USGP Cyclocross  3 and 4 Race Report:

This past weekend saw the USGP series return to racing in Mercer, NJ. It also marked the first races of the year for me, which involved serious pit crew work and completely trashed bikes.

The weekend started off with flight delays for everyone heading east due to a strong storm that was pounding the Northeast on Thursday and Friday. The weather didn’t dampen the number presentation at Knapp’s Bike Shop on Friday night. Saturday the skies cleared for the race but the damage was done; the course was a muddy mess. It looked like someone had a tractor pull around the entire park and that was our racecourse.

The race went well for me on Saturday. I was with the leaders midway through the first lap but lost some time in the pit and never saw Johnson again until after the race. I did spend most of the day riding with Trebone. Well I chose to grind through most of the slop and he chose to run. He would gap me off on the uphill running sections and I would catch him on the faster riding sections. I finally got rid of him towards the end and soloed in for second.

The second day Timmy J couldn’t start because of a knee problem he acquired the day before when he ran into a stake. It’s too bad because so far the USGP has seen a different series leader at every event and he has been flying lately.

I had a great start and got away with Jeremy Powers on the first lap. Most of the boggy sections were only ride-able on the extreme edges along the tape. I crashed a few times getting caught in the tape and that allowed my brother Troy to come across to us. As soon as he caught us he attacked and when Powers couldn’t respond I bridged across. We rode together for most of the race and I was able to get a small gap on him on the last lap to take the win and the overall series lead in the USGP.

I have quite a few race notes so here goes: 

My brother had his best UCI/USGP race ever this weekend and if he had a better start probably would have won.
The mechanics were so busy in the pits we were changing twice a lap or about every four or five minutes. They had to wash bikes in the near-bye lake because the four pressure washer lines were so crazy. My dad and the guys from Bernie’s Bikes did a great job.

I did take the USGP series lead this weekend but with the best five out of six races counting everyone will have a throw out by the second day in Portland. If you look at it that way there are about four of us that are pretty much tied on points so it should be an exciting finish to the series. 

This week I’m staying with my family in N.Y. before heading to Long Island next weekend for the last two UCI races of the NACT series. I’ll be spending most of the week getting the Mercer course out of my bike. 

Thanks for your support,

Todd Wells