Loris Rouiller (Heizomat-Kloster Kitchen) returned to the top step of the podium on Sunday when he took advantage of a mistake by Anton Ferdinande (DHM) in the final corners to win the C2 elite men’s race at Virginia’s Blue Ridge GO Cross. The two had been in the lead in the final lap and seemed set to sprint it out for victory when Ferdinande dropped his chain.
Chasing close behind, Vincent Baestaens (Spits CX season) was able to come around to take second place while a disappointed Ferdinande had to settle for third.
Curtis White (Steve Tilford Foundation Racing), the US elite men’s national cyclocross champion and winner of the 2022 Cyclocross Series (USCX) , fell out of the front group on the second of eight laps and ultimately finished fourth for the second day in a row, crossing the line 23 seconds behind the winner.
Ferdinande took the hole shot on a tacky course, which absorbed heavy rain from earlier in the day as well as a beating from a fast elite women’s race. The sand pit, in particular, allowed for smooth lines from the rain packing the surface firmly, much different from the dry, dusty conditions on Saturday.
On the second pass of the 2.9km circuit at Fallon Park, seven riders rode together at the front of the race – Rouiller, White, Ferdinande, Baestaens, Caleb Swartz, Jack Spranger and Michael van den Ham. Cody Scott rode a solo chase eight seconds back.
After the third lap, Scott fell off the pace and Andrew Dillman moved up into the chase of the seven riders. But the high pace set by Rouiller and Ferdinande began to take its toll on the group and gaps opened to Van Den Ham, Swartz, Spranger and White. At the start of the fourth lap, Baestaens trailed the led duo by five seconds.
With three laps to go, Spranger and White joined forces with Baestaens in the chase, trailing just under 18 seconds to the leading pair. Another 25 seconds back Van den Ham and Swartz rode in sixth and seventh places. Dillman was in eighth all alone, and the only other rider within two minutes of the leaders.
Though he won yesterday’s C1 race, Rouiller admitted that he wasn’t feeling great
“I feel better today. I am very happy for me because I am back today. Yesterday was a hard day for me and when I look [at] my race, here, I am happy with my win but not very [happy] with my feeling,” Rouiller said. “Today was better.”
The Swiss rider enjoyed the tacky and more technical conditions for the second day of racing.
“I think today it’s the…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CyclingNews RSS Feed…