to keep their eyes on from the moment the races started.
Elite Men
It’s the weekend, and everyone is making plans. At least, that is what it seemed like talking to riders on Saturday. But after Sunday’s races, everyone started treating cyclocross like the poor sap whose friend group forgot to invite them to the movies and then denied that plans ever existed in the first place.
The Bulletin to Andrew Strohmeyer: I'm a little hurt. I felt like you told me about yesterday’s plan on Saturday but didn’t do it until today.
Andrew Strohmeyer (CXD Trek Bikes): Apparently, word makes it around pretty quick, because I didn't tell anybody my plans, but I had multiple people call to me and say “Oh, you changed the plan.”
I didn’t think about that once before the race. The only thing I was thinking about was that Mathieu van der Poel says that people ask him, “Do you make a plan?” and he says, “No, I don't make a plan. I just race on instinct.” And I was like, “All right, I'm just going out there and racing on instinct today.”
The Bulletin to Kerry Werner: Did you hear me during the race tell you to implement the plan?
Kerry Werner (Groove Off Road Racing): Yeah. I think the problem was I don't remember us talking about a plan.
The Bulletin: When we talked after yesterday’s race, you said you would have a plan for Strohmeyer in today’s race.
Werner: Okay. That was the plan. Yeah, see, that's the confusion. Okay, I think I forgot what the plan was. So when you said “the plan” I thought there was a like a different plan.
At this point, I’m probably making too big of a deal about “plans” because, as Mike Tyson famously said, “Everyone has a plan until the feisty guy in purple puts in a sub-7-minute lap with three to go.”
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Cervélo Orange Living teammates Scott Funston and Jules van Kempen went to the front of the race early on Sunday and patrolled the group to ensure Andrew Strohmeyer didn’t try to escape in lap one like he did on Saturday. Curtis White (Steve Tilford Foundation) and Werner also had their eyes on Strohmeyer and made sure they were well placed at the front of the lead group to avoid getting caught out.
The vigilance at the front resulted in a pace suitable for most of the field to stay close for several laps. Twenty minutes into the race, a group of 12 riders remained in contention.
It took until halfway through the race before that group was split in half, with Strohmeyer, Werner, Funston, White, van Kempen and Marcis Shelton (Bear CX) still in contention.
A lap later, led by Werner’s accelerations, the group was down to three momentarily. As that trio tried to figure out who would do what, Owen Brenneman (CXD Trek Bikes) put in the ride of the day to leapfrog chasing groups before reeling back in the leaders. Brenneman’s GO Cross performance over the weekend impressed nobody more than his teammate, Strohmeyer.
It’s something I’ve seen coming. Last week at DCCX, he was flying. His technical skills are really good, and this year, he’s been riding his bike more. I know he can be up here.
Before the race yesterday, we were trying to tell him, “Oh, you got it, dude. You're right there.” He didn't believe us, of course. But then yesterday, he found himself in 14th, and he sat in for a little bit. It was like, “This is my spot.” And then he's like, wait a second, “No, this is not my spot anymore.”
So, yeah, that dude, He’s amazing me. It's so cool to be racing here, be off the front, and hear, “The chase group of Owen Brennan is coming.” Like, that is so cool.
As kind as Strohmeyer was in his praise for Brenneman, he showed no mercy on his teammate or anyone else in the front group as the leaders hit the tarmac and saw three to go.
If you’ve been following cyclocross for some time, you know that most professional races fall into a predictable pattern: race hard through the technical and hard stuff and then sit up and recover for a bit through the finishing straight. In his prime, Zdeněk Štybar loved turning this moment of détente on its head and attacking the finishing straight.
In a Stybarian move, Strohmeyer uncoiled from the leading group of six just as the grass incline at the end of the finishing straight came into view. He continued his attack through what seemed like the first half of the course and opened a gap that nobody would close. Nothing tells the story more graphically than, well, a graphic. Here are the lap times of the top 10 riders. I’ve highlighted the lap in which Strohmeyer attacked.
Like Saturday’s race, Werner was best equipped to chase Strohmeyer after the attack. But he wasn’t left with many options.
Strohmeyer played it smart. He only put in two digs in the whole race, and he made it count with that one with three to go. I tried to go, but yeah, I couldn't close the gap initially, and then I knew once we were half a lap in, I kind of made my bed. I'm either going to have to hang out here and make it work, or this group of three behind me was going get me, and then it was going to be a whole thing. So I kind of let Strohmeyer go to save myself. To, like, dangle in second for the rest of the race.
With Strohmeyer comfortably off the front and Werner doing what was needed to keep second, all eyes turned to the race for third.
Funston, Shelton and Brenneman put on a show in pursuit of the last step on the podium. On Saturday, Shelton was near the front before his race went all wrong, and he ended the day with a DNF. Feeling strong on Sunday, he was determined to save the weekend with a strong finish.
We weren't really working together, but whoever was on the front was just riding hard. If we drop a person behind us, that's cool, but if you catch Kerry, that's also cool.
Going into the last lap, I knew Funston wanted to be in front on the barriers because he was hopping and I was running, and that was basically his shot at getting a podium. He did that, and then I caught up to him on the hill and passed him, which was the move for third.
That move stuck, and Shelton salvaged his weekend with an impressive third-place finish. Funston finished fourth behind Shelton, with Brenneman taking fifth.
Elite Women
Much like my experience speaking with the men’s podium finishers after Saturday’s race, I felt like I may have been gaslit by the women, too. For instance, Hélène Clauzel (Van Rysel Racing Team) told me yesterday that she wasn’t strong on GO Cross’ technical turns, yet on Sunday, that’s exactly where she decided to attack.
I think [with today’s course layout] it's not so bad. Today I was really, really good and I changed a little bit my tactic since yesterday.
During the training, I saw the part where I would like to attack. Just after the stairs, there is a hard climb. During the training, it was really hard for me, so I think it was also really hard for the other girls. So yeah, I think it was a good strategy to attack at a different part on the track than yesterday.
Clauzel executed her attack fifteen minutes into the race and never looked back. As is always the case (or at least it seems to be when you’re on the wrong end), the attack came at an inopportune time for Sidney McGill (Cervélo Orange Living).
I made a mistake in the corner, hit a bump weirdly, and unclipped, and then I was overgeared. I completely fumbled the corner, and that was the one that she attacked. I just couldn't follow it in that bad gearing. So then, yeah, I was stuck chasing for a while, but I couldn't bring that back.
While Clauzel cruised at the front, McGill and Manon Bakker (Crelan Corendon) became the first chase group, with Katie Clouse (Steve Tilford Foundation) a few seconds farther back.
Conventional wisdom would lead you to believe the top three would come from those four. Caroline Mani (Groove Off Road Racing) has never adhered to conventional wisdom.
Seemingly out of the race early, Mani went into diesel mode to methodically work through the field before she had her sights on Clouse and, eventually, Bakker. Mani caught Bakker with a few laps to go.
Can I just go back ten years? I loved second days. Now, I have to be patient, but I never freak out. I was just being clumsy. I hit the ground, unclipped my pedal, almost crashed, and hit my ankle—just stupid, and I was just not able to answer.
I came back a couple of times, and I was like, "Oh gosh, I can't." And then, I was hearing the promoters say, "Yeah, she's been doing 11 podiums in a row. Worst place was yesterday." I was like, "Damn it, I can't get fourth, fifth.” So, you know, I just got it together. Twelve podiums in a row is not a bad thing. Third place was good.
Following Mani’s courageous third-place finish, Bakker finished fourth, followed by Clouse in fifth.
Tune in to Cyclocross Radio for more from GO Cross. Podcast episode should post late Tuesday. Also make sure to follow @wideanglepodium on Instagram and relive GO Cross through Boedi’s story updates.
Fantastic race reporting! Thank you for all of it. Mani is such a cool badass, and the U.S. is so lucky she decided to adopt us. 💞